refraction 
okay so what are good fountain pens to get? would ideally want something that gives some line variation, but anything nice and affordable will be considered.
also would like ink recommendations both for fountain and dip pens.
Anya 
@elexia Lamy Safari is my standard for good price/quality ratio if you just want to write, we have a bunch of them at home and most work well except one that has recurring issues feeding ink (after being stored unused for months). They feel a bit scratchy though, which is an issue for left handed writing. Their stroke width tends to be a little varied, depending more on the speed of the stroke than on the force with which i press (again this is also related to being left-handed!)
(i was given an older version of a Waterman Allure years ago, which i use for daily writing. It has been extremely reliable and feels much smoother than the Lamy pens, although the stroke width is pretty much fixed. Also very expensive, so i wouldn't count is as an answer to your question.)
As for ink, i got a big pot of Waterman "serenity blue" ink that i use most of the time, combined with whatever cartridges the nearest stores have in stock for the pen models. Never noticed much reason to use different ink.
(i was given an older version of a Waterman Allure years ago, which i use for daily writing. It has been extremely reliable and feels much smoother than the Lamy pens, although the stroke width is pretty much fixed. Also very expensive, so i wouldn't count is as an answer to your question.)
As for ink, i got a big pot of Waterman "serenity blue" ink that i use most of the time, combined with whatever cartridges the nearest stores have in stock for the pen models. Never noticed much reason to use different ink.
@anya got a Safari still from school times (we had to use fountain pens in school for a long time).
Sky, Cozy Goth Prince of Cats