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acesw · 1 year ago

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UTTU Part 1: The Magazine

Welcome back to A.D. doing mega lore posting because good god this will never get old. But anyways, this post will be about UTTU and not only about their magazine, but also about their Flash Gathering. (This also counts as my birthday gift for Sonetto since she likes being info-dumped, probably. Happy Birthday Sonetto!)

“Standing in the shadow, we tell all the stories which were once unknown, like a weaver in silence, or a moth light trap in the dark night.” - Pandora Wilson, UTTU Journalist

First, who even is UTTU?

UTTU Magazine is an arcanist magazine organization that releases stories about notable arcanists. According to Blonney, they are "the greatest fashion and arcanist information magazine." They operate globally as well as privately, going so far as to hide the physical identities of their reporters and their main headquarters.

There’s not a lot of things known about how UTTU works, but what we do have is information about their magazine and their Flash Gathering event, which we can start off from there. But first, what does the name mean?

The name ‘Uttu’ comes from the Mesopotamian goddess of the same name, one of Sumerian origin. She was associated with weaving (and spiders but the claim of Uttu being envisioned as a spider is limited).

They sell their magazines in the form of seasonal subscriptions, advising to only purchase the subscription and not much else. From there, they create the articles and send out monthly updates.

UTTU also hosts “Flash Gatherings” for the game’s events as a reading club, where the arcanists are invited to see the UTTU market situated in the area of where the in-game event takes place; they can read the Flash Journal and FLASH:FAME, obtain FAME cards from retails, and get rewards. I’ll get into this in Part 2.

First, we'll explore the magazine since there's so much questions surrounding them.

UTTU Magazine

Of course, the magazine is the main brand of the organization. The magazine has properties in which only arcanists are able to read it (speculation), and it has a scheduled self-update to release new articles/artworks.

The reason why we are able to see such a large amount of information is because from what can be told, Vertin is an avid collector of this media, even being titled “Top Collector” in the introduction of the Green Lake Flash Gathering.

Anyway, the magazine has a very interesting way of how it works, and they even have their own reading guide, including instructions of how to manage the magazine and activate the self-update.

Reader’s Guide and Self-Updating system

Welcome to UTTU. This is a magazine.

Don’t skip this page. Unlike those useless prefaces filled with boring platitudes, this one is important.

1. Don't doubt the truth of UTTU. We only tell true stories that happened to real arcanists.

2. You only need one copy of UTTU. After you make the seasonal subscription, the copy will update itself on 15th every month.

3. Whenever the copy updates itself, please place it below a cupboard or the firewood in a fireplace, but do not leave any fire or light. Then step back to 8.8 feet away and wait for 10-15 minutes. It is normal to hear the sounds of sewing and crawling during the update.

4. Don't be confused about the interviews of the artworks. Please note that anything can be an artwork: they can be alive, or dead. Whoever has a story to tell can be deemed an artwork.

5. You might smell a fine aroma from the pages while reading an interview. This is normal.

6. Do not be shocked by live photographs, and do not let any of them come in contact with dark coffee or matches.

8. Keep UTTU away from fire. This is an arcanum magazine and is definitely not fireproof.

9. Although it's not fireproof, UTTU is waterproof, but please do not soak it in water for too long. If you do so by mistake, please prepare enough insect repellent.

10. Don't ask where article 7 is. (lmao)

11. If you see any ads about nightmare recycle on the attached pages, do not call the number on it or make any attempt to catch those monsters. If your children report strange goings-on to you, comfort them with one extra milk candy before bedtime.

12. Try to enjoy reading UTTU.

The way one could get the magazine is buying a seasonal subscription, and upon receiving it you’d have to take care of it regularly since it is delicate. When updating, you put it in a place where you’d most commonly find spiders. That way, these arcane weavers can multiply and add to the tapestry. Additionally, this magazine seems to be a live and interactive type of media, which does explain the “live photographs” and the spiders.

Magazine Contents

Now, what are the contents of the UTTU Magazine?

First, we look at our Role Atlas. Yes, the Role Atlas is involved in this too.

There are categories of our roster that classify them by what they are: Beyond, awakened, arcanist, mixed, and infected. Now, what are each of these?

Beyond: an Arcanist with unexplainable origins not found within Arcanum (Ex: Voyager and aliEn T are aliens born of supernatural causes rather than arcanum. Jessica is a hybrid species of a deer woman (a spirit in Native American myth) and a changeling (a supernatural creature in European folklore) )

Awakened: an Arcanist who was once an object and has been given sentience one way or another (Ex: Sputnik was a regular space probe as the real Sputnik 1 who gained sentience when entering orbit).

Arcanist: A general term for those who are born with a different physiology that makes them able to sense and use arcanum, this is not limited only to human arcanists. (Ex: Door was born of arcanum on Earth and was always sentient thus is not a Beyond nor Awakened arcanist)

Mixed: People who both have the genetics or blood of a Human and an Arcanist. (Ex: Pavia and Satsuki were implied to be born of a human and an arcanist)

Infected: Currently unknown, no arcanists within this category.

They also have a “Bound Volume”, which serves as a gallery collection of arcanists that Vertin has and has not met. Those she (and we) haven't met will be obscured.

The “Artwork”

Artworks in this game are basically the arcanists that UTTU chooses to write about. As long as there is one to tell, they will conduct an interview and report on it. For each artwork they contain: Exhibition details, Item Collection, and Story/Interview.

First, the cover. Made by my friend and fellow lore chat dweller Rabies En., this is what can be made out of what each part of the exhibition details mean:

And of course, the “Completion” date is their birthday.

When it comes to describing their inspiration, it tends to be left on a vague note and left for speculation. While concluding that the first half is the title of the arcanist’s afflatus, the second half has left most people confused. My speculation is that this latter half is something that is related to their job, hobby, skill, or interest.

For example, Balloon Party’s inspiration is quite straightforward: “Remains of a Rock Formation [Mineral] Bones Balloon.” It directly showcases her afflatus and what she is inspired by, which also goes hand in hand as to what her arcane skill is. Meanwhile, Sonetto’s is more vague and unique: “Trained Loyal Dogs [Mineral] Foreign Affairs.” These reflect her upbringing and main interest respectively. With this theory, I concluded that the afflatus and inspiration boost one’s arcanist’s medium, which in turn helps fuel their arcane skill.

Second, the items. All arcanists have a section that lists personal items that closely pertain to their character, usually, these things would be visible on their person. The author analyzes them and relates them to their story and character. And depending on the item, they are priced by clear drops.

Additionally, if a character has a garment that isn't their I2 (e.g. event garments), they will have a special section for a new set of items. (Ex. Sonetto's Parade Anthem garment isn't exactly her I2 outfit, thus she has another set of items that relate to the uniform.)

Lastly, the Story and Interview; Each and every arcanist is interviewed by Pandora Wilson, another fellow arcanist and one whose face is obscured to the world other than a pair of lips.

The first story is a retelling of their background and upbringing, the second is a story about their daily life or lifestyle, and the third is a transcripted segment of their interview. The interview segments usually starts with Pandora greeting and/or asking a few questions towards the interviewee, but occasionally they also include the end of these interviews.

They highlight parts that make the interviewee unique; It exhibits their distinction, their personality, and most importantly, their overall character and the life they lead. These help us learn about the arcanists in a more deeper level the more we bond with them, as well as learning about the world they live in considering how all of them come from different times.

Now, our magazine analysis ends here. Feel free to ask questions and Part 2 is linked below!

Part 2: The Flash Gathering

#reverse 1999 #uttu #lore analysis #say thank you to rabies en for the exhibition guide #heavy sonetto mentioning cause we love her

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raayllum · 1 year ago

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The high mage office becomes a bit of a ramshackle, afterwards.

The first and most obvious reason is that, while spacious, it was only really meant to accommodate one mage and possibly an apprentice at a time—not three mages, piles of books and magical objects stacked ceilings high.

That, and the youngest of their little club has by far more clutter than Kpp'Ar or Viren ever did, the eldest mage thinks.

Callum is quick witted and talks too much, otherwise staying silent for hours, out of studiousness or bother, eyes hard whenever he looks at Viren.

His old apprentice is the most out of place, perhaps. Viren has forsaken dark magic, a path Kpp'Ar never thought possible, especially with what Viren had imprisoned him over. But Viren throws the books of dark arts only sour looks and dour frowns, reluctant to even touch them never mind read them. He and Claudia are alike in that way, Kpp'Ar supposes, seeing how they've grown side by side now as adults. They're no longer dark mages, but they refuse to try their hand at primal magic and arcanums, either.

For Claudia, Kpp'Ar thinks it is a lingering trace of stubbornness and pride. For Viren, it's likely fear—for if he can't connect, then he is shut off from magic forever. And if he can, then all the pain he caused and dark roads he took might've been avoided.

He helps out, mostly, running messages—taking letters to the rookery, labelling bottles, taking the messiness of Callum's notes that Kpp'Ar's eyesight is too poor to make out, and turning them into something coherent. Not unlike the work he'd done when he was an apprentice, if muted and with a hesitance rather than a persistent, desperate hunger.

And for the first time in a very long time, Kpp'Ar is a student.

Not officially, of course. Callum is the only official high mage among the three (or four) of them, and he's never taken on an apprentice before. Nor had he taken Kpp'Ar on when the old man had expressed a desire to learn primal magic—to see the world and his work again anew, with his unexpected second chance.

But you don't become a mage if you aren't observant, and intelligent, and driven, and able to learn at least a little from example. Kpp'Ar needles him about the arcanums he holds, which Callum is more than willing to spout nonsense about to someone, the nonsense gradually making more and more sense. Dark magic is about ingredients, the way machines are about gears and cogs. Primal magic is about connection, and cycles, a bridge, the same way a puzzle serves to be one: one for humans to solve from a Maker, whether that's magic or or the all forsaken All-Mother in Kpp'Ar's mind.

A puzzle he will, with gnarled fingers and a grizzled face, grasp one day with as much certainty as his jewelled cane.

Callum finds him one day, pouring over Earthblood tomes, and raises a brow and a cup of tea to his lips. "Didn't expect to find you in here so early."

"Shows you still have much to learn," Kpp'Ar mutters, turning the page. He squints, the candle growing dim.

Callum snaps and the flame sparks, emitting much more light. Some of his headache clears away. "If you're really set on an arcanum," Callum advises, jerking his head, "maybe think about the Sun."

Healing, vision, light.

Kpp'Ar eyes the candle.

"Perhaps," is all he says, and maybe he still has some pride of his own—he's more than double the boy's own age, after all, even with thirteen years lost to that accursed coin.

But then there are much worst things than taking advice—like taking the wrong advice.

That's another thing their little club has in common, he supposes.

#tdp #the dragon prince #high mage club #after the war #tdp kpp'ar #kpp'ar #ficlet #headcanons #indulgent? yes. fun? also yes #my fic #fic

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nellie-elizabeth · 3 months ago

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Book Tracking Check-In 10.4.24

TOTAL "Official" TBR: 100 (95 + 3 not on GR + 2 currently reading)

GOAL 1 BOOKS: OWNED & NOT READ (16 as of 10.4.24, 1 is preordered)

Dawnshard - Brandon Sanderson

The Sunlit Man - Brandon Sanderson

Nona the Ninth - Tamsyn Muir

Mammoths at the Gates - Nghi Vo

The Brides of High Hill - Nghi Vo

The Mars House - Natasha Pulley

10 Things That Never Happened - Alexis Hall

Tender Is the Night - F. Scott Fitzgerald

Go Tell It On the Mountain - James Baldwin

Love and Freindship (sic) - Jane Austen

The Unconsoled - Kazuo Ishiguro

Rosencrantz & Guildenstern are Dead - Tom Stoppard

The Real Inspector Hound & Other Plays - Tom Stoppard

Morning Star - Pierce Brown

My Brilliant Friend - Elena Ferrante

[What Doesn’t Break (Bells Hells)] - preordered

GOAL 2 BOOKS: BOOK CLUBS! (1 as of 10.4.24)

The Spear Cuts Through Water

GOAL 3 BOOKS: RE-READ OLD BOOKS (23 as of 10.4.24)

Peter and the Starcatchers

Peter and the Shadow Thieves

Peter and the Secret of Rundoon

In Cold Blood

The Wish List

Walk Two Moons

The BFG

Adam Bede

The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down

The Princess Bride

Olive’s Ocean

The Valley of Secrets

The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest

Gathering Blue

Beloved - Toni Morrison

Mama Day - Gloria Naylor

The Accursed - Joyce Carol Oates

Ivanhoe - Walter Scott

The Cricket in Times Square

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

Slaughterhouse-Five

Charlotte’s Web

The People in the Trees

GOAL 4 BOOKS: CONTINUING SERIES/AUTHORS (Not currently owned/acquired) [60]

Discworld [11]

The Locked Tomb [1] *1 upcoming

Red Rising [4] *1 upcoming

Neapolitan [3]

Cosmere [3]

Critical Role [4]

After Cilmeri [5]

Priory of Orange Tree [2]

Hands of Emperor [2]

Dickens [1]

GO Graphic Novel [1]

Skyward [4]

Sanderson Other [1]

Saint of Steel [2]

Dan Jones History [2]

Random Library Books [3] *Bright Sword, Housekeeping, Penance*

Kate Alice Marshall [1]

Gods of Blood and Powder [3]

Lavender House [3]

Emily Tesh [1]

Philippa Gregory [3]

—————————

My Reading Stats in 2024 So Far: 70 TOTAL

GOAL 1 BOOKS: OWNED & NOT READ [27]

Promise of Blood

The Mighty Nein Origins - Fjord Stone

Words of Radiance

The Last Hero

Harrow the Ninth

The Narrow

A Christmas Carol and Other Christmas Writings

Edgedancer

Red Rising

The Crimson Campaign

Lord Byron’s Novel: The Evening Land

Mistborn: Secret History

Night Watch

Arcanum Unbounded

Golden Son

Yumi and the Nightmare Painter

How Long ‘Til Black Future Month

The Mighty Nein Origins - Beauregard Lionett

Into the Riverlands

The Autumn Republic

Apostles of Mercy

The Mighty Nein Origins - Caduceus Clay

No One Can Know

The Dispossessed

The Wee Free Men

The Adventure Zone: The Suffering Game

Oathbringer

GOAL 2 BOOKS: BOOK CLUBS! [16]

The Robber Bride

The Glass Hotel

Wylding Hall

The Unsettled

Babel-17

When We Were Orphans

Trust

The Riddle-Master of Hed

The Emperor and the Endless Palace

Prep

Parasol Against the Axe

A Psalm for the Wild-Built

Greta & Valdin

Anatomy: A Love Story

The One

Tom Lake

GOAL 3 BOOKS: RE-READ OLD BOOKS [18]

The Magicians Nephew

The Hobbit

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe

Cages

The Horse and His Boy

Prince Caspian

Crime and Punishment

The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

The Blithedale Romance

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo

The Silver Chair

The Last Battle

The Left Hand of Darkness

The School Story

Our Only May Amelia

The Host

Bud, Not Buddy

The Girl Who Played With Fire

GOAL 4 BOOKS: CONTINUING SERIES/AUTHORS [9] (Most included in Goal 1)

The Rise of Kyoshi

The Shadow of Kyoshi

Dark One

Dark One: Forgotten

Ninefox Gambit

Paladin's Grace

Skyward

Immortality: A Love Story

Paladin's Strength

#my posts #dani's reading goals #book tag

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thiefcant · 2 years ago

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✿ okay, but what about the age of arcanum verse

FRIENDSHIP. childhood friends / work buddies or coworkers / family friends / friends with benefits / smoking buddies / adventure buddies / fake friends / recently friends / party buddies / friendship of need / dying friendship / circumstantial friendship / partners in crime / old friendship / [ your muse ] is the good influence / [ your muse ] is the bad influence / [ my muse ] is the good influence / [ my muse ] is the bad influence / opposites attract / ride or die / frenemies / roommates or flatmates / penpals / exes to friends / enemies to friends / other

ROMANCE. childhood sweethearts / [ your muse is mines ] childhood crush / [ my muse is yours ] childhood crush / exes / exes to lovers / forbidden lovers (the knight and the gentleman thief.....) / highschool sweethearts / secret relationship / opposites attract / long distance / unrequited [ from your muses side ] / unrequited [ from my muses side ] / unrequited [ from both sides ] / skinny love / friends to lovers / enemies to lovers / spurious relationship / power couple / newly entered / soulmates [ metaphorical ] / soulmates [ literal ] / awkward / turning toxic / toxic love / cheating [ on your muse ] / cheating [ with your muse ] / other

FAMILIAL. siblings [ half ] / siblings [ step ] / [ my muse ] is an older sibling figure to your younger sibling figure / [ my muse ] is a younger sibling figure to your older sibling figure muse / [ my muse ] is a parental figure to yours / [ my muse ] is a child figure to your muse / guardian figure / legal guardian / adoptive child / foster child / [ your muse ] is taken under mines wing / [ my muse ] is taken under yours wing / other

ANTAGONISTIC. dangerous to each other / dangerous to others / unpredictable / rivals / petty / developing into sexual or romantic tension / based off family matters / based of off circumstance / based of professional matters / based off misunderstanding or lies / conflict of ideology / betrayal / hero - villain dynamic (i think its fun if they have a relationship of chasing each other forever bc its a nice sense of purpose and also nothing bad can happen to you except with me) / enemies / fight club / friends turned enemies / lovers turned enemies / exes turned enemies / other

relationship dynamics.

#rixian vc catch me if you can :)))#saintsdawn #and if you cheat may you cheat death / age of arcanum.

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monsttrous · 26 days ago

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WANTED CONNECTIONS. i heard that you're an actor, so act like a stand-up guy, whatever devil's inside you, don't let him out tonight.

press #001 to sing : ❛ new brain ❜

❝ doctor, i need a new brain, lost in a spiral, keep making old mistakes again. ❞

MUSE teve uma experiencia de quase morte, ou então tem um fascínio incomum pela mesma ou até pela dor . de qualquer forma, quer ser parte de algo maior que elu mesmo , e resolve se entregar para os experimentos de nikolai - aceitando toda a tortura que vem com isto.

press #002 to sing : ❛ blood on white satin ❜

❝ might be a tragedy, devastation right in front of me. am i a future disaster that's waiting to happen ? ❞

MUSE por qualquer razão, invocou um demônio da encruzilhada e foi nikolai quem apareceu para fechar esse contrato. mas , como nunca tinha acontecido antes, se apegou a outrem.

press #003 to sing : ❛ anatomy ❜

❝ trust issues and soaking tissues, lyin' to my sister and sayin' i don't miss you. ❞

MUSE A & MUSE B são frutos de uma relação muito breve que nikolai teve com uma humana . nunca tiveram contato com a demônio além do dinheiro que recebiam para viver uma vida confortável , pois ele é justo mas jamais imaginou ser pai. até que as gêmeas aparecem em arcanum atrás dele.

press #004 to sing : ❛ pink pony club ❜

❝ i'm having wicked dreams of leaving tennessee - hear santa monica, i swear it's calling me. ❞

MUSE fez um contrato ainda muito jovem, antes de niko vir para arcanum doze anos atrás. por qualquer razão, não viu escolha na época, mas hoje quer impedir sua alma de ser levada para o inferno, o que ele acha uma afronta.

press #005 to sing : ❛ hometown ❜

❝ davey died in the summertime in a hotboxed car with a seatbelt 'round his neck and a needle in his arm. ❞

MUSE trabalha com nikolai no laboratório ' verna ' , seja como um colega cientista ou até mesmo secretários que não sabem o que realmente acontece no subsolo. de qualquer forma, estão relacionados com o lugar que posa como clinica de fertilidade e testes de vacinas , para mascarar os experimentos de tortura e criação de monstros.

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annn-starrr · 10 months ago

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ann. she/her. eighteen years old. enfp. cancer. hufflepuff. old soul. a writer. socially awkward but i speak a lot when I'm meeting new people. i tend to get excited easily, especially when it comes to my comfort tv show/anime/movie/games/book. as you might have noticed from the former statement, I'm multifandom!!! I'm just gonna have fun in this app! and please be kind to yourself. this is your first time living a life, it's fine if you make a mistake. personal account

p/s : if you're my mutual, feel free to ask for my discord.

on this account, I'm gonna focus on an interactive game called

Romance Club ! here's everything you need to know about me when it comes to this game.

.・。.・゜✭・. ✫・゜・。.

Top 10 Prettiest Mc in RC (imo)

A Widely Known Man That I'm Feral About

The Day I Went Insane About a MILF

Women in RC That Makes Me Giggle and Tuck My Hair Behind My Ear

(the rest will be updated through time)

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

Below is the information about my playthrough in RC stories.

╰┈➤ ❝ [ Legend of the Willow ]

Story status : Completed. Now replaying. Empress ending.

Mc's name : Mei.

Path : Coldness and The Pearl Fox.

Love Interest : Kazu Naito. ♡♡♡

(favourite story on rc & first story)

╰┈➤ ❝ [ Theodora ]

Story status : Completed. Mortal ending. Might replay for Lawrence or John route. Don't know if i can resist Friedrich 🥲.

Mc's name : Season 1 - Theodora Avery.

: Season 2 - Elena Flores.

: Season 3 - Audrey Flemming.

(didn't need to change the default names because it's already perfect)

Path : Cynic.

Love Interest : Season 1 - Friedrich Blumhagen

: Season 2 - Friedrich Blumhagen

: Season 3 - Friedrich Blumhagen

(lmao, I am so okay about him 🤥)

╰┈➤ ❝ [ Song of the Crimson Nile ]

Story status : Waiting for an update. S2 Ep5.

Mc's name : Evthys [ love her full name ]

Path : Honesty and Necromancer.

Love Interest : Main account - Amen.

: Second account - Livius.

(back then, i unknowingly played on both of their romantic routes and i instantly regretted it when i saw livius was hurt at S2 Ep1)

╰┈➤ ❝ [ Soulless ]

Story status : Waiting for an update. S1 Ep5.

Mc's name : Lilinaya.

Path : Lust [ she's so hot in this path 😔 ]

Love Interest : Walter.

╰┈➤ ❝ [ Arcanum ]

Story Status : Completed. Good ending.

Mc's name : Selena.

Path : Emperor and High Redemption.

Love Interest : Season 1 - Liam and Bert.

: Season 2 : Bert.

: Season 3 : Bert.

╰┈➤ ❝ [ Shadows of Saintfour ]

Story status : On going. S1 Ep5

Mc's name : Madonna O'Neill [ so proud of myself for choosing her name ]

Path : Caution

Love Interest : planning to romance Stephanie.

╰┈➤ ❝ [ Heaven's Secret 1 & 2 ]

Story status : HS1 - Completed. Not so good ending because only Lucifer survived T_T.

: HS2 - Completed. I don't know how to feel with the ending. But I don't think that's the real ending.. right?

Mc's name : Annabeth Walker.

Path : HS1 - Angel. High glory.

: HS2 - Composure. High strength.

Love Interest : HS1 - Lucifer.

: HS2 - Lucifer. [ Tempted by Hunger and Malbonte but decided to play on his route after I finished with Lucifer ]

╰┈➤ ❝ [ Time Catcher ]

Story status : Waiting for an update. S1 Ep10.

Mc's name : Nova.

Path : Moon Heiress and High Status.

Love Interest : Main account - Lucien.

: Second account - Shen.

╰┈➤ ❝ [ Rage of the Titans ]

Story status : Ongoing. S1 Ep5.

Mc's name : Vivienne Campbell.

Path : Divinity.

Love Interest : Undecided between Adrian and Murphy.

╰┈➤ ❝ [ Vying for Versailles ]

Story status : Ongoing. S1 Ep3.

Mc's name : Henrietta de Noailles.

Path : Calculation.

Love Interest : Queen Maria Theresa.

╰┈➤ ❝ [ The Desert Rose ]

Story status : Ongoing. S1 Ep7.

Mc's name : Sarin.

Path : Rebellion and The Desert Flower

Love Interest : Undecided between Jack and Adil.

╰┈➤ ❝ [ Love, Sin & Evil ]

Story status : Waiting for an update. S1 Ep8.

Mc's name : Tuesday.

Path : Logic and Light.

Love Interest : Sue.

╰┈➤ ❝ [ Garden of Eden ]

Story status : Waiting for an update. S1 Ep10.

Mc's name : Ann [ not me using my own name ]

Path : Principles and High Reputation.

Love Interest : Main account - Jin Doo-yeong.

: Second account - Seong-hwa.

╰┈➤ ❝ [ Kali: Call of Darkness ]

Story status : Completed. Good ending.

Mc's name : Amala Basu.

Path : Independence and Kindness of Goddess.

Love Interest : Main account - Amrit Doobay.

: Second account - Ratan Vaish.

╰┈➤ ❝ [ Kali: Flame of Samsara ]

Story status : Waiting for an update. S1 Ep9

Mc's name : Deviya Sharma.

Path : Pride and Legacy.

Love Interest : Ram Doobay [ atp, i think I'm a whore for Doobays ]

╰┈➤ ❝ [ Chasing you 1 & 2 ]

Story status : Chasing you 1 - Ongoing. S1 Ep5

: Chasing you 2 - Waiting for an update. S1 Ep10.

Mc's name : Kira Harrington.

Path : Logic and High Authority.

Love Interest : Chasing you 1 - Alexander Nielsen.

: Chasing you 2 - Samuel Makoto.

the rest will be updated (I'm too lazy to continue the rest T_T). anyway, HAPPY GETTING TO KNOW EACH OTHER (it's not a thing, i just made it)

#something about me #romance club #interactive game #romance club game

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heartofarcanum · 3 years ago

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I’ve recently seen some questions about wlw in Romance Club, so I though I’d make a (somehow extremely long) post about the best wlw romances (in my opinion) in RC

Now, there are definitely some books that are better than others, and there aren’t a ton of female LIs, but (with the newer books especially) the female LIs they do have are pretty spectacular.

So, for wlw I’d recommend:

Love from Outerspace - Ursula the alien knight and Miranda the bubbly old friend (not current best friend, but MC’s friend from childhood)

Heart of Trespia - Delias the sweet soft maid and Giselle the very flirty badass bandit with scars (Giselle owns my ass right now it must be said)

Path of the Valkyrie - Liod the buff sexy and terrifying Valkyrie and Vanadis the beautiful soft witch who will cut you (Vanadis’s route starts in season 2)

Sophie’s Ten Wishes - Daisy your boss’s extremely flirty and fun daughter (who you sleep with automatically as a plot point), and Blake (the biker chick you can be in a poly relationship with)

—>(Sophie’s 10w is the only book where you’re at the very least bi by default since MC always sleeps with Daisy. It’s also the only book where you can be in a poly relationship - MC/Blake/Logan)

Good wlw plots with caveats:

Rage of the Titans - Aphrodite is gone for most of season 2, but she’s awesome in season 1 (her sex scene is incredible) and I think she’s finally coming back in the next update, however every LI in this book is more or less sidelined except for Adrian and Murphy

Legend of the Willow - Shino-Odori doesn’t become romancable until season 3, but I love her so much - and then u can diamond mine seasons 1&2 if you’re not interested in the boys

Chasing You - Rachel is mtf trans and awesome (you just have to ignore Alexander being a forced LI for season 1), and then there’s Eve the (definitely a sub) mafia girl starting in season 2

On Thin Ice - Liz your incredibly beautiful friend who doesn’t take your shit (she’s a little sidelined, but she’s also much more of a main character than the fully sidelined LIs)

Heaven’s Secret - Mimi the incredibly sexy and very forward demon (she can die if you’re not careful, and she is sometimes sidelined by the boys, though less often than the characters in the section below)

Good wlw characters who have been sidelined so far but who I still love:

Sins of London - Leslie the flirty barkeep (who I have to say is a personal favorite of mine), Abbie the medium (who has an important/interesting plot but admittedly takes a backseat to the boys)

Arcanum - Mary the widow (who may or may not have offed her hubby it’s up for debate but I’m sus), she’s awesome but there’s some dubious stuff in her romance path (sort of maybe drugs MC with some candles, but most of the characters in that book are of dubious morality)

Dracula a Love Story - Sandra is absolutely gorgeous but she takes a serious backseat to Vlad and Leo, though she is in the entire series from start to finish

Bonus:

Gladiator Chronicles - lots of female LIs but MC is male

#wlw #romance club #rc #rage of the titans #sophie’s ten wishes #path of the valkyrie #chasing you #Heaven’s secret #arcanum #sins of london #gladiator chronicles #dracula a love story #legend of the Willow #on thin ice #heart of trespia #love from outer space

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bisexual-maelstrom12 · 3 years ago

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I played every single first chapter of the Romance Club games and now I'm going to rank then because I can

Please don't yell at me if my opinions are different from yours but feel free to tell me if a story gets way better after Chapter 1

1. Sins of London

The MC is badass and hot af and the plot is interesting so far. Love me a chaotic neutral MC.

2. Arcanum

I love an asshole MC and tarot. It's definitely a weird premise but I'm into the mystery!

3. Legend of the Willow

Great premise and a better construction of old Japan than most westerners manage (which tbf isn't saying much). Gotta love an animal transformation story.

4. Dracula Love Story

With a name like that I wasn't expecting to like it so much but the flashback was really interesting and I love the historical angle. This one grabs your attention very quickly.

5. Sophie's Ten Wishes

I'm really not sure what the larger plot is yet but Sophie is an interesting character and I like her friends. Let's get this girl's life together!

6. Love from Outer Space

The high school part is kinda cliche but I'm a huge sucker for alien stories. Saving a handsome alien prince? Yes please.

7. Path of the Valkyrie

Love me some body swapping antics though I was a little disappointed it got resolved so fast. Loki is great and MC is sexy.

8. On Thin Ice

I love ice skating but I don't love the weird anti-therapy angle. I'm intrigued to keep reading.

9. Queen in 30 Days

Yeah this is a blatant TRR ripoff and omg why is Megan's face so big but otherwise this was a pretty charming introduction.

10. Rage of the Titans

This one would be ranked a lot higher if it wasn't for the crazy tonal dissonance that is the MC going from witnessing a deadly hit-and-run to making up with her friends at a party all in the same day. Who goes to a party after witnessing a bloody death?? There's too much going on all at once despite an interesting hook.

11. Shadows of Saint Four

I love some spooky atmosphere but wish the writing was more solid.

12. Sails in the Fog

Nothing much happens. The setup is pretty basic but the MC is at least assertive. I don't love that she's the daughter of a colonizer governor though.

13. Heaven's Secret

It's fine? Not the best writing but nothing terribly offensive so far. Not sure why MC is expected to start classes the moment after she dies.

14. Seduced by the Rhythm

An interesting concept ruined by a pushy lead LI and the existence of a strip club that apparently lets in minors.

15. Moonborn

The writing is pretty dang bad. And what is with those awful MC sprites? Points for some originality though.

16. Wave Patrol

My best friend is way too horny and I got yelled at by a lifeguard. Very meh start.

17. My Hollywood Story

That was the worst adaptation of Pride & Prejudice I've ever seen.

18. Chasing You

Every single character is a sexual predator and I hate it.

#romance club

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hell-chronicles · 3 years ago

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Hi! Romance Club is having a Diamond Rush event in about 15 hours, and I was wondering if you had any recs? I haven’t played any RC books, just been logging into it regularly to save up diamonds while I work through the choices books I haven’t finished yet, but I figured now would be a good time to start a book - but I really don’t know what’s good or not. Thanks!

Everyone becomes active during diamond rushes haha.

Personally I like the mythology based, fantasy and horror stories and most of my favourite stories fall under that category.

1. Path of the Valkyrie. The plot is all over the place but it's still fun since almost every chapter is action packed and the characters are pretty interesting. Plus it's based on nordic mythology and all the characters (except MC) are nordic gods, giants or just beings from across the nine realms so if you're into that I'd check it out.

2. Love from outer space. It's basically a cliche 80-90s sci fi story about aliens seeking refuge on earth and befriending a bunch of teenagers, X-file like FBI agents, mad scientist trying to get ahold of the advanced alien technology and so on. It switches between galactic and govermental threats that could kill everyone and normal highschool drama. Pretty fun if I may say so.

3. Legend of the Willow. Takes place in ancient Japan and is also very magic and supernatural based. The characters, especially MC, are pretty interesting and you get to romance a yokai which I did not expect but I'm glad it's possible.

4. Sails in the Fog. It has the old artstyle which looks kinda wack sometimes. But the story is alright, lots of action since its a pirate book and it focuses on mesoamerican/caribbean mythology since it takes place in those regions. Also this story is alread completely finished.

5. Sins of London. It's the fantasy steampunk story taking place in victorian london where you fight monsters with magic and guns. Pretty fun and the MC is hot.

6. Rage of the Titans. Basically ancient greek mythology but in a modern setting. The first season is kind of slow since the MC is trying to figure out what happend to her missing brother and how greek mythology is tied into that.

7. Arcanum. There are only 6 chapters out so far. It has this gothic horror vibe with unexplainable supernatural occurances and characters who all have their own secrets. Also the MC is mean and depending on your choices you can redeem her or not.

Honorable Mentions:

- Gladiator Chronicles. There's only one chapter but it has a male MC and it's basically just Star Wars in ancient Rome

- Shadows of Saintfour. I haven't played the story yet, but it's the main horror book and I heard its decent

- Sophie's Ten Wishes. It's the slice of life book and MC is canonically wlw. The first chapter is hard to get through but I heard the rest of the book is alright

- Heaven's Secret. It's just about Angels, Demons and christian mythology. The story has many flaws but it features my wife Mimi and you can choose 3 different personality paths for your MC. Also it is already completely finished.

#romance club #asks #now that i think about it rc has a lot of mythology based stories

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brokenforecast · 5 years ago

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The Emperor

The Emperor: a muggle guide to tarot

It has been more than a year since I wrote on this blog but better late than never. I should have plenty of time from now on, because that is the reason for all this silence: lack of free time. But I handled that like a boss. let’s get on with it. We have finally arrived at an unapologetic male character in the tarot, which took us five cards into the Major Arcanum. So, without writing a paper on the patriarchy let’s dig into my nuanced view of the archetypical father, ruler and ultimately god.

Let’s get the gender issue over with straight away. Like the empress, if in your life the archetypical father is not a man, no big deal, then that person can be represented. The Emperor is at its most basic a person who wields a lot of formal power in your life. Simple as that. My boss for example – which is a very typical interpretation of the Emperor card – is a woman and she has a lot of power over many aspects of my life. If it wouldn’t be for the large amounts of confidence I have in her, it would be scary how much power she has.

> Renaissance Tarot Emperor: secret 4 legshake and birds.

Symbolism

The fact that the emperor’s card is numbered 4 is no coincidence, not only is the four figure the symbol of both the planet and god Jupiter, is also the number most strongly associated with stability (think legs of tables or chairs, limbs of mammals, the four corners of the world, a house has four walls, a year has four seasons, but let’s not get too numerological, shall we?). Some cards represent the emperor with one leg crossed, mimicking the number four, like in the Secret Tarot. There will be some birds, representing the sky gods of many cultures meaning power, royalty, strength and good fortune (think Roman, Russian or German emperors that all have bird symbols). Also: crowns, scepter, suits of armour (the protective side of masculinity), thrones and whatnot. Also horns, horns represent penises.

Sometimes mountains are depicted which might be a bit confusing for some muggles. This can only be understood by understanding the emperor as opposed to and in harmony with the empress. Where the empress has wheat for fertility and growth, the emperor has mountains for infertility and stability. Growth is very nice but one needs a certain doses of stability in life. Fertility and reproducing are all fun and games but someone needs to protect all that growth. I think it’s a nice metaphor for masculinity: (temporary) power without fertility, defending what the empress creates and takes care of.

> The Rider-Waite Emperor: mountains, penises, I mean horns and good old fashioned bearded ruler.

I admit not only lack of time withheld me from writing about the emperor. As a deeply masculine card I - as a man who only reluctantly and not that often identifies as a man but can’t really pinpoint what to identify as, or indeed if I need to identify at all - I do not feel qualified to write about the man. But as is often the case: I couldn’t be more wrong. Due to my struggle with, contemplation, participation and perception of and some distance to masculinity I am perfectly placed to write about it.

Upright meaning

I absolutely believe that masculinity needs a new, positive, inclusive definition that inspires people (not just men) to do good. One such view that heavily influenced me was nurturance culture.

A genderless world where no good (or bad) personality trait is gendered, is not anywhere in the cards (see what I did there?). So how do we as a society give a positive and inspiring content to the idea of masculinity? One of the possible answers are the 4 positive characteristics of the emperor: protection, practicality, authority and structure.

Sure, I’ll argue against all four of them when talking about other cards, but the tarot is about exploring all sides of the human condition and these 4 have value as well and are all four historically associated with masculinity. Is masculinity in a crisis? Yes, it most certainly is; it has been reduced to a destructive cliché where it used to be kaleidoscopic concept. Not by feminists, but by men themselves. We have not emancipated ourselves. In stead of evolving like women did the last century, we have retreated into an ever more meager concept of masculinity. This is my attempt to reconstruct the notion of inclusive manliness.

Pillar 1: protection

You gotta fight, for your right, to party. - The Beastie Boys

Know that feeling when you broke down, when you are at your most vulnerable and you find comfort and protection in someone’s arms? I could be talking about a man who protects you late at night in some shady alley from a knife-gang but honestly: how many times are we in need of that? And how much have we needed someone to just be around us, silently but firmly comforting us. Protection and defense imply some potential for destruction but that does not need to be a bad thing if the thing that is being destroyed is a bad thing. Be protective.

Pillar 2: practicality

Yes, I am talking about being able to handle power tools, finish an Ikea closet in 15 minutes and fixing your bike. Cliché much? Yes, but it’s a decent and good quality. While the empress listens to how you had a bike accident and fixes that bleeding knee, the emperor is silently repairing your bike in the shed without you knowing and what after the whole debacle and you find out, makes you smile again. Silent, humble work. Thinking of the small things, the pro’s and con’s and getting on with it. This is where the repressed emotions come into play. Not necessarily a bad thing if not taken too far. There is nothing wrong with temporarily repressing emotions to get shit done as long as you deal with them later on. Sometimes the trash just needs to be taken outside, a meal cooked, a kitchen cleaned or a day at the office endured. Postpone emotions, don’t bottle them up. Be practical.

> left: emperor by kindanddemon > right: emperor by skullsquid

Pillar 3: authority

Both having it/using it as well as dealing with it. Yes, I would also like to live on an island in a sea of mutual respect where there is no need for authority but let’s just wake up shall we? Authority is a thing and we need to deal with it. Easiest way is being an authority yourself. And I mean that in a good way. Standing for something, believing in something, without dogma or rigidness but open and evolving. You could also call it privilege, there’s a lot of it out there and like a sword it should be used and wielded for good, to shield (another symbol you will often find on the card) those who do not have it. Privilege is a real thing, you can’t get rid of it (by yourself or in a short amount of time) but you can use it for good. The emperor tells us to use our gifts (remember the magician?) for good, to be ambitious, not at the cost of others but to the benefit of all. Deserve respect.

Pillar 4: structure

The stability in number 4 is also associated with structure, systems, procedures and ultimately rules and laws. They exist for a reason and should be there for the good of all. The empress negotiates and compromises, the emperor confirms this by making rules that sustain this peace. I honestly believe everyone can use some structure, some system, some good habits, some good routines, rules you live by. Maybe not 100% of the time, no one asks you to be perfect, no one asks the rules to be perfect. Even the apparent chaos of nature obeys the laws of physics. Constructing order from chaos has its benefits. Yes chaos nurtures – in an empress kind of way – the new and creative, order protects what is fragile and needs to be maintained. Construct systems that benefit you.

> The Wild Unknown Emperor: The emperor depicted as a large tree overlooking the forest, growing by the bright light of the midday sun, deeply and firmly rooted in the soil.

The emperor can be anyone or anything that radiates the qualities above, not just a person (your father, husband, boss or landlord) but also an institution: government agencies, large corporations, the army etc.

Reverse meaning

"Our fathers were our models for God. If our fathers bailed, what does that tell you about God?" - Tyler Durden in Fight Club

When the emperor appears reversed in your reading you are hugely and utterly fucked. At its base meaning this card represents power and now that immense power is turned against you in one of three ways:

Opposite: the opposite of manliness is not femininity, get that in your head as soon as possible. The opposite of power is powerlessness, not receiving the responsibility you need; the opposite of protection is getting hurt. The opposite of practicality is inertness, laziness, meddling without achieving, not really trying, not having the required skill without anyone around to help you. The opposite of authority is slavery, submission, believing yourself to be weaker than you are. The opposite of a stable structure that perpetuates good is destructive chaos, not knowing where to start, being confused, having to start over and over again because nothing is fundamentally anchored.

cock-blocked: The emperor is blocked somehow. You are unable to assert yourself, maybe lost in a maze of regulations, rules and procedures. You are maybe protecting the wrong things or people. You might think you are practical but got something wrong (it’s mostly not the Ikea manual that is wrong or the piece that is faulty, it is most certainly, you).

Taken too far: This is the domain of toxic masculinity. Yes this is a thing, I suffer from it every day. Masculinity is a prison. This kind is anyway. Defense becomes unwarranted offence, violence, abuse of physical strength, this is the bully knocking you a bleeding nose and your father raping you. This is thinking you can fix everything, that everything is logical and practical and being blind to the emotional, spiritual or natural things in life. This is abuse of authority, corruption, back chamber politics, chauvinism. It is structural sexism, racism and a system that only exists to benefit itself not the people in it. And it is all turned against you.

One card spread – meditation on the emperor:

"Life seems so much simpler when you're fixing things." - Anakin skywalker in Attack of the Clones

The Emperor is the first break we get in a way. In a very – too – short version of our path up until now the fool asks us to unapologetically be ourselves, the magician asks us to be able, the high priestess begs us to be knowledgeable. The emperor asks us to consolidate that into a system, a structure so what we have achieved so far can be defended. It’s about creating habits that benefit you, assert yourself as you are, yourself, able and knowledgeable without shame or hesitation. Use your abilities as a weapon against injustice. But we’re turning too abstract, I know. Let’s be more practical. Answer all the following questions and jot down one action per question that you can do in the next four days:

Ask yourself what is going well in your life and how you can anchor that in your life. How can you make it last?

Who or what in your immediate environment needs protection (or comfort, or help) and how can you provide that? Does something need fighting and which weapon in your arsenal is best suited?

When were you last intimidated by authority? What characteristic was intimidating? Do you possess that characteristic? Imagine yourself unintimidated in that same situation. What is needed to get you there?

Do you own something that is broken? Try to fix it. (Just like there is an inherent value to growing things crf. the empress, fixing things is itself a healing action).

TLDR: Upright meaning: power, protection, practicality, authority, order Reverse meaning: powerlessness, impotence, confusion, chaos, abuse of power

#a muggle guide to tarot #tarot #tarot readings #the emperor #emperor #007 #major arcana #the emperor reversed #emperor reversed #cartomancy

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thatsadorbsyo · 6 years ago

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Maya, 14 (Gelid, #19)

(cw: stalking, sexual language)

The package was inconspicuous enough, a small parcel tucked away in the Yosai retainers’ office, wrapped in brown paper and secured with a length of red twine, addressed to Maya Garanji, care of Yosai.

It sat there for about two days before Maya had enough time in her schedule to check her own mail, scooping it up along with a handful of envelopes to take upstairs to her room. The envelopes got tossed onto the kitchen suite table--a bill from her yarn of the month club, a plea from her alma mater begging for donations, and a note from her mother--while she turned the package over curiously and sat down on the bed. There was no return address.

Tugging the twine loose and pulling it over the corners of the parcel, Maya slid her thumb carefully under the loose edge of the paper, wedging it free of the adhesive rather than ripping at it like an ill-mannered child. When she placed the wrapping paper aside on the duvet, the first thing she noticed was that it contained books. Two of them, in fact.

On top was a first edition copy of The Art of Arcanum by Edodo Edo, in turquoise hard cover with gold leaf lettering. Maya nearly dropped it on the mattress when she realized what she was holding, a historical treasure in its own right, worthy of being kept in the Arcanist Guild library at Mealvaan’s Gate. She frowned, covering her mouth with her fingers while she flipped through it, marveling at the woodcut illustrations of the birth of Arcanima.

Who would send such a thing?

The second book was unremarkable in every way, except for in its juxtaposition to the first book, and in its recipient. A letter was tucked inside the cover of another first edition book, this one a paperback first printing of Fifty Shades of Contract Imprudence by Sabrina Hawthorne.

Maya’s blood ran cold as she stared blankly at the familiar cover of a book she very definitely wrote herself, about five years ago during her first few years at Mealvaan’s Gate. Nobody knew the names Sabrina Hawthorne and Maya Garanji were linked, nobody except her Editor--could it be an early Starlight gift from him? It didn’t seem like his type of gesture.

She stared at the note wedged between pages with trepidation, waiting for the ice in her veins to release her hands from their clutching claw grip on the two-gil smut novel.

Miss Hawthorne, née Garanji,

Your play spoke to me very much as a cry for help from a remarkable woman who, for some reason, desperately needs all of Hydaelyn to know the depths of her depravity, but one without the guts necessary to sign her name to her begging pleas to be taken and controlled. Why are you so tentative to voice your desires, Miss Garanji? You’d be quite beautiful if you didn’t slink around town with your shoulders dropped, so obviously hoping for someone to notice you. I’m certain there are many anonymous Mr. Ghrays out there who would be happy to take you by the hair and teach you the art of submitting.

That’s what you want, isn’t it? A Mr. Ghray of your own? Someone to show up unannounced at your work, to follow you around Limsa Lominsa and save you from drinking to excess, to tail you all the way to your mother’s home in Summerford? Someone to tie you up in their basement and make you mewl at their touch, on their command, by their rules?

I could be that man. Maybe I already am. I hope you accept these gifts as a token of promise.

--C

Maya read the letter twice, unable to process every word on the first pass. Her eyes kept getting stuck on phrases like “depths of her depravity” and “tie you up in their basement”, her body reeling like she’d just jumped feet-first into the Coerthas River. The second time, she read slowly, taking note of every word, but a more methodical reading did nothing to calm her down.

Who knew her secret? They knew more than just that--they knew where she worked. They knew where she lived.

Fear--genuine, heart-stopping fear, not the mild sexual trepidation she often felt around certain people--gripped her. Seconds, then minutes ticked away on the clock over her bed before she finally found the wherewithal to stand up and cross to her desk. She dug frantically through her drawers, tossing old paper drafts and boxes of hairpins and paperclips across the floor in search of the security mechanoservitor that Lolah had left her.

One the alarm was in place, facing her apartment door, Maya curled up on the bed, tucking Lolah’s pistol behind a stack of books on her bedside table. She sat there, arms crossed over her knees and her nose buried in her elbows, staring silently at the wall in her dark bedroom for hours, unable to sleep until the first light of dawn began to creep through the bay windows.

#ffxivwrite2018 #mateus rp #ffxiv rp #ic post #maya garanji

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nellie-elizabeth · 5 months ago

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Book Tracking Check-In 7.30.24

GOAL 1 BOOKS: OWNED & NOT READ (9 as of 7.30.24, 1 is preordered)

Oathbringer - Brandon Sanderson

Dawnshard - Brandon Sanderson

The Sunlit Man - Brandon Sanderson

The Wee Free Men - Terry Pratchett

Nona the Ninth - Tamsyn Muir

Mammoths at the Gates - Nghi Vo

Morning Star - Pierce Brown

The Adventure Zone - Suffering Game

[What Doesn’t Break (Bells Hells)] - preordered

GOAL 2 BOOKS: BOOK CLUBS! (2 as of 7.30.24)

The One - Julia Argy

Greta & Valdin - Rebecca K. Reilly

GOAL 3 BOOKS: RE-READ OLD BOOKS (27 as of 7.30.24)

Peter and the Starcatchers

Peter and the Shadow Thieves

Peter and the Secret of Rundoon

In Cold Blood

The Wish List

Walk Two Moons

Bud, Not Buddy

The BFG

Adam Bede

The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down

The Princess Bride

Olive’s Ocean

Our Only May Amelia

The Valley of Secrets

The Girl Who Played with Fire

The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest

Gathering Blue

The Host

Beloved - Toni Morrison

Mama Day - Gloria Naylor

The Accursed - Joyce Carol Oates

Ivanhoe - Walter Scott

The Cricket in Times Square

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

Slaughterhouse-Five

Charlotte’s Web

The People in the Trees

GOAL 4 BOOKS: CONTINUING SERIES/AUTHORS [32]

Paladin's Grace

Discworld [11]

The Locked Tomb [1]

Gods of Blood and Powder [3]

The Singing Hills Cycle [1]

Red Rising [4]

Brandon Sanderson [8]

Kate Alice Marshall [1]

Critical Role [2]

---------------------------

My Reading Stats in 2024 So Far: 55 TOTAL

GOAL 1 BOOKS: OWNED & NOT READ [24]

Promise of Blood

The Mighty Nein Origins - Fjord Stone

Words of Radiance

The Last Hero

Harrow the Ninth

The Narrow

A Christmas Carol and Other Christmas Writings

Edgedancer

Red Rising

The Crimson Campaign

Lord Byron’s Novel: The Evening Land

Mistborn: Secret History

Night Watch

Arcanum Unbounded

Golden Son

Yumi and the Nightmare Painter

How Long 'Til Black Future Month

The Mighty Nein Origins - Beauregard Lionett

Into the Riverlands

The Autumn Republic

Apostles of Mercy

The Mighty Nein Origins - Caduceus Clay

No One Can Know

The Dispossessed

GOAL 2 BOOKS: BOOK CLUBS! [12]

The Robber Bride

The Glass Hotel

Wylding Hall

The Unsettled

Babel-17

When We Were Orphans

Trust

The Riddle-Master of Hed

The Emperor and the Endless Palace

Prep

Parasol Against the Axe

A Psalm for the Wild-Built

GOAL 3 BOOKS: RE-READ OLD BOOKS [14]

The Magicians Nephew

The Hobbit

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe

Cages

The Horse and His Boy

Prince Caspian

Crime and Punishment

The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

The Blithedale Romance

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo

The Silver Chair

The Last Battle

The Left Hand of Darkness

The School Story

GOAL 4 BOOKS: CONTINUING SERIES/AUTHORS [5] (Most included in Goal 1)

The Rise of Kyoshi

The Shadow of Kyoshi

Dark One

Dark One: Forgotten

Ninefox Gambit

#my posts #dani's reading goals #book tag

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tarosophical-tarot · 4 years ago

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"we convince by our presence" (Walt Whitman)

Here we see someone with initiative, confidence and motivation to achieve their goals. They have a strong need for attention and recognition - they are ready to take risks to satisfy these needs.

The Queen embodies these factors, she has mastered her basic animal instincts and channelled their strengths and courage by accepting them without hiding their presence.

In doing so, she has not only gained their elemental force but also recovers the reserves previously used to hide them.

This has been a process of self discovery, she has grown inwardly in order to be where she is now and this has allowed her to trust the inner and outer experiences that have revealed self-knowledge to her.

This has been a phoenix like purification through fire - a rebirth from the ashes of who she once was.

In the five, we find the central wand (the staff of the chief adept), representing the scythe of The Nameless Arcanum, the Queen had reached the final stage of the process of development as a person and was required to give up aspects of her old identity in order to allow new aspects to flourish and grow.

She harvested her past self, letting go of who she once was and allowed herself to move forward in change and transformation.

A risky process as she could have chosen instead to block her inner growth with fear of failure, self indulgence or futility - instead she held onto her personal values which furthered her process of growth and evolution, allowing in her a waking up to the essential nature of who she really is.

"Motion or change and identity and rest are the first and second secrets of nature: motion and rest" Ralph Waldo Emerson

The Queen has found in herself a renewed self esteem and confidence due in part to a deep rooted trust in herself which allows her to radiate and express who she really is.

In the seven we see the six wands topped with 2 phoenix heads (rebirth), 2 winged Sun heads (divine power) and 2 lotus blossoms (growth from stagnation) - behind a roughly hewn club symbolic of Mars-in-Leo which signifies her motivation and creativity in reaching Samadhi.

#tarotcommunity #thoth tarot #tarot deck #tarottribe #tarology #aleister crowley

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pantysleep64-blog · 5 years ago

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The 1903 Hotel Bretton Hall - 2350 Broadway

In 1902 developer brothers James and David Todd commissioned the fledgling architect Harry B. Mulliken to design a minor structure--a one-story wooden tool shed on West 114th Street. It may have been a test of sorts, one which Mulliken apparently passed. The following year Mulliken and his new partner, Edgar Moeller were working on three substantial hotel commissions for the Todds, the Hotel York at Seventh Avenue and 36th Street, the Aberdeen Hotel at 17 West 32nd Street, and the Bretton Hall Hotel, which would engulf the entire eastern blockfront on Broadway from 85th to 86th Street. The Todd brothers had purchased the undeveloped Bretton Hall site from Le Grand K. Pettit. They took out a $1.25 million building loan toward Mulliken's total projected construction costs of $1.55 million--just below $47 million today. The architect's plans called for "187 suites, with 506 rooms, 231 baths, and 385 toilet rooms." As construction neared completion, the Todds leased the property to hoteliers Anderson & Price for 21 years. It appears to be Anderson & Price who named the hotel. They additionally ran the newly-opened Mount Washington Hotel at Bretton Woods in the New Hampshire White Mountains. Completed in 1903, the Bretton Hall Hotel sat on a three-story base of rusticated stone. Nine floors of red brick, limestone and terra cotta rose to an elaborate iron cornice that sprouted frothy ornaments. Mulliken's insertion of seven-story stretches of quoins and stone-faced bays gave the structure verticality and visually relieved the heavy mass.

The newly-completed hotel had no storefronts and an exuberant galvanized iron cornice. Not the 86th Street subway entrance hugging the side of the building (left) photo by Wurtz Bros. from the collection of the Museum of the City of New York

The New-York Tribune commented on the behind-the-scenes technology necessary to operate the resident hotel. "The building has an electric plant, four engines, four boilers, four dynamos, a cold storage, laundry and kitchen plant." The article added "It also has six elevators and a United States mail chute." Unlike transient hotels, resident hotels like Bretton Hall leased suites to long-term tenants. They enjoyed the amenities of a hotel--barber shop, dining room, maid, hallboy and messenger service, for instance--along with the relative permanence of an apartment building. On November 1, 1904 Mrs. John Jay Tonkin of Oswego, New York, moved into a suite with her 11-year old daughter, Rosamond. The Evening Telegram explained that they were "driven from their luxurious home on Lake Ontario by dread the child would be stolen." John Tonkin was well-known as an iron manufacturer and philanthropist in Oswego. For more than two years his family had been terrorized by threats of Rosamond's kidnapping and worse. The Evening Telegram said "It is believed the man is an artist, for many of the letters were illustrated with sketches of the girl and of the fate which it might be expected she would meet if she fell into the hands of her pursuers. Tortures and death by pistol and poison were pictured with such hideous vividness that they, as much as the threats, undermined the health of the fond mother." Even with Rosamond (whom The Evening Telegram described as "tall and well developed for her age") and her mother now secretly ensconced in Bretton Hall, no chances were taken. The Tonkin coachman accompanied Rosamond to school on 70th Street near Riverside Drive. It was the only time she was permitted outside, "as she was kept indoors at other times through fear, and had become pale." Four months after Rosamond and her mother moved into their apartment, the threats had stopped. And so in March 1905 "Rosamond was permitted to trundle a hoop on the sidewalk in front of Bretton Hall." On each occasion the doorman, Charles Lytle, was instructed "to keep his eyes constantly upon her," reported The Evening Telegram. But "Something called him into the house for a moment one day and when he returned to the sidewalk he saw the child in conversation with a man and walking near Eighty-sixth street." Lytle ran after them, grabbing Rosamond, at which point the man rushed away. Later Mrs. Tonkin received a letter demanding $50,000. The writer promised that if the money were not paid, Rosamond would be kidnapped. Instead, John Tonkin offered the $50,000--about $1.47 million today--to anyone who could identify the man. Handwriting experts were called in. With their whereabouts now known, Rosamond's mother took her back to the family house in Oswego. Undeterred by the intensified hunt for him, the extortionist sent a new demand on June 8: "Dear Sir: Unless we have $100,000 before June 10 at noon we will take your Rosamond. You had better call off your detectives. Remember June 10 at 12. Mr. The Three." (As a side note, the threats eventually stopped and Rosamond was married to Ensign Forrest U. Lake of the U.S. Navy a decade later in 1914.) In the meantime, the meeting rooms of Bretton Hall were used by clubs and organizations. Only the well-to-do could afford automobiles and motor yachts and in November 1904 The New York Motor Club was formed in Bretton Hall. At its inaugural meeting on November 17, the purposes submitted by the Committee on Constitution and By-Laws were "to encourage the interest of motoring on land and water." But one member shouted out, "Why not add in the air?" For years inventors had struggled to perfect a flying machine and, as a matter of fact, the Wright brothers had successfully flown their biplane for 59 seconds the previous December. The suggestion prompted a heated debate which, according to The New York Times, "waxed hotter and hotter." Nevertheless before the meeting adjourned the purposes of the club had been amended to "promote motoring on land, water and in the air." A month later, early on the morning of December 14, 1904, the "engineer" (one of the staff tasked with minding the heavy equipment) went to the basement to "start the engines and dynamos," as reported by The Evening Telegram. "He found the cellar filled with four feet of water. Barrels and boxes were floating about. Hundreds of dollars' worth of machinery had been damaged." A large water main had broken and burst through the 86th Street subway station wall, "hurling aside the wall of the subway as if the bricks were merely chips of wood." The flooded subway was crippled throughout most of the day and traffic was closed on Broadway until around 1:30. The Evening Telegram said "One of the places which suffered most was the big Bretton Hall apartment house."

Residents looking forward to a warm breakfast that morning would be disappointed. The kitchen, also in the basement, was out of commission. But the inconvenience to the 175 families living here went much beyond that. "The hotel is without elevator service or electric lights and no heat can be supplied until the cellar is cleared. No meals can be served, and the patrons are forced to seek out refectories elsewhere." And because four $5,000 boilers were destroyed, the entire building was without heat in the December cold. Society women routinely gathered in the dining rooms of New York hotels for tea and luncheon. But they were unwelcome without a male escort after 6:00. At the dawn of the women's rights movement, some well-to-women had had enough. One socialite complained to a reporter "To be sure, it might be that the man in the case was only a messenger boy brought in from the nearest telegraph office for the express purpose of complying with the letter of the law," but being seated without "a mere man" was impossible. To fight back the Equity Suffrage Club was formed in Bretton Hall in 1908. It was composed, according to one account, "of both men and women" and its first attack would be a boycott of those hotels following the system. In February 1909 Anderson & Price purchased the hotel they had been leasing since its opening. In reporting on the deal, the New-York Tribune remarked "It is one of the largest exclusive apartment hotels in this city." For years the residents would appear in society columns and on the membership lists of exclusive clubs. Typical of them were Alden M. Young, the senior partner of Young & Warner and a director in two dozen corporations, and his wife. The Evening World called him "well known in club and fraternal circles, having been a member of the Union League Club, the Railroad Club, the Recess Club, and Odd Fellows and Royal Arcanum." The ballroom of the hotel was often the scene of society weddings, as well. On January 30, 1911, for instance, Eva Arnold, daughter of Standard Oil Company official Edward D. Arnold, was married to Earle Wayne Webb here. The New York Times mentioned "The presents, which numbered 250, filled three rooms of the first floor of the hotel." It was apparent the following year that Anderson & Price were now accepting some transient guests. And the arrivals on October 7, 1912, may have been a bit unnerving to strait-laced residents. The Sun reported "In splendid physical condition and confident of victory, the Red Sox arrived here from Boston at 6 o'clock last evening and went to Bretton Hall." Nevertheless, the long-term residents continued to be both well-heeled and well-known. Among them in 1913 was Henry L. Brittain, treasurer of the H. L. Brittain Company on Park Row. His was a ground-breaking firm manufactured "moving picture machines for the home." He was also treasurer of the Granite Spring Water Company, the Anchor metal Novelty Company and the Simplex Camera Company. On January 2, 1913 the New-York Tribune reported on a significant turn of events for the wealthy businessman. He had traveled to Britain regarding the settlement of an estate. According to dispatches received by the Tribune from London, Brittain "was robbed of documents that related to an estate valued at $5,000,000." Brittain told investigators he "does not expect to recover the lost documents which were stolen from his kit bag," but offered a $250 reward, nevertheless. Brittain was among the last of the long-term residents. Anderson & Price advertised Bretton Hall in 1914 as "New York City's Largest Transient Uptown Hotel." The ad touted "exceptionally large, quiet rooms with baths...All the comforts of the better New York Hotels at one-third less price." A sketch of the building clearly showed that the cornice was still fully intact. But two years later that condition was slightly different. An advertisement in the New-York Tribune on December 3, 1916 called the Hotel Bretton Hall the "largest and most attractive uptown hotel" with single rooms and a bath priced at $2.50 and $3 per day, and suites at $4 to $7.50. The most expensive accommodations would be about $177 in today's money. But the photograph showed that cornice had been toned down, possibly in an attempt to keep the building looking up to date.

Anderson & price had quietly altered the cornice by the time of this 1916 photo. New-York Tribune, December 3, 1916 (copyright expired)

Despite the change from resident to transient, Bretton Hall continued to be a location for society weddings. Such was the case on June 26, 1916 when Esther Ford, the daughter of State Supreme Court Justice John Ford, was married to John Cassan Wait here. Ford had also served in the State Senate in 1895. Well-dressed patrons were, perhaps, unaware of labor problems with the waiter's union when they sat down in the Bretton Hall dining room on the evening of June 16, 1919. But Price & Anderson were well informed and prepared for problems. The New York Times reported that the 50 waiters, "stood at their posts, appraising the guests as they entered for the meal. According to one of the guests, there was an air of expectancy about part of the waiters, and this was explained when a whistle blew." Immediately upon hearing the whistle, the waiters formed a line and "with military precision departed." The well-timed strike was planned to cause the most upheaval as possible. But Price & Anderson were well ahead of the potential disaster. The Times wrote "But just as the last of the strikers went through the door fifty substitute waiters came in another. So far as the guests were concerned the walkout merely served to show that most of the strikers had learned correct marching while in the service." A much more disturbing incident brought Bretton Hall back into the newspapers in November that year. Frank A. Skelton and his wife were residents of Montreal, but had taken rooms in Bretton Hall for the winter. On Saturday night, November 22 the couple went to the theater. When they returned about midnight, "they found everything topsy turvy," said The New York Times. "Drawers from dressing tables, desks and bureaus were scattered on the tops of the tables, and clothing had been thrown upon the floor by the visitors in their search for jewels. Two jewel cases had been emptied and left open on one of the tables." The thieves were successful in their search. They had made off with "about thirty diamond rings, watches, necklaces and other valuable pieces of jewelry." The loss was estimated at about $290,000 in today's money. Mrs. Skelton refused to confirm that number, saying merely "Some of the pieces were so old as to be considered treasures; others were new, made of diamonds and platinum, and were of unusual design. The loss was heavy." Living in the hotel "in luxurious fashion," according to The New York Herald, at the time was Mrs. May Jennings Bennett, a 32-year old widow widely known in religious circles. She was vice-president of the Women's Foreign Missionary Society and was active in the work of the Fort Washington Presbyterian Church. As so it was most likely a great surprise to many when police knocked on her door on October 3, 1919 to arrest her. Mrs. Jennings, through her church work, came in contact with many moneyed women. At teas or lunches in her Bretton Hall apartment she would mention that she was embarking on real estate projects--purchasing old houses in order to replace them with modern apartment buildings. After she had interested her victims in the potential, she would even take them to the see the properties, none of which she actually owned. She then collected thousands of dollars "investment" from her unwitting dupes. May Jennings's defense was even more startling. When a journalist visited her jail cell on January 10, 1920, she said "I admit I played the part of a crook, but my downfall is due to the psychic divine control a man, formerly a Presbyterian minister, has had over me for the last year. That man conducts mystic ceremonies up near Central Park, and during all the time I was robbing my friends and acquaintances of thousands of dollars, I was under a spell cast over me by him." Her trial was held on January 21. She pleaded guilty and offered her curious explanation. Judge Mulqueen was not swayed. "I am convinced you are a common and base swindler," he said before announcing her sentence of nine years in prison. When her lawyer pleaded for leniency, the judge reminded him that he could have imposed the maximum penalty of 40 years. "I think she is being treated leniently." An even bigger jewelry heist than the Skelton robbery happened two months later. Mr. and Mrs. Charles MacManus of Rye, New York, took rooms on the fourth floor here in the spring of 1920. On March 30 Mrs. McManus placed her jewelry in a trunk after dressing for luncheon. The following evening, when dressing for dinner, she found that someone had been in the trunk. Missing were about 35 pieces of jewelry. Their total value, $30,000, would be equal to more than $375,000 today. The pieces were insured, unfortunately, for only about half their value. Ironically, the most valuable of the pieces had been in a safe deposit vault and had only been removed a few days earlier for appraisal. The proprietors of the hotel embarked on a forward-thinking plan for its employees in February 1927--shared-cost benefits. The New York Times explained "The Hotel Bretton Hall joined its employes in the purchase of a $225,000 group life insurance policy from the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company." More than 200 employees now not only had a life insurance policy, but an early form of health benefits. "The plan includes a visiting nurse service, distribution of health conservation pamphlets and provides for the payment of an employe's insurance in full if he becomes totally and permanently disabled before the age of 60." In June 1929 the owners, Benjamin Winter, Inc., hired architects Springsteen & Goldhammer to make renovations, including converting the southern half of the street level to shops The Times noted that "remodeling of the interior of the 500-room structure is also under way." The renovations resulted in 150 single rooms, 120 two-room suites, 25 three-room "apartments," seven four-rooms suites and, along with the stores, a bar and restaurant.

An advertising postcard shows the shops in the southern end of the building.

In 1931 another store, much less architecturally invasive, was installed in the northern corner for The Chase National Bank. The heyday for Bretton Hall seems to have passed by 1939 when a room cost $2.50 per night. It was a mere fraction of the amount charged in 1916.

The 1931 commercial space, now a Citibank branch, was sympathetically inserted into the base.

In February 1950 the newly-formed Hotel Bretton Hall, Inc., headed by Grace Bordiga, purchased the structure. In reporting the sale, The New York Times noted "Improvements planned by the new operators...include plans for dining room so that it can be used for catering purposes and the installation of kitchenettes in some additional apartments." While still offering 78 hotel rooms, the renovated Bretton Hall now included dentists offices and, on the second floor, the Rutledge Club and offices. Somewhat surprisingly, the building became a center of the Upper West Side Haitian community. Decades later, in 1993, Rev. Thomas Wenski, director of the Pierre Toussaint Haitian Catholic Center recalled to a New York Times reporter "Our community was centered on the West Side of Manhattan, mostly around 86th Street along Broadway and Amsterdam Avenue...A number of families managed to congregate at the Bretton Hall." The ballroom here was rented by campaign of Representative Bella Abzug to watch the election results of July 20, 1972. Although the 51-year old Congressional freshman had hoped to rally the feminist vote, she and her supporters were disappointed when it became obvious she had been unseated. In the early 1980's an organization called the Artists Assistance Services took advantage of the low rents in Bretton Hall to scoop up apartments and offer them to "people in the arts." New York Magazine cautioned, however, "But there was a little clause attached: The tenant had to share his living room with a 'cultural activity.'" And so artist Abby Cahn shared hers with a karate class. That was a problem, she found out, when the karate instructor refused to let her have any furniture. And if classes were in session she was not allowed to enter. Emad Salem, living here in 1993, was a translator and bodyguard for Sheikh Omar Abdel Rahman, known commonly in the United States as "the Blind Sheikh." Following the World Trade Center bombing that year, Salem made himself available to to the F.B.I., who later said "Mr. Salem was central to the arrests of the accused plotters, luring them to make statements that were recorded, helping to test explosives and even renting the house in Jamaica, Queens, where the suspects are accused of mixing the fertilizer and fuel for the bombs." With Salem's assistance, the F.B.I. was able to wiretap that house. Following the arrest of the sheikh and his cronies, Salem made a quick disappearance with Government help. On June 26 The New York Times wrote "Neighbors at the Bretton Hall residential hotel at 2350 Broadway, where Mr. Salem lived, said they saw garbage from his apartment at the trash chute on Wednesday, including a telephone that looked as if it had been ripped from a wall, and pictures of his son and daughter." Salem's information had also helped derail 12 other targets, "including Grand Central terminal, the Empire State Building and Times Square," said officials. By now the entire cornice had been gone for years. The owners embarked on a renovation late in 2006 that initially called for reproducing the lost cornice. Architect John C. Calderón, however, found that "the cost was prohibitive." Instead he designed a parapet of red brick and cast stone in an effort to approximate the lower design. Despite the good intentions, it falls short of a design-completing cornice.

More than a century of changes did not affect the elaborate three-story Beaux Arts entrance.

The completed $1 million renovation resulted in 461 rental apartments. photographs by the author

Source: http://daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com/2019/06/the-1903-hotel-bretton-hall-2350.html

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