#Classic Victorian Rings

[binenbaumaj]

Aquamarine Diamond 18k Cluster Ring 15788-8636

Embrace elegance with this Victorian-Design Aquamarine Ring. At its heart, a 2.25ct aquamarine, encircled by 0.30ct of sparkling H SI1 diamonds, set in a luxurious mix of yellow and white 18k gold. A tribute to classic beauty and sophistication. 🌟✨

Details: ±2.25ct aquamarine, ±0.30ct (H SI1) Brilliant-cut diamonds, 18k Ring.

Design Era: New Victorian.

Size: 17.32 NL / 54.4 FR / 7 US / N½ UK, sizeable (Within reason. Contact seller for information).

Weight in grams: 4.4.

Condition: New.

Shipping and Pickup: This lovely piece ships from our store located in the center of Amsterdam, The Netherlands. We offer both registered shipping and local pickup at our store. In the case of local pickup, any applicable shipping costs will be refunded.

About Us: Add some sparkle to your style with Binenbaum.com. We offer a stunning selection of antique and vintage jewelry that you won't find anywhere else. From timeless rings and dazzling necklaces to unique brooches, we have something for every taste and occasion. Visit our website today and treat yourself to a piece of history.

[sojuzz]

don't know if you're taking reqs but if you r, can you write some katana x reader headcannons?? Something really fluffy would cheer me up right now! :]

⟡Katana x Reader headcanons

credits to fishybox_ for this wonderful art!!^^

-im just gonna assume your engaged, the ring would be a really pretty ruby with gold accents.

-he would make you green tea before you sleep and rest assured he whispers anything sweet until you fall sleep

-goes on walks with you

-he is definitely insecure about his face so it would take a really long time in your relationship and comfort to show you his own face.

-petnames go with: my love,sweetheart, songbird, my dear, 恋人 (koibito/my lover), honey.. Etc

-this man is just so calm

-katana let's you lay down, head on his lap as he combs his fingers in your hair

-sometimes let's you join him with hyperlazer

-if your the energetic type he doesn't mind, it matters to him that you are who you are

-poetic man, bros the type of guy to write a love letter like a victorian writer

-"my love go rest,ill deal with this."

-smells like fresh cherry blossoms,tea leaves,incense

-shrieks whenever he wakes up without you,genuinely gets scared that someone took you away from him

-adores classical music but doesn't mind if you play any genre

-blud cannot live without you!!

-gifts you red roses every Sunday or every 2 weeks,safe to say you have many

-such a green flag!!! (traumatized too) i rank him at no.3 for top greenest flags for phighting characters

-"You are the brightest of the stars,the most beautiful person in the world,the light to my darkness and the key to my heart, don't you see it my dear? My heart aches for you and your wonderful presence to greet me everyday with your warm embrace, you are what i most value in this cruel world, i do not know how someone like me ended up with such wonderful person,i cannot wait to spend the rest of my life with you here and in other universes..to put it simply, i love you.

A/N: i enjoyed writing this!!! Hes such a sweetheart omfg^_^

[nanamis-princess]

hiya! i never see people write any chubby reader fanfiction for doctor who ;0; which is so sad bc it’s my comfort show.

would you be able to write an 11th doctor x chubby reader fic where he comforts reader struggling with their body image, maybe after going on an adventure like a ball or a party where there were a bunch of pretty women in pretty dresses, making her feel unsure if she was right for the doctor? ahh idk…anything hurt/comfort with 11 reassuring reader would be nice.

I will always choose you

Synopsis: the doctor & reader are invited to a ball! It doesn’t go as planned.

Genre: hurt/comfort

T/w: chubby reader has issues with comparing, mean girls:/, the doctor and reader are in establish relationship & an L bomb at the end.

11th doctor X chubby fem reader A/N: thank you so much for requesting! This is my first doctor who work! I hope this is to your liking💗 also for some reason it wouldn’t let me link the song:( sorry! But it’s on YouTube & Spotify!

After a very eventful day of practically saving the planet once more with the doctor you were both invited to an evening of dancing accompanied with classical music by Miss Montague and her boss. She even offered to helped you pick out a beautiful Victorian dress. With her help you both found one perfectly fitting for you with your color of choice and measurements. The color of the dress highlighted your skin and the corset hugged your body just right, you looked breathtaking. “Oh I think I have something that would compliment your dress” she suggests cheerfully as she opens a drawer to her vanity pulling out a small dark blue box. She opens it up showing you dangling sliver earrings covered with small diamonds and a small pearl at the ends of them, she helps you put them on. Taking a step back she looked at you through the mirror “you look wonderful!” She expresses with a genuine smile.

Arriving with Miss Montague you both stand watching in awe from the sidelines while people dance beautifully, It’s not everyday you get to attend a Victorian ball along with being submerged in the early culture. “I’ll be right back, there is someone I’d like to say hello to” miss Montague says before leaving your side momentarily. Admiring the architecture of the ballroom and how beautiful the décor is you find yourself people watching again.

The song just coming to an end when you take note of how petite all the other women are, the thoughts of comparing yourself to them sneak up on you. Taking a deep breath your hands fall on the fluffy textures of your dress as you try desperately to just think of something else. The familiar cheery tone you love so much rings through your ears, you turn to face him. “there you are! I was wondering where you’d went off to” the doctor says with a smile on his face.His eyes have a twinkle in them as he takes a moment to cherish the sight of you. “You look delightful!” The doctor exclaims accompanying another smile. To an outsider looking in anyone could tell his attraction towards you, sometimes everyone but you.

The music starting back up, the composers being to Gramophone Waltz by Eugen Doga “May I have this dance?” The doctor asks holding out his hand for you to take. You laugh lightly following a nod “you may, doctor” you say taking his hand. He guides you both to the dance floor, his right hand makes his way to the side of your back while his left hand interwinds your fingers. “Just follow my lead, you’ll catch on fast” he says gliding you both as the song opens.

Being with you makes time feel so enjoyable for him, like he can breath for a moment before jumping to the next problem. Being with you in the moment is something he’s longed for a very long time. Gliding you both forward and backward he smiles, making note that the song is going to pick up.

“I think you look marvelous tonight y/n, so beautiful and so breathtaking.” He says looking into your eyes. A bright smile across the doctors face as you don’t have time to answer while he spins you both around to the music falling in sync with the others around you, your dress flowing beautifully at your feet. Slowing you both down as the song is coming to an end seeing your genuine smile makes him feel as if both his hearts skip beats. Making him laugh slightly with a smile on his face, yet again he glides you both off the dance floor and near the refreshments. “I just thought of something I’d like to give you, stay here.” He runs his hands through his hair for a moment before disappearing into the crowd. “Alright” you laugh at his suddenness yet still trying to process what he said on the dance floor.

Deciding it was time for a drink you picked one up for yourself overhearing laughter. Looking over your shoulder slightly you see three women looking in your direction, you turn back to your drink picking it up. “I don’t see how a man like himself is attracted to someone like that” a blonde women with a blue dress says. “I could show him a much better time than she could” you heard another one of them snicker following another laugh.

Trying your best to ignore them you took a sip of your drink a remaining comment you couldn’t hear was followed by whispers and laughter. You couldn’t take it anymore, you set your glass down and made your way to the exit. Tears slowly creeping up on you as you walked through the halls back to the familiar alleyway. Looking at the TARDIS somewhat relieved you opened the blue box as you cry softly, pushing your dress inside with you. you hear rummaging around the hall of the TARDIS. “Darling is that you? I’ll be right there just looking for..” a slight crash is heard from a room who knows where. “Something” he shouts from the room he’s in.

You take a seat with tears still in your eyes but a slight chuckle slips from you at his clumsiness. Stumbling back out into the main part of the TARDIS with a tiny black box and a fez in hand the doctor looks at you. His hearts ached when he seen the tears in your eyes, he dropped his fez and slipping the black box into his coat pocket made his way to you. Standing over you, he crouches down “What’s wrong?” He says with genuine concern in his voice. He cups your cheeks as he wipes away the tears flowing down your face, you aren’t even able to get a word out but once you calm down a little you speak. “There was” you say weakly for a moment before pausing, fidgeting with your fingers as you try to get it out. The doctor still cupping your ace gently, he waits for you to speak again. You collect yourself and try again, “there was a group of women commenting about me after you left, they laughed at me and said you’d be better with someone else.” you manage to get out weakly. “Sometimes I think that myself, that you could be with someone better” you trail off with slight tears in your eyes again.

A mixture of sadness and slight anger washed over the doctor as he watched you explain, his eyes scan over your face. “I apologize that they treated you in such a distasteful way, you don’t deserve that” he makes eye contact with you. “I truly mean this when I say you are absolutely gorgeous and breathtaking. Everything about you is beautiful, your whole being. I don’t wish to be with anyone else but you, I think you are perfect just as you are and I mean that with my whole being.” He expresses while still cupping your cheeks and making eye contact with you. His hands find yours in your lap and he holds them “I’ve traveled throughout this universe, met thousands of beings and I would still choose you. A million times I’d choose to be with you and have your right by my side.” He expresses genuinely, releasing your hands he stands ups leaving you without words for a moment. You stand up looking into his eyes as he looks in yours, you give him a hug is all you have in you. He wraps his arms around you as you rest your head on him, being able to hear his two hearts you smile to yourself. He places a kiss on your temple “I love you doctor” you say softly. “I love you too, very much” he responds. You both remain like this for a moment before the doctor pulls away slightly, “this is what I wanted to give you” he says, pulling out the small black box. He hands it to you and watch’s your features when you open the box.

Looking at the necklace in the small box you smile, then smile at him. It’s a silver necklace with a smallish pendant, a beautiful oval shape ingrained with other detailing. “Thank you doctor, this is so thoughtful” you express pulling it out of the box, he motions that he’ll help you put it on. With a smile you turn around and move your hair as he puts it on you. “There all done” he says as you face him again and leans in to kiss your cheek.

“Come come, dance with me” he takes your hand and pulls you into him once more, you laugh a little at his eagerness. The doctors places a on your hip and interwinds your fingers again, swaying you both back and forth around the main circle of the TARDIS. The doctor slowing you both down after a moment of dancing his face a little closer to yours. “I will always choose you” he states looking into your eyes before softly kissing you.

[haru-dipthong]

Really good anime translation: コタローは一人暮らし

I complained in a post a while ago about how I mostly think english translations of anime aren’t very good, and @japanwords asked me if there were any anime I know of that have good translations. I don’t actually watch that much anime so I didn’t have a good answer, but recently I found one that really fit the bill: 『コタローは一人暮らし』or “Kotaro lives alone”

For those who haven’t seen it, it’s a show about a 5 year old kid who lives alone without any parents or guardians, and makes friends with his neighbours in the apartment complex (a lazy manga artist, a woman who’s a hostess at a local nightclub, and a scary yakuza who finds Kotaro unbelievably cute). These friends end up helping Kotaro when he needs someone to act as a guardian, such as when he enrols at the local kindergarten.

The other thing you have to know about Kotaro is he speaks like a Japanese feudal lord.

This really is the crux of what makes the translation so good, because how the hell do you translate that?! The way they chose to do it is by using archaic english phrases. He kinda speaks like a Victorian era gentleman, and he sometimes even verges on sounding like a stereotypical medieval knight. This works perfectly, because Kotaro is actually imitating a character from his favourite cartoon: a samurai hero/feudal lord. Let’s look at some examples:

「放すである」 "Unhand me!"

A simple example to start with, I thought it might be interesting to compare how a 5 year old might actually say this, and how I would translate that:

「放してー！😭"」 "Let goooo! 😭"

Even though the japanese uses the same verb (放す), the english translation is completely different. The choice here to make it “unhand me” (much more evocative of a time period) instead of just “let go of me” (simply a longer way of saying it) is a perfect example of the care this anime puts into its translation.

狩野：「美月さん、アイス食べます？…… あれ？」 “Hey, Mizuki. Would you like an ice cream cone? …… Hello?” 美月：「アイスをもらうけど私、狩野くん誘ってないんだよなぁ」 “While I appreciate the ice cream, you know you weren’t actually invited, Karino.” コタロー：「お邪魔である」 “Interloper.”

邪魔 is a notoriously difficult word to translate, and the natural-sounding corresponding english phrase will vary quite wildly depending on the situation. In non-feudal lord speech, it usually gets translated to something like “you’re getting in my way” or “get out of here” or even “you’re a burden” (my least favourite).

Here, it’s creatively translated as “interloper”! A great way of sneaking in some archaic english while deftly handling a classically difficult-to-translate word.

コタロー：「わらわは写真が大の苦手なのだ」 “I am ill-disposed to having my picture taken!”

Here we have a slightly longer sentence which shows us a bit more of Kotaro’s unusual speech pattern. He uses the archaic first-person pronoun わらわ（妾）and often ends his sentences in なのだ. なのだ is not a particularly odd grammar structure to use, but it is unusual to use it unabbreviated (i.e. not shortening it to なんだ and/or adding よ to the end) especially when using it in speech rather than in writing. Not abbreviating it (as would be expected in a formal situation), but immediately contrasting that formality with the informal だ rather than です causes the speech to sound archaic without actually using any archaic vocabulary.

Now, if this show only translated the old-timey speech pattern well, I’d still call it a good translation. But the attention to detail and focus on natural sounding language extends to the other characters too!

Let’s take a look at an example of Karino’s speech. This is from ep 3; we already know a fair bit about who he is - a manga artist who doesn’t leave the house much (mostly works from home), usually wears comfortable clothes around, leaves things til the last minute and is generally a pretty lazy guy. I say this because the following translation doesn’t “work” (that is, the english and japanese wouldn’t mean the same thing) if it was spoken by a different kind of character.

phone rings 狩野：「担当さんかー」 “Oh great, it’s my editor” 狩野：「お疲れ様です、狩野です。… はい … 今日原稿を？はい、わかりました。じゃあ、後で」 “Hello, this is Karino. How may I help you? … Yes … Wait. Now, now? … Uh-huh, yes. Okay, thank you, I’ll be there soon.” コタロー：「どこか行くのか？」 “Do you need to go somewhere?” 狩野：「仕事。出版社に行く。今回もダメ出しされんのかな？」 “Yeah, I gotta go to work. There goes my day. … I’m sure he’ll just rip it apart like he always does.” 狩野：「あの人結構グサグサ刺さる事言うんだよなぁ」 “The way he criticises, it’s actually pretty hurtful.”

I really like this translation, it feels very clever and results in very natural sounding english. I said this wouldn’t work for a different character, but I think even for the same character, this translation wouldn’t work on ep 1 - the audience wouldn’t have the context for the translation to omit the specific words it does and get away with it.

For example, the line 「今日原稿を？」 directly refers to a manga draft, but the draft isn’t directly referred to in the english. But it ends up being ok, because we can infer that he’s handing in some sort of draft for review from a later line (”I’m sure he’ll just rip it apart…”). Also, 「出版社に行く」 directly states that he’s going to the publishing house, but the english simply refers to it as “work”. But we can infer this too - he’s going to see his editor, and since most of his work is drawing and writing, which he does at home, we know that when he says he’s “going to work”, he’s actually going to the publishing offices.

Prioritising the natural sound of the script over the specific details is a bold choice that really pays off, imo. This is some of the most natural english I’ve ever seen in an anime translation. I recommend checking it out if you’re interested!

[heavenlymorals]

The Vampire and the Stag: A Look Into the Symbolic significance of Dutch Van Dir Linde and High Honor Arthur Morgan

Warning: This post has spoilers for Red dead 2

Symbolism is one of the most important visual and literary elements used to push the narrative of Red Dead Redemption 2. The game is chock full of biblical references, animal symbolism, and references to other famous works. Hell, I might've even found a Blood Meridian reference via that Judge Meredith Holden letter, but that might be a reach. In any case, this game uses symbolism to push the story further and I want to do a short little retrospective on my two favorite characters of this game and what they represent in the literary sense.

Let's start with Dutch.

Dutch Van Dir Linde is many things. He's a violent idealist, a romantic, a gang leader, a notorious outlaw, and a legendary gunslinger in his own right.

He's also an allegory for the vampire, and by vampire, I mean the European literary symbolism of the creature.

Let's start off with looks. Right from the get go, Dutch is differentiatued from the rest of the gang members by his luxurious and eccentric appearance, something that the vampire usually has. He had gold chains, personalized gold rings, one with a D and another with a lion. His jacket seems to be velvet, he smokes cigars rather than cigarettes, and his hair is done up in ringlets as we know his actual hair texture is straight rather than curly (Guarma, epilogue, RDR1).

His color scheme is also very stereotypical of the more modern vampire. While other characters usually have a more diverse color scheme, Dutch is suited in reds and blacks the entire main game.

The nature of the undead is also with Dutch via his horse, the Count. First of all, there is just the name the Count that gives off vampire energy (Count Dracula) but there is also the fact that Dutch's horse shouldn't exist. Foals born with albinism, which is the coat the Count is said to have, die because of lethal white syndrome. The Count should have died long ago but it's still alive somehow- he cheated death like a vampire. That's also not mentioning death in the sense that death comes riding on a pale horse.

Vampires in classic literature are never just about vampires as these charming blood sucking creatures almost always exist to convey a deeper meaning of consumption. In the 1800s, this idea of consumption, with the most famous visualization of it being the older vampire man sucking the blood of young, usually virginal women, is often an allegory for selfish sex and defilement. Vampires in old media could very well be a criticism of wealthy men taking advantage of younger women, taking their virginity, and then tossing them aside and being virtually fine while the women lose everything from respect to family to even lives, which can also be the case with Dutch and Molly, but overtime, the vampire became less an allegory to write sex without outwardly writing sex in the 1800s, and became more a symbol of personal consumption at the expense of others.

The wonderful Professor Thomas C. Foster puts it best: "That's what this figure (the vampire) really comes down to, whether in Elizabethan, Victorian, or more modern incarnations: exploitation in its many forms. Using other people to get what we want. Denying someone else's right to live in the face of our overwhelming demands. Placing our desires, particularly our uglier ones, above the needs of another. That's pretty much what the vampire does, after all." - "How to Read Literature Like a Professor"

Dutch is basically that. He consumes people for the sake of his own goals, his own dreams, and his own delusions of grandeur. He will believe in people as long as those people believe in him, but their belief in him is more important to him than his belief in them.

Dutch seems like a Messiah to the disenfranchised, a Jesus figure of sorts. He seems charming, empathetic, cultured, and different from other men, like the vampire. People are enthralled by him, become obsessed or loyal to him, like the vampire's victims. However, these people, like Arthur, John, Molly, Bill, Javier, etc., are used and Dutch, the vampire, doesn't return the favor as he only consumes for his own favor.

And in the end? People suffer or they die and Dutch moves on to his next victims, even if he did love these people.

Dutch is the embodiment of the vampire in every possible way except in the most literal way, which is the blood sucking.

Now let's move on to Arthur Morgan.

Arthur and the stag are one in the same when it comes to Red Dead's symbolism. If one were to mention a stag in the Red Dead universe, more likely than not, people would think of high honor Arthur Morgan. The Stag is Arthur's symbolism, but let us dig a little deeper into what the stag could symbolize beyond just high honor.

When it comes to animal symbolism, stags are almost as iconic as male lions with what they are meant to represent. All throughout various cultures, the stag usually represents a noble creature. It can represent honor (duh), strength, virility, grace, and regeneration, amongst other things, but I want to focus on interpretations of the stag from a few cultures and how they ultimately relate back to Arthur Morgan.

Considering that Arthur has Welsh heritage, or so we assume, let us start with the interpretation of the stag in Welsh culture and mythology. The stag has a huge presence in Welsh culture and mythology, with even some gods and higher beings taking the image of a stag. However, I would like to focus on the stag as a messenger, a messenger between worlds, which is what Arthur becomes in a sense to John Marston.

John's world for such a huge part of his life as the gang. The gang raised him, fed him, taught him to read, taught him morals, taught him many skills, and gave him a purpose. The gang is his world and for such a huge chunk of his life, it was the only world he knew. Sure, Abigail gets pregnant because of him, but she was a part of that world too.

Arthur was able to see other worlds. Mary wasn't a girl who was downtrodden like Abigail and thus would take on well to the life they lived. She was a normal girl and he was not a normal man. Eliza wasn't part of his gang life either, and neither was Issac. They lived in a different world, in a world of civilization, in a world where they didn't or shouldn't have had to keep one eye open to stay alive. Arthur would jump over to their worlds, even if just for a short amount of time, and then back to the gang- he has seen and experienced both of those worlds.

Arthur then gives John the message that he should leave and be a man and provide for his wife and protect his child by leaving the gang life that destroyed the both of them. Arthur becomes a messenger from one world to another- from gang life to normalcy. And with that message, John experiences a change- a change of character and motives.

The Stag is a messenger and Arthur is a messenger. A messenger to not only John, but to everyone else he tried to get out of there for he experienced two worlds and one is better than the other.

Another interpretation of the stag is the selflessness of sacrifice, which can be shown through the Greek culture of story and mythology and explained perfectly in the story "Iphigenia at Aulis" by Euripides. Iphigenia goes to her father and tells him that she will offer herself as a sacrifice to the goddess Artemis. Sacrifices must be made to keep the gods happy and the people alive and happy. Iphigenia offering such a thing shows her selflessness, her want of wanting others to be safe and sound, even at the expense of herself.

Sound familiar?

Reminds me of a certain dark romantic cowboy.

By the end of the story, Iphigenia's selflessness was rewarded by the goddess, and as Iphigenia's father was about to slit her throat, the girl got replaced by a stag while Iphigenia was escorted to live amongst the gods for her selflessness.

The deer becomes the sacrifice and in a way, Iphigenia and the deer become one and the same. The deer is sacrificed for the sake of others- the stag becomes a symbol of noble selflessness, much like Arthur. Arthur sacrifices himself in order to save John, Abigail, and Jack- a noble cause, a noble sacrifice.

The stag being a noble sacrifice is also associated with certain Native American cultures (I cannot for the life of me think of which tribes they were exactly, but once I find them, I will edit this post). The stag must be killed for people to eat, thus the deer is a noble creature. The consumption of the stag is an allegory of people living better lives or having better days because of the sacrifice of a person. Because of that, the stag is a heavily respected creature.

And given that Dutch's vampire is all about consumption, Arthur's symbolism of being a stag is perfect for their dynamic since the deer is all about sacrifice and nobility and the vampire is all about selfishness and despair.

In any case, the deer represents many things across many cultures, from being a messenger to being a sacrifice, but one thing for certain is that the stag is synonymous with honor and nobility- the person that Arthur tried to be in the end.

Yapyapyapyapyapgodifuckinglovesymbolism-

[hollowdeath]

hufflepuff fashion

part 2 of what i think each hogwarts house's style would be like! you can find part 1, ravenclaw, here.

layering

hufflepuffs just feel like such comfy people to me. comfortable to talk to, warm and inviting personalities, so they need just as many layers of warmth in their fashion. they like to mix different textures and fabrics for optimal comfort and warmth. think knit cardigans, wool sweater, tweed jackets, and corduroy pants. as far as the color palette, i feel like they're very warm autumnal people, earth tones, and, of course, yellow/gold.

hair

to me, hufflepuffs would definitely be the most savvy house when it came to their hair. not just having really nice hair in general, they literally all do it's crazy, but the hairstyles and accessories of it all...beads, clips, rings, braids, bows, headbands, head wraps, all of it. it's so cute watching them share different charms and ribbons to match with each other. the other houses are always stopping by the hufflepuff common room asking if they can do their hair in intricate braids or curl it for them because they just do it best!

colorful academia

if any of the houses love color, it's hufflepuffs. they're similar to their ravenclaw friends in the sense that they love the eclectic look, but hufflepuffs always prioritize a color scheme for their looks. even if some hufflepuffs are more neutral in their palettes, they still love going for the academia look to keep it simple, classic, and chic. colorful leggings, plaid skirts, statement jackets, patterned scarves, and tall boots are just a few of their closet staples.

victorian-inspired

i don't know about you guys, but to me, hufflepuffs feel like very classy people to me. they enjoy the more traditional, contemporary parts of life and that includes fashion. they would love the modern victorian-inspired style of academia fashion that's been getting more popular, with things like lace, peter pan collars, baby doll dresses, ankle-length skirts, and vests. this is about the only time you'll see them in black & white!

ravenclaw | masterlist

[themidnightcrimson]

the human psyche—one. | w. maximoff

summary: in which a visit to your psychologist precedes the murder of your girlfriend and leaves you questioning yourself.

warnings: manipulation, murder, gore, sexual tension, mental distress (don’t we all)

this post is for 18+ only. minors: do not interact.

series masterlist.

"Do you ever think about hurting her?"

The question had struck you entirely off guard. The small dark green leather sofa on which you sat squeaked in response, the decorative buttons deepening until it felt like you were sinking into the furniture. You were cold—it was always cold in this office, which you felt was a paradox. The office of a psychologist should be warm and comforting, inviting and relaxing. All the other therapists you visited had colorful offices with bright yet natural lights and peaceful, abstract artwork hanging on the walls with lively plants in every corner.

This office was dim and cold. This didn't mean it was not stylish—the coffee-colored desk paired with the dark green furniture and classic paintings hanging on the walls uttered every sense of meticulous style. You had imagined that every piece of decor in the office was carefully picked out to go along with the adult, academic theme. Even the Victorian windows made you feel like you were sitting in an Architectural Digest magazine. Your psychologist was a good one, and a fashionable one.

Even her clothes were always tasteful. Today she wore a navy blue suit with a loose off-white blouse and a shiny golden square of a petite watch on her wrist. Around her fingers were matching rings, and in her hand was the pen with which she was writing notes in her journal. You'd always wondered what therapists were writing in your file when you visited them. Wanda never wrote as much they did, it seemed, and while with the others you could reasonably calculate what they were writing based on what you were saying in the given moment, Wanda scribbled at odd times. Maybe she just had a different technique, and maybe that was why you found her to be the best therapist you ever had.

You'd been with her for about two months which, compared to the others, was a very long time. You went from one-and-done visits to seeing this woman every week, and you'd even progressed from calling her Dr. Maximoff to simply Wanda, though intermittently. Strangely, the better you felt, the more you felt you needed to see her. It was supposed to be the opposite, but here you were, in for the second time this week. But you didn't feel better.

Your girlfriend was someone Wanda knew very well. Not that she had ever met her, but because she was the topic of most of your discussions as of the last few weeks. You had been with your girlfriend for a while now, and it had also been a while since her words of love had turned into words of venom. She was only a shell of the girl you had fell in love with now, but her possessive ways left you feeling incapable of leaving her. Also, you had no one else. She was really the only person in your life, and even though she was a terrible one, you couldn't leave her for the fear of being alone.

You had been telling Wanda about your last argument when your girlfriend had brought that exact point up. "What are you gonna do, leave me?" she had spat at you, rearing close to you and snatching your wrist bruisingly. "Who will you have then, y/n? Who? No one." Her words were still richocheting around your head like a bullet, fragmenting parts of your brain with each incessant hit.

Wanda had listened silently, letting you ramble on until your frustrations had turned into rage. You never thought of yourself as an angry person, but here lately...

"I'm so sick of her," you had said through gritted teeth. "I wish she would just... go away. I'd rather have fucking no one than to have her. She's such a bitch. She thinks she controls me, that I'm just a fucking charity case for her. God, I wish she would just..." You stopped, realizing that your fists were balled so tight that your knuckles were as white as the paper Wanda had stopped scribbling on. You could feel your blood pooling in your cheeks, your heartbeat thumping right in your ears. You were even hunched over rather unflatteringly, and realizing just how angry you had become, you finally took a deep breathe and straightened, relaxing against the uncomfortable sofa. The nearly unbearable pressure in your head faded, leaving you slightly lightheaded. "I'm sorry," you told Wanda, your blush of rage turning to one of embarrassment as you met her unreadable gaze. "I'm sorry, I—”

"Do you ever think about hurting her?" came the question from Wanda. Her head was cocked to the right, her eyes slightly squinted but still wide and absorptive. You always felt like she was a sponge, soaking up every drop of your presence. It felt invasive at times, as if she was standing right inside your head and watching your thoughts pass by, but you chocked it up to her just being a really good therapist.

"What?" you scoffed, and for some reason a nervous chuckle escaped your chest as if your lungs were trying to cough something up. You swallowed whatever it was down. "No," you sharply spoke. "No, of course not—why would you ask me that?" The cold room started to rise in temperature.

"It's only in the human nature to feel a need to protect ourselves and the ones we love, even if it’s from the ones we love," Wanda offered smoothly, her voice soft and drawing. "She is hurting you. Your natural defense may be to strike back."

"I-I don't want to hurt her," you laughed again, quickly removing the smile from your face. There was nothing funny about it, but you had a tendency to laugh in these nervous situations. But why were you so nervous that you had to fiddle with the collar of your shirt to breathe better?

"Y/n, it's perfectly normal to have intrusive thoughts. In fact, having a safe, open space to verbalize them can help them to go away." She tilted her head further, ticking the end of her pen against the notebook. She stood up suddenly, and your throat seemed to tighten.

She was so tall, you noted, as she walked around her desk with her hand trailing the wooden edge, her heels echoing in the spacious, silent office. She came around to the front of the desk, standing only a foot from you, and leaned against the edge of it.

"I may be a woman of the mind, but I am also a woman of science," Wanda began, her cool green eyes watching you closely as you looked up at her. She had never moved from behind that desk before, and now she was so close, and the light from the window made her face look so pretty. "A scientist must first gather his data, his evidence, before he can make any kind of hypothesis."

You squirmed in the sofa. "What kind of hypothesis are you trying to make of me?" you halfway accused. You never remembered saying anything to her about your intrusive thoughts, and therefore whatever suggestion she was making about was entirely rootless. It felt like an ambush, an accusation.

Wanda clearly saw that she had approached the situation entirely wrong by the nervousness on your face. Her face softened as she thought for a moment before rewording, "I can't help you unless you're honest with me, unless you help me know you better. I am a psychologist, not a mind reader."

A smirk carved the edges of her lips, and you noticed a strange glint in her eye. What did she mean by that? As much as it seemed Wanda could read your mind, you could never understand hers.

She added in a soft whisper, "Tell me the thoughts you have, y/n." Wanda then leaned forward, reaching out her hand and resting it on your knee—that's just how close she was to you. Her hand was warm and firm, almost able to wrap entirely around your knee. You glanced down to it, feeling heat spark all throughout your leg and through your body, bringing a slight sweat to your hairline. You couldn't help but imagine her hand sliding up your thigh—Wanda was a beautiful woman after all. She was keen, intimidating, mysterious. Her eyes always seemed to pierce right through you, and even though she had just said she couldn't read your mind, it always felt like she knew what you were trying to say without you saying it.

Something twitched across Wanda's lips as she watched you, unblinking. Then you started to think about what she had asked you. Had you had thoughts of hurting your girlfriend? You were not that kind of person, even though your partner was. She had never hit you, persay, but she was overall a self-righteous and unkind person who never minded grabbing you in ways that hurt whenever you didn't tell her what she wanted to hear. You thought back to the argument, when she had grabbed you and said such cruel words. You both were standing right in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows in your apartment on the tenth floor of the complex. In that moment, you had been filled with so much grief, so much frustration, so much loneliness and suffocation, that you had, in fact, briefly imagined just pushing her right through the window. You remembered it now, as if you had only then realized your thoughts, and a wave of terror flooded you at the thought. You could never do something like that. It was only an intrusive thought, like Wanda had told you. It was normal. It didn't mean you were capable of such a thing, right?

Either way, there was no way on hell or earth you would ever admit to thinking such a thing. You would be locked away, probably, intrusive thought or not.

"I don't have those thoughts," you firmly told Wanda, noticing that her grip on your leg had tightened. It wasn't uncomfortable, but it was strong. Your heart was beating so fast in your chest now.

Wanda seems to finally comply, realizing that she couldn't get something out of you that you didn't want to tell. She took her hand away from your knee, and it felt like a noose around your neck had loosened. She only nodded slowly, finally blinking, to signal to you that she understood. But the nod felt like a different kind of understanding—not of your reluctance to talk, but of what you were reluctant to say. It was like a nod of approval, that her so-called hypothesis of your intentions had been confirmed, like she had stepped through the door of your mind, saw what she needed to see, and closed it with a sense of calm victory in being right.

For the first time, you left Dr. Maximoff's office feeling worse than when you had came.

After your shift at work, which was gruesome as always, your girlfriend wasn't home yet. You were guiltily relieved at the fact, so you took a nap of emotional exhaustion. It had been daylight when you went to sleep, and you were awoken by a flash of red light through your closed eyelids. You jumped awake with an adrenaline-fueled start, looking around to find the cause of such a strange flash of red light. You had expected to see a fire, but when another bright flash of red light filled your vision followed by a burst of bright blue, and then the sound of wailing sirens, you realized it was an ambulance or the police. You turned to see the lights coming through your bedroom window—they must have been right outside in the parking lot. You called your girlfriend's name, and when you got no response, you looked to your alarm clock to see that it was now the middle of the night—how had you slept for so long? Where was your girlfriend?

Disgruntled by all the noise and lights, you pulled your unusually heavy body out of bed and went into the living room to look out of the larger windows to get a better view of what was going on, but you were startled to see the sight of your windows. Through the red lights flashing right into your dark apartment, your window was smashed open. The shattered glass formed an opening the size of a body. Still confused from sleep, you walked towards the window, avoiding the shards of glass on the floor. You were standing right in the opening now, looking down at the flood of police cars and ambulances in the parking lot right in front of your window. Policemen and paramedics were all rushing towards the building, right below you, and your gaze followed them until your eyes landed upon what felt like a nightmare. There, on the ground, covered in blood and twisted and mangled, was your girlfriend.

+

It had been a week. The funeral was yesterday, and you still had not processed what had happened. Grief didn't come easy to you. You had just lost your girlfriend, the only person in your life, so suddenly. How was a human supposed to register that fully? It was already the most horrible thing to happen to you, but the worst part about it was that you were being questioned by the FBI. You weren't a suspect—yet—but you had been called in twice now to go over what had happened. You told them the same thing, that you were asleep and that you woke up, and she was on the ground ten stories below. They kept asking you if you heard a break-in, or how you didn't hear the smashing of the window. You had nothing to say to them, which made you look even more guilty. You were just as dumbfounded and confused as them as to why you heard nothing until the lights and sirens woke you up. They seemed to sort of believe you, but all the evidence was against you. The only thing they had against their suspicions was that they weren't able to find any fingerprints on her body to signal that she had been pushed off. It was good that they didn't find your fingerprints, but it was worse that they didn't find any at all. It made you look like an OJ case, but you didn't even own a pair of gloves.

You felt like it was only a waiting game before they came and got you. You couldn't even afford lawyers, for God's sake. You were just a cook at a restaurant, whose money all went to the expensive therapy you had been seeking your entire life. In fact, instead of lawyering up, that's where you were now—with Wanda.

Wanda had kept her professional reservations as you sobbed on her sofa. She sat behind her desk, as emotionless and observant as ever, choosing to keep quiet for most of the session and just let you talk. You told her about the entire situation, the accident and the questioning. You were tangled between grief and guilt with no clear reason for it all. Finally, you had no words left to say, and Wanda gave a few moments of silence to clear the air as you wiped your tears, finally calming down.

"I'm so sorry for your loss, y/n," she said empathetically. "You must be feeling so many things right now. Grief, guilt… relief."

Your ears perked at her choice of wording, raising your teary eyes from your clasped hands to look at her with confusion. "Guilt—relief?" you croaked.

"I know you loved your girlfriend, y/n," Wanda began with a sort of sigh, leaning forward and resting her elbows on her desk. "But you were a victim to her abuse. That abuse is gone now, and naturally your mind feels relief to never be under her cruel hold again. That, naturally, is the most confusing feeling to a simultaneously grieving mind."

You were wordless as your eyes fell to the floor. She wasn't entirely wrong—but it felt so wrong.

"As for guilt... it's the most common thread I see in my patients who deal with a loss." You couldn't help but notice a sort of patronizing tone in her voice, and you wondered if it had always been there. "What if they had been there? What if they had stopped it from happening? Sometimes they feel guilt to such an extreme that they manage to convince themselves that they are the reason for their loved one's death." She paused as your eyes caught hers sharply. "They feel almost as if their loved one's blood is... on their hands."

A strange feeling filled you all at once. Do you feel guilty? Do you feel like the cause of her death? Like you're the one who did it? You imagined yourself pushing your girlfriend through that window, the shattering glass flooding her screams before a sickening squelch on the concrete down below... You shut your eyes. You were beginning to become wildly upset, like you were going to puke.

Wanda could see this, and she quickly stood up from her desk chair and walked towards you, taking a seat beside you on the sofa. You felt tense at her closeness, and even more tense when she carefully took your hand and held it in hers. Her hands were warm again as they cradled yours, soft yet firm. Her shoulder brushed against yours, and you could smell her sweet cologne, and you felt dizzy.

"It's okay to feel what you are feeling, y/n," Wanda whispered close to you, almost as if she was right beside your ear. "These deep, ugly parts of the human psyche often go untapped for the entirety of a person’s life, but they are in everyone. Dark thoughts, desires, impulses—they reside in each and every one of us."

One hand left yours, and you felt it tucking a strand of hair behind your ear. You turned your teary eyes up to her, eyebrows sewn together as you tried to put together what she was trying to tell you. Her face was inches from yours, those haunting green eyes burning into you. You noticed her eyes flicker to the lower half of your face, her tongue stroking her lower lip discreetly before she turned her eyes up to yours again and resumed the mask you had only then started to notice.

"It takes a high level of cognitive function and human empathy to be capable of feeling what you are feeling right now, y/n," she said to you almost desperately. She didn't feel like your psychologist right now, as her hand pressed your lower back and seemed to lean you closer to her. She continued carefully, "Only few on this earth can. You should feel proud."

You felt like you were in a daze in that moment, wrapped up in the heat radiating from her body, now leaning closer to her without her having to guide you with her hand. Then her words finally registered in your clouded head—proud.

You sharply stood up from the sofa, nearly slapping her hand away. Wanda looked up at you in feigned confusion and concern.

"Proud?!" you repeated. "You think I should feel proud that my girlfriend is dead and I feel like I did it!" You nearly choked on your words as your tears blurred Wanda's face and morphed it into something monstrous. "I didn't! I didn't do it! I didn't fucking kill her!"

You turned away, feeling as if you were going to fall over, as you opened her office door and stormed through it, slamming it so hard that the painting on her wall nearly fell off.

[eriebasin]

A handsome large Victorian signet ring with a luminous warm blue-gray agate face. These were often carved with an intaglio, although this one remains untouched. In a classically styled and well built 14K mount. Dates to c1890.

eriebasin.com

[dragon-communion]

The more of the fandom I see, the more I think people need to read some gothic horror and at least one short story dated before the 2000's.

Characters are not here to be Jesus, they are here to tell a story. Interesting stories usually center on some type of conflict, and that conflict is usually bad for Someone if not Everyone. Many stories in general were just "watch this dude fuck up in every way possible". In fact, there's an entire subclass of narrator called the Observer that exists to have zero personality so we can sit behind his eyes and watch fucked up shit go down (if I recall right, The Great Gastby does this).

While the Tarnished has a bit more agency than a traditional observer character and we end up outright influencing the course of the story, we very much DO show up just to stare at Marika's family drama. That's about as classical as it gets.

For more stories where everyone has a problem and no one is safe, there might be incest, there's usually fucked up immoral sex in general, there's at least one murder, and someone's trying to thematically become God, I recommend:

GRRM's writing because he was involved.

The Bloody Chamber by Angela Carter just because it's really good.

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde.

Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov.

Let The Right One In by John Ajvide Lindqvist.

Literally any given myth or classical play, but particularly Oedipus Rex and The Bacchae.

The Twilight Zone.

The Warrior Cats series by Erin Hunter.

The Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare.

I, Claudius, both the TV show and the novel by Robert Graves.

You don't have to LIKE the abuse and the violence and the systemic issues and the incest. In fact, that's frequently the entire point. The point is to go "wow that's fucked up" with a side of "how does it turn out, what do they do next?". We like these things for the same reason people watch car crashes and the Victorians watched executions for sport. Fucked up things happen in real life, and reading about them in fiction is interesting.

If you're expecting people to be totally morally correct in a Fromsoft game, you're in the wrong game. If the most thoughtful thing you have to say about Elden Ring is to complain that it's full of incestuous femboy molesters or whatever, I guess it sucks to have bad taste. Do what sparks joy for you and get out of my house, you literally don't have to play it.

[desmond69miles]

YOOOO =3

can we get sfw + nsfw headcannons of ink demon bendy with a s/o with a really gothic style & is selectively mute? ( bonus points if Sammy constantly bugs them )

im genuinely curious abt how u would think abt it :0

[ take ur time answering this!! no rush at all by the way!! ; also sorry if my grammars kinda bad iys 3:37 am where im at rn + sry if i seem hyper to im just rlly excited rn😭

i’ve been gone for butt fuck long, my bad! I'm in the process of moving and lifes been a bit hectic. Hopefully im back now!

anyway, thank you anon for the bendy ask!! love writing for this inky-ass man.-

NSFW is under the cut!

-

[-: If we were to give bendy preferences, I know he'd go for a gothic s/o who is on the chubbier side. I say chubbier because A) body warmth, Bendy's a cold-blooded creature and he liked the feeling of your warm body and B) He likes your squishy thighs and tummy. And I know he’d be attracted to the darker, more gothic style. Inky black colors, blood red dresses, he likes the colors. 

[-: I think the ink demon would be good with someone that was mute or had periods of time where they were mute. Whether it be due to anxiety, overstimulation, or you just don’t have many words one day, I think he’d be understanding and would work around it. For many years, he didn’t have a voice, resorting to scribbling messy letters on walls and papers to communicate. If you want to talk while your mute, he’d simply lend you his hand so you can scribble on the wall with it; or he’ll carry around a sketchbook for you to write in, but more often than not he just makes you write with his claws. 

[-: I like the idea of Sammy bugging you all the time because he's interested in your music. It's so different from a classical tune, the drums and guitar, the vocals. He’d constantly be asking about your music. And since goth is a music-based subculture, you have a lot of music to show Sammy. 

[-: Going back to Bendy liking your style, he’d fiddle around with your clothing or accessories. He likes the bling of your necklaces and rings, and often plays with them when you are sitting together. He tries not to break anything, but accidents happen when you have sharp claws. If you do rat-nest hair, rest assured Bendy is curious on how you get your hair to do that. 

[-: I feel like Bendy would find you some victorian or romantic gothic outfits around the studio. He likes taking you to the costume department and letting you run around, picking up some of the black clothing used for character study. Another thing is that he collects small trinkets he think you would think is cool. Sometimes it’s a small rock, other times its a shiny gem he found in a pipe. 

[-: Bendy and Sammy get into a lot of fights around you, for your attention. Sammy wants to learn more about your subculture and what you remember from the outside world while Bendy wants to draw or walk around the studio with you. Good luck time managing. 

[-: Bendy is very interested in your makeup. Please let him draw on you! Speaking of drawing, he also likes to sketch you. His drawings are a bit blotchy and inky due to his skin, and often he'll mess up on a part by lingering too long and having ink form a puddle.

NSFW

[-: He chokes you with your necklaces, not to the point of them breaking but just enough so the chains and pearls dig into your throat.

[-: oh my god he loves your thigh highs. He nibbles around the soft flesh, forked tongue darting around and leaving opaque trails of ink behind. Just no promises that he won’t tear the thin fabric off!!

[-: Relating to the one where he draws on you, he’d love to lightly drag his claws over your stomach, back, or thighs and create delicate drawings onto your skin. Take this as a form of foreplay. (Which bendy isn’t exactly fond of, hes too impatient to go through it.)

[-: Bendy has a scent kink. I believe that he’s blind/has very poor eyesight and relies on noises and scent to find his prey. And his scent is very sensitive. He’ll ask if you can use non-strong soap or something that doesn’t upset his senses. Besides this, he likes to smell your clothing or even your undergarments.

Since i’m nice i’ll give you some elements of a fic i’m working on…

[-: Bendy’s ink that comes from his tentacles and/or cock act as an aphrodisiac. Providing a muscle relaxant and lube, it makes it easier for him to fit more and more of himself into you. He’s a big guy! Ranging at almost eight feet, it’s no surprise that he’s packing something big.

[-: Bendy’s big on CNC/Predator/Prey play. When you talk with him about safe words and the proper measures to have a safe time during CNC, Bendy gets really excited. He’s a demon, creatures of carnal lust and sin.

[-: He also loves to be worshipped. As Sammy has taught him, he’s somewhat of a god to this inky realm and he expects to be treated as one. Sammy does annoy him with his constant spouting, but he’s not opposed to you calling him Lord.

thank you for your request <3 My ask box is always open!! Feel free to send in batim requests.

[alangdorf]

I got married this summer!! And I spent the year leading up to it designing & patterning & making my dresses! So here they are; unfortunately my photo selection is pretty limited cause our photographer got almost no fullbody pictures of me alone from the front, but w/e

My wedding dress/outfit/what have you consisted of an Edwardian-ish blouse and a skirt which I drafted off of an actual Victorian walking skirt pattern except since I didn’t wanna obtain/wear a corset & bustle I took out the hip shaping so it just turned out to be a partial circle skirt that’s a little longer and fuller in back. Oh, and the front panel was actually two overlapping panels which could be folded back and attached to the inside of the skirt. I wore it closed at the actual marriage part which I didn’t get good pics of, and open at the ring ceremony, which is where all the above pics were taken. The pants were resale, but I did make my veil and bouquet!

The second dress was very inspired by this set of classic lolita OP’s (particularly the one in the first two pics) which I first saw back in 2021 and I’d been itching to make something similar ever since, so I picked up the fabric for it when it was on sale back at my old job and then pencilled it in as my reception dress so I would actually get around to making it. (Although fun fact both of these outfits STILL need more sewing done before they’re completely ready for regular wear lol. Someday) I got the cameo for the brooch off Etsy (it has a butterfly on it) and my grandma bought me the shoes for Christmas last year, though I added the bows to them (they’re removable and I also made a pink set) and also made the earrings and hair bow.

Anyway we recently got done moving and stuff so hopefully I will be able to do more art soon! (Also they/them preferred as usual 💜)

[acgamesda]

I have seen some fantastic Rook designs already, but as someone who had some struggles with how their Faction might have influenced Rook's appearance, I made little crack-list of headcanons/ideas

Grey Warden: Warden's clothing style is one of practicality, less about aesthetic. Grey Wardens rarely stay put in one place and are ready to enter the fight at any given moment, so their clothing should reflect their readyness for combat. Their main clothing attributes would most likely be color blue, rhombus patterned clothes, metal armor plates with griffon motives, leather boots/gloves. Warden's Oath as anccesory, and maybe some memorabilia from their previous civil life. Also lots of belts with pouches, sachels and backpack.

Antivan Crow: Antivans are fashionable and while some Crows might have came from lower circles of society, they all present their best outfit in battle, because I feel being a Crow in Antiva is a special kind of Status quo. Crow's casual clothes would depend on Crow's personal style, but I feel it would be of dark color and also practical, with secret pockets/compartments for small weapons: I feel every Crow has at least 3 knives on them while off active duty. Crows also upkeep aesthetic of Antiva with necklaces, brooches, bracelets and belts, as long as their accessories do not become their weakness in combat. Crow's armor would always be black and covering as much of the body as possible, with either leather corvid-like motives, like winged capes, or straight down bone accessories. Crows are about making an impression to their target as much as they are about their job being done right.

Veil Jumper: Veil Jumpers, even if not all of elven lineage, no doubt have close relationships with dalish clans in Arlathan Forest, so I feel pieces of Veil Jumper's outfit would include Dalish outfit motives, like those vowen socks, furs, plant themed clothing they most likely pick up from dalish in exchange for dalish artifacts and other trinkets. One of the main clothing items to Veil Jumpers are their long capes and hoods, made to help them blend with Forest's flora much easier. They also wear lots of triangle motives, which I feel would be represented in armor pieces, belt buckles, clothing patterns, sleeves of shirts and sashes/belts. I also want to headcanon, most of Veil Jumpers can use dalish artifacts and magically manipulate triangle metal pieces from their outfits into makeshift shields and barriers, just as Bellara and Veil Jumpers/rangers from concept art can.

Mourn Watcher: Mourn Watchers are necromancers and their kin. I feel their styles would be muted, darkish colors or outfits with lots of black details (I feel Emmrich is more eccentric of the bunch in his clothes). Skull and bone motives as well as more solemn and prudish styles. Their styles also would involve long coats and corsets, making bodies appear taller and slimmer. Also Mourn Watchers personally more prefer bracelets and rings over necklaces. Basically your classic goths mixed with prudish Victorian styles.

Lord of Fortune: Personally I feel Lords of Fortune are most fun in their styles. Not only they wear ton of gold and other jewelry, as it was implied it symbolises how successful they are, but I also feel Lords of Fortune are either found by Isabela or inspired by her conquests, so no doubt 17-18th century carribean pirate styles are an inspiration to many Lords' looks. Shirts with puffy sleeves, rolled up in loosy manner, leather boots and gloves, tons of sashes and belts, bracelets and rings. Also I feel Lords of Fortune would prefer colorful clothing, piercings in their faces and gold in their hair. Armor also would be collected from different conquests and made into an unique anssamble.

Shadow Dragon: Shadow Dragons originated in Tevinter among different kinds of people and are resistance organisation, so I do not see them as wearing "themed" style, but snake motive are certainly an important detail. Still I think most Shadow Dragons prefer clothes fitting Tevinter, so lots of fancy capes, with delicate embroidery, long coats, belts, earrings, bracelets with snakes are expected (I feel Dragons wear more accessories than Crows and Mourn Watch, but less that Lords). Their clothes can be more bright or more dark, it really depends on their status in Tevinter and their financial situation. Still I feel most of Dragons are fancy in their looks just to blend in with society of Minrathous and not to draw attention to themselves.

[fantasyfantasygames]

Unlimited Fantasy, Second Edition

Unlimited Fantasy Second Edition, Eternal Autumn Games, 2006

Back when I reviewed Monster Wrangler I mentioned a game with 150 classes. That game was the first edition of Unlimited Fantasy (UF), published in 1996. It was a slimmed-down D&D-alike (well, slimmer on rules anyway) that threw together all kinds of very interesting classes into some unfortunately ill-defined, overlapping, and occasionally unnecessary niches. The classes filled the whole scatter plot with Interesting-to-Boring on one axis and Overpowered-to-Counterproductive on the other.

I was going to write a review of UF, but it turns out that there's a 2nd edition that's much more interesting. In some ways it's a completely different game, because instead of being a D&D1e knockoff it's an alternative PHB along the lines of Arcana Evolved or True20. It streamlines the rules a little, which is good because it needs space for all 120 classes, most of which did not appear in the previous set.

So - d20 System, usual six stats, 20 levels, HP/AC/BAB/etc, you know the drill get to the interesting part - what are the classes? Here's a sample:

Acrobat

Anemone Warrior

Cat Priest

City Walker

Death Cultist

Detonator

End-Timer

Freedom Seeker

God-Throne

Indigo Magus

Mountain-at-Arms

Queen of Rats

Time Monk

Unattainable

Whisper Shadow

The biggest problem, of course, is analysis paralysis when making your character.

The class balance is surprisingly good. It's not like I played every class, but someone clearly has. It's honestly better than D&D3.5 - everything is the equivalent of Tier 2 or 3 in the classic tier list. However, a lot depends on the GM. If you're not playing a game that involves the Shadow Realm, playing a Blue Shadow Devil is not going to be very helpful. If you're outside the Ring Cities, there's no point in being a Ring Eminence Oracle, because your powers only work there. It helps that spell lists are much more focused.

The setting is detailed mostly through the classes themselves. It's a nigh-apocalyptic fantasy setting with smatterings of Victorian steampunk, Mad Max, and Shanara. If you're a GM who likes piecing together settings like a puzzle, or who's happy dropping a bunch of miscellaneous info into your own world, this will be fun. Someone looking for a detailed setting or NPCs who are more than a name and position will be disappointed.

The art is almost entirely class images. There's also the cover, an inner front cover, a back piece, and a few color plates in the center. No incidental art. The styles match well, but they're a bit more cartoonish and amateur than I enjoy.

If you can pick it up used, it's fun to read a few classes. Eternal Autumn Games shuttered their doors after printing this and getting curb-stomped by D&D4e a year and a half later.

[nostalgebraist-autoresponder]

Title: Good Omens

Author: Neil Gaiman

Rating: 1/5 stars

I picked this book up at the library because I remembered seeing a few positive reviews, but then I saw a bunch of negative reviews, and the implication that these books are somehow the shibboleth by which one may judge one's literary taste (or, indeed, that all right-thinking people must like these books) set me against them. (When I was in high school in the early '00s, for instance, I was harassed and threatened because my taste in books and music didn't conform to my peers' ideas of what people like me are supposed to like. I'm still quite sensitive about it.)

After a bit of procrastination I picked up Good Omens, having heard that it was odd in a good way. As it turned out, it was both good and odd, but it wasn't the kind of odd that I like.

What is it like? Well, it reminded me a bit of Turtle Diary -- that is, it has a great deal of odd detail, all used with an eye towards creating a vivid image. But where Turtle Diary managed this with a deft, artful touch, Good Omens is obsessive. In Turtle Diary you get "Four different forms of religious sign and symbol": the cross, the Star of David, a crescent moon, and a life raft. In Good Omens you get plant symbols and animal symbols and religious symbolism and religious symbolism based on every ancient and forgotten pantheon there ever was, and the name of every seraph and cherub and angel and demon to ever be mentioned in the Bible, and everything else. You get a whole list of band names that look like gibberish, because if there's one thing a demon ought to be named after, it's a band. Needless to say, this casts a long shadow, and every single line, and even every single sentence, is supposed to be not only vivid but also full of meaning and with some sort of cultural reference, even if the reference itself is nonsensical. And often, as in this example, it means that the line will be awfully goofy, no matter what the ostensible subject matter is.

I don't mind when the vivid detail is organized and aiming toward a particular effect, but there are a lot of minor quirks in the book's prose, without any discernible pattern. Sometimes it seems to be going for a style of Victorian dialogue, and then it'll go off on some digression about something that's supposed to be modern or some-or-other, or it'll switch to the conventions of head-hopping in modern fiction (the book's two protagonists, angel and demon, each get "perspective chapters" not just about their own thoughts but their own bodies and feelings), and then it'll jump back to a dialogue with no word-order changes and different sentence structure from the rest of the book, or to a form of prose that is clearly supposed to be a pastiche of classic literature, and then back to modern head-hopping, to make sure that you keep track of who's doing what to whom and what they're saying.

I kept waiting for the effect to reveal itself, and it never did. On the one hand, I can see that Gaiman was trying to do something like Anna Karenina, in which a cast of vivid and realistic characters is put through a sort of symbolic dance in a circus ring of the author's devising. A lot of people like Anna Karenina, and I think this is because Tolstoy gives his characters a lot of interiority and their relationships a lot of psychological weight. Gaiman also does this in one regard, but . . . well, what's the opposite of "psychological weight"? I think it would be "unreliable narrator," and Gaiman doesn't quite give that, but a lot of his characters seem unreliable, both in terms of their self-deception and in terms of his self-deception in painting a picture of them and their interactions. Gaiman has some skills as a writer (for instance, creating a sense of humor without playing for laughs), but those skills simply aren't enough to make him a good writer of the kinds of things that people like about his books.

More vexing, in a sense, than Gaiman's creative approach is his creative attitude. He seems to have no interest in coming up with original ideas about anything, except in the most superficial sense -- as a result, the book feels like a literary junkyard, filled with patches from books and myths and musicals and films and whatever else, unconnected to one another except by the fact that all of them come from the same junkyard.

This might be a lot more acceptable if it didn't run into the problem that one of the book's main characters is a woman who runs a bookshop, and this woman -- the owner of the world's single most well-stocked used bookstore, it seems -- talks in a weirdly specialized way about books that she read and enjoyed when she was 11, but, on the off-chance that her audience includes someone in her same age bracket, has to talk in the sort of generic awe- and wonder-pilled, "cool literature" style you might expect from the social media of a 13 year old who has never encountered anyone who doesn't appreciate literature.

There are two things about this that bothered me, one more than the other. The first is obviously an unnatural over-familiarity with these authors and their works, just as would be the case with the 13 year old in the example I gave. The other is the way Gaiman presents a woman as having read in depth and gotten something from a book in her past, even though she only actually mentions a couple of chapters, the plot of the book in question, and a general atmosphere -- which is more or less how I would talk about those books, if I had to talk about them at all. Oh, and I mentioned earlier the way Gaiman uses pop culture terms to refer to things from the past and the present. The strange thing is that he doesn't show any interest in the actual thing -- like, it's hard to imagine that anyone who actually knew anything about them would have said "Oh, you mean she's reading Colette and Poirot! How very stereotypical and appropriate of a woman!" -- which, I can't stress enough, is how Gaiman mentions these books.

I have no idea why this bothers me as much as it does, or why Gaiman seems to be inviting this kind of questioning in the first place.

[manorjewels]

Classic aquamarine and diamond ring from Manor Jewels.

[fictionadventurer]

Fortnight of Books: Day 1

Overall - best books read in 2023?

Of new-to-me books, the standouts of my year include (in rough chronological order of when I read them):

Endurance by Alfred Lansing: Thrilling and harrowing account of Shackleton's South Pole expedition. It made me very grateful as I went through my day-to-day life--no matter how bad things were, at least I had eaten things that weren't seal meat.

Daisy Miller and Washington Square by Henry James: Short, sad little novellas that drew me in with their compassionate realism and added a new name to my list of favorite classic authors.

A Field Guide to Mermaids by Emily B. Martin: Beautifully illustrated book that provides a detailed world of mermaid species and provides lots of interesting facts about the natural world. Child me would have loved this.

Mary Barton by Elizabeth Gaskell: I hated the ending, and the structure was very weird, but this was a look at a side of Victorian London I rarely see in literature, with some great characters and a really interesting dive into the issues in the background of North and South.

Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin: It gave me an obsession with Lincoln's Cabinet. I still sometimes stop and think, "I need to read about some Seward shenanigans."

Destiny of the Republic by Candice Millard: Extremely readable history book that provided a lot of food for my obsession with James Garfield's and Chester Arthur's presidencies.

The Q by Beth Brower: Victorian Ruritanian fiction about a female newspaper tycoon that has a murky plot but also one of my favorite romantic couples of the year, one of the best tributes to autumn I've read, and most importantly (the real reason it's on this list), introduced me to the author of my favorite series of the year (more below).

Desire and The Good Comrade by Una L. Silsberrad: Forgotten turn-of-the-century women's fiction with some great female leads trying to find a place in society. Desire is a bit more literary while The Good Comrade is a bit more fun, but both were just the type of story that tends to make my list of favorites.

The Romance of a Shop by Amy Levy: Fun sister story with some fun romances. Very easy to read and provided a fascinating look at the world of Victorian photography.

The Law and the Lady by Wilkie Collins: I was so invested in the main character, a woman who would overcome anything that tried to stop her from helping her husband.

The Heir of Redclyffe by Charlotte Mary Yonge: The prose is dense and the author's too preachy, but this had some of my favorite characters of the year (Charles Edmonstone my beloved).

Best series you discovered in 2023?

The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion. If it weren't for this question, it would be at the top spot in the last list. They hit so many sweet spots for my perfect comfort read--Victorian England, memorable characters, lightly fantastical setting, fun narrative voice, friendships and comedy and heartbreak and literature and just so much fun.

Best reread of the year?

Definitely The Lord of the Rings. I had liked the series after my first read, but my appreciation was mostly bolstered by the fact that I'm surrounded by a huge fandom for it. This year's reread made me truly appreciate it for the masterwork it is and made it a cornerstone of my interior life.

If it weren't for that, this spot would go to A Christmas Carol, because I was shocked to find that it really is good enough to earn its dominant place in pop culture. The descriptions of Christmas are some of the best things in literature.