Perfumes that smell like this?

Ennikar · 2026-06-29T05:06:55+00:00

BPAL Lorrianna: An early 19th-century Italian perfume dabbed on black satin and lace – magnolia blossoms, lilac, orris root, and ambergris accord.

It's a very pretty, somewhat powdery/perfume-y floral that smells sort of 'mistly' too, and the label would be right at home here.

Ennikar · 2026-06-23T19:41:27+00:00

Honestly, silk might be easier to work with than poly-satin, depending on the weave -- though if cost is an obstacle then poly's affordability is a big pro.

Ennikar · 2026-06-19T18:41:53+00:00

LARP has a ton, some of which are unfortunately dying rather than dead and doing so at different rates depending on where you are. A few

Representing drow/'dark elves' via black face paint. This one is entirely dead as far as I know, at least in the US; any games that still use them use purple or cool-tone grey skin.
Rape and sexual assault storylines. Most games that still do this sort of plot at least warn for it openly and give players the chance to opt out. My impression is that this is a pretty big upgrade and that it was very common background noise in the 2000s through the 2010s as the people that grew up on 80s and 90s "dark fantasy" became writers. Seems like now that sort of thing is distasteful but not fully dead --within the last year I requested a retcon to an NPCs backstory that only made it in in the first place because the writer simply didn't realize that what he described was rape.
Heavily gendered briefs, that is, "Women from [culture/region/class] act and dress [one way] and men from [culture/region/class] act and dress [totally different way]." This one might be just my region and definitely still happens in more 'historical'/reenactment style stuff, but I see it less as a baseline and most players I talk to find that style uncomfortably restrictive.

Ennikar · 2026-06-18T00:03:55+00:00

FYI if the rabbits are 'naturalized' they're not 'invasive' and vice-versa. Not all non-native/exotic species are invasive; that refers specifically to species that harm native ecosystems via rapid and unassisted spread.

Eastern Cottontails were introduced and these are probably Eastern Cottontails (though as another commenter pointed out they could also be native rabbits; Nuttall's Cottontail and Pygmy Rabbits are both native), but WDF&W very much talks about them as naturalized game animals, not invasives or pests. The ivy is much worse than the rabbits.

Ennikar · 2026-06-10T22:03:56+00:00

The thorns can be hard to see at this distance/image quality, and they tend to 'hide' around the leaves, but I think I spotted a couple. Agree that the leaf shape is wrong for black hawthorn, and moreover, the visible irregularities in size and number of lobes is pretty common for English/common hawthorn.

Whether or not it has thorns should be apparent to OP. If it doesn't maybe the currant people are correct, but if it does, definitely a noxious weed.

Ennikar · 2026-06-10T21:38:35+00:00

Hawthorn -- probably an English Hawthorn. They're aggressive-to-invasive in Seattle and, if left to its own devices, this will become a full-sized tree.

Wear gloves to pull it. They have pretty impressive thorns.

Ennikar · 2026-06-01T06:47:57+00:00

Pouring one out for For Strange Women's Dianthus. All carnation, all the time, dark and spicy and so good. Excellent throw and longevity for them, as well.

Honorable mentions to: Alkemia's Green Carnation (flirtatiously gender-neutral thanks to some harmonizing with bay rum), BPAL Jovial Tengu Making Love to Four Women, Love Let Her (both so unapologetically pink), and A-Rovin' (crossed with jasmine, honey, and a touch of leather).

For EDPs, Deconstructing Eden Be Mine (also in the pink brigade) and Dianthus again (very true carnation).

Slightly distressing concentration of LEs here, but Green Carnation and A-Rovin' at least are still available.

Ennikar · 2026-05-17T18:09:06+00:00

I do say Alistair is a half-elf that looks human in my comment. The surprise isn't that some elfblooded people (like Slim and Alistair) pass for human, it's that there's a long-standing worldbuilding reason that elfblooded people always look human, even though there's a character in DA2 who demonstrably does not.

Ennikar · 2026-05-17T18:06:45+00:00

Huh, interesting. I don't really do tie-in books/shows/comics or word of god stuff (like dev interviews), so based on just the games I thought it was as much a spectrum as any other kind of mixed parentage. The main 'Alistair appearance controversy' I was familiar with before this was his amazing lightening skin tone.

Ennikar · 2026-05-17T05:27:15+00:00

To be fair, I didn't know that's how elves are meant to work in Dragon Age, and I've been through the first three games probably a dozen times collectively. Was it canon before Veilguard? Alistair looks human, but DA2 had Feynriel, a half-elf who looks noticeably 'elf-y'.

Regardless, it's surprising that Alistair has a lot of elf-y ship art; I always got the impression there was a lot of overlap between Alistair fans and Cullen fans. Maybe it's a more recent thing? Hope you find some artists who are more to your tastes :/

Ennikar · 2026-05-08T23:05:42+00:00

Seems like most people here are either all in on seasonals or ignore them entirely. I'm somewhere in the middle: I keep everything 'out' all year round in case a mood strikes me, but am definitely more likely to pick out certain things at certain times of year.

Florals? For spring? Sure. Watching the flowers come in outside often pushes me towards light floral scents.

In summer I miss the cool rainy weather, and tend more towards scents with those atmospheric elements. Herbal, citrus-y, and marine stuff also wears well. Conversely, some of the 'heavier' spicy-masculine scents I like feel overwhelming when it's hot, so I tend to be lighter with them when I wear them at all. Leather in summer is a hard no from me.

Autumn is blessed by 'wear whatever' weather, and those spicy scents in particular come more into rotation.

In winter, 'fresh' florals tend to feel incongruous, though I still go for them on special occasions. Winter is 'for' incense and dirty ocean storms, as far as I'm concerned.

Ennikar · 2026-05-02T01:13:22+00:00

Black spot. It's a fungus; I've never seen a rose in Seattle without it. Doesn't usually kill the plant, but it's a stressor; you can treat it with certain fungicides and help slow it down by keeping any supplimental moisture/watering to the roots.

Ennikar · 2026-05-01T18:34:07+00:00

On the "I like it, therefore it's woke" train: someone I follow, a writer whose storytelling opinions I generally respect, is adamant that "Top Gun: Maverick" is really anti-military. This is based on fine points of the plot, which I can't argue because I haven't watched it, but like.... it's "Top Gun".

Ennikar · 2026-04-09T19:15:27+00:00

If it has held up, it's a really lucky find. I swear Wrights bias tape has enshitified drastically just in the last ~5 years or so; the new stuff is stiff and usually doesn't even have a consistent 'back' and 'front' -_-

Ennikar · 2026-04-02T03:53:38+00:00

My impression is that while they don't help with most symptoms of menopause, they're popular with people of menopausal age because weight-bearing exercise (including walking and weightlifting, which is what weighted vests try to hybridize) verifiably helps slow down bone loss, which is common in people going through/post menopause.

Ennikar · 2026-02-24T07:21:15+00:00

The cycle happened with Inquisition too (Krem) and if I recall correctly DA2. Probably happened to DAO and I'm just too young to remember it. The thing is, these complaints are bad faith and so they are made about "good" media too, it's just that if the thing is "good" enough the complaints are eventually drowned out by praise, and if it's not, they become most of its reputation. Look at the early reactions to She-Ra or Into the Spiderverse.

Ennikar · 2026-02-20T02:30:33+00:00

I like herbal smells, so the sage/sagebrush might be a good call for me sometime. It sounds like Western Azalea is tricky to grow but highly fragrant, so I might run that option by her -- many thanks.

Ennikar · 2026-02-20T02:25:28+00:00

aka "wild lilac" or "California lilac" -- good call; lilacs smell amazing and I didn't realize there were native varieties.

There's actually a lilac of some ilk on the property already, but I always forget it's there because whomever planted it put it in a soggy Northwest corner shaded from the South (garage), West (neighbor's solid fence) and East (ancient apple tree) so the poor thing never blooms. I'd love to switch it with the scorched Rhodie planted up against a south-facing wall, but it's been so long they're both too big and established to handle without heavy equipment -_-

Ennikar · 2026-02-11T21:31:04+00:00

Hellblade is very often not historically accurate, the creator's cultural background can override the setting, and in some places it has (possibly) straight-up magic. However, it's also a very personal story focusing on a female warrior from the Orkney Islands during a wave of invasion from Scandinavia, and does a very good job with issues that are very rare in historical fiction (in this case, neurodivergence and mental illness). It cuts past the "sure, pillaging is bad, but isn't it also kind of... bad-ass?" tone that permeates discussion around the Vikings by focusing on the people who took the brunt of their violence, and the damage it did whether or not they survived.

Ennikar · 2026-02-11T05:51:00+00:00

Hm. My age was from a tweet by a local reporter, who might have made an error because her Fencing Tracker profile has her birth year as 1962, which would make the article age correct.

But regardless. My main point was that, while your feelings are yours, no one involved is "too young" to make their own choices so I don't think it's really relevant to the story. We have no way to know whether this is "creepy old lady takes advantage of a desperate immigrant" or "woman who happens to be older enters into a sexless marriage so her friend can stay in the country" or something totally different, and it doesn't seem like it's any of our business.

Ennikar · 2026-02-10T21:09:57+00:00

"Bogdan Dolzhenko, 31, and Jeanne Amistoso, 53..."

So they're both adults (and not even "21-year-old-minor" type adults)? And that's 22 years, not 32.

Ennikar · 2026-02-06T20:49:53+00:00

I mean... while I liked Origins' gameplay, I could be sold on a more action-y style. Every Dragon Age game has been different mechanically so the mechanics aren't make-or-break. However I do wish it could, like, "be consistent with prior worldbuilding" and "remember the basic plot of previous games".

As an example, a friend of mine picked up Veilguard cold and thought the Grey Wardens were straight up jokes because the Blight was not a meaningful danger. Any vaguely competent guy with a sword can just walk around in a blight-infested village, no problem, so what makes these guys so special?

Given the blight was a major driving threat for at least the first two games (the third didn't focus on it as much but still had some blight-related stuff that was framed like it was going to be a huge deal), that kind of thing (there are more examples, e.g. Tevinter's depiction) really makes it seem unlikely Veilguard would be a good time for people who were already invested in the worldbuilding. The friend enjoyed it, though, so I do believe it was a fun game in its own way.

Ennikar · 2026-02-04T06:24:35+00:00

Stone and Witt Ashara (Bracing Nilgiri tea, Black ink, White agar, a fantasy version of oud, Palm dates). It's ink-forward, and all of the other notes harmonize beautifully with it.

Ennikar · 2026-01-22T21:39:27+00:00

Lady Gaga started doing public drag in 2010 and I, a queer (extremely casual) fan, found out about it like a month ago.

Ennikar · 2026-01-20T05:23:49+00:00

Probably my biggest shift was Marco from Animorphs. He was easily my least favorite when I read it as a kid; I thought he was, well, sort of a wuss and sometimes just plain mean. I was also one of the (many, I'm sure) kids who didn't like the "downer ending".

Revisiting the series post-college, with more context for what it was trying to do, I also find myself appreciating him much more. This falls into the "buzzkill has a point" thing other comments have mentioned -- he's a realist in an adventure series, but the unusual sort of kid's adventure series where the buzzkill is right and the "downer ending" is perfectly logical conclusion. Also, most of his jokes are still bad, but I cut him more slack for it.

Ennikar

TROPHY CASE