#Ilex visions

[keresacheron]

Pokemon Kalos Crystal Playthrough and Review

Kalos Crystal is the sequel to Unova Red. It has a very simple premise; that the pokemon of generations 5&6 take the place of those of in 1-2. It's a Crystal Version where Fairy is the brand new types instead of dark&steel. A shiny Elektrike replaces the Red Gyarados, ect.

It's a faithful adaption of Pokemon Crystal. It's got great sprites, being made by the Unova Red/B&W3 team that feel really appropriate for gen 2. It's very nostalgic and really feels like your playing an alternative timeline version of crystal. I once caught a Krookorok holding a black glassess, which was a real flavour win. All the legendaries have overworld sprites, which is great immersion, and the additional legendaries are placed in appropriate areas. There are additional evoluation stones, so that while still scarce they are more available than the base game.

I took awhile completing the pokedex, and the evolution changes and more importantly earlier evolution levels were great even if they were still fairly high. The level curve is somewhat improved while still feeling like the original game, with the exception of the Kanto trainers. The wild Kanto pokemon have thankfully been moved up to level 35. There is an Elite Four rematch where they start at level 60, which provided a good intermediate step between Blue and Red.

Some of the fights and team choices were great. Your Rival has a Sandile, which fits since he's son of Giovanni who uses one in Radical Red as his ace. Whitney was still extremely hard, as her new ace Furfrou could still outspeed and flinch stuff with Stomp+Attract. The Kimono girls used the Swords of Justice. Jasmine's Aegislash was hard, but fair as the lack of abilities was balanced by giving them a low special defence. The dragons in the Johto lategame all had dragon rage at the right time, giving the Team Rocket Admins and Blackthorn Gym a great theme. Will type was changed from Psychic to Fairy, showing off the generations new type. Lance was very tough but fair.

Red himself was a bit too strong. His team were the three Unova starters and the Tao Trio of Legendary dragons in their mid to late seventies. Without a fairy type to switch into his outrages he would be unbeatable by my lvl63 no legendaries team (Also his Samurotts horn drill never missed in multiple battles, sometimes koing 2 or more pokemon).

The games greatest strengths, it's faithfulness and adaption, is also it's greatest weakness. Bugsies ace was Vivillion without STAB. Pryce was a joke, as the physical special split robbed him of good STAB moves for his team. The Kanto trainers and gym leaders had levels that were mostly unchanged. Jasime was kept a poison type user, so she and Koga both had to substitute in bug pokemon into their team, despite the Fuschia gym now being dark. Dragalgae was overused, with Clair, Koga and Lance all using one. And Karen didn't use a Hydreigon since this was Lance's ace.

It was a good experience and executes it's vision marvelously. My team is below.

Darcy, my starter pokemon. I always wanted to use a Shiny Fennikin due to it's great look, so I used a code to make it shiny. Darcy was a great pokemon, hitting hard and fast with powerful moves. It's type combination played great with the physical/special split, and with the Dazzling Gleam TM he was even great against Lance.

Salem the Mandibuzz, caught as a Vullaby on Route 46. I had never used a Vullaby or Mandibuzz before, and wanted to try one out. She was extremly strong, both in the early game, and later on when it evolved to Mandibuzz at level 40 before the elite four. Due to learnign Swords Dance very early on, her bulk and physical stabs she had a niche as sword dance sweeper and still handily swept Morty with Swords Dance followed by Thief.

Ozma the Whimmsicot, caught in Ilex Forest as a Cottonee. I wanted a Fairy type for Lance, and wanted to try using this line as fairy types. She sadly doesn't learn sleep powder, but her stun spore helped me catch many a pokemon. For mid-to-late Johto she was my weakest mon, as I restrained from evolving her until she learned Moonblast at level 40. With the Champion and final two elite four members being weak to Fairy she was great against them, and vital to beating Red as her dragon immunity was vital.

Destiny the Stunfisk, caught surfing in Slowpoke Well post Morty. I have always wanted to use a Stunfisk, and seeing them flopping around Azalea town made me excited to get one early. I was disapointed to have to wait for Surf to get one. However, while slow Destiny hit hard and had very useful typing and abilties. She was great in mid-late Johto when the rest of my team need the help. She hit hard with a wide movepool, and while to slow to sweep she almost always took at least one pokemon down with her.

Ryuugi the Clawitzer, caught post-Morty while Surfing then was coded. I always wanted to use a Clawtizer, liked it's Shiny, and though it would be interesting to play one in a very different way it would in future generations since it has no pulse moves. With early extreme speed and Aqua Jet he hit fast, and with his special attack and high power moves he hit hard. Due to take until level 38 to evolve he also fell behind mid-game and needed to have Surf and Icy Wind until after I became Champion. He was never the less devastating against nonwater mons and has a very cool sprite.

Ben Jerry the Bouffolant, caught Route 44 post-gym 7. I was getting desperate, as I needed a sixth mon without a type overlap that didn't share a weakness with more than two of pokemon that I hadn't run into before. So I settled on Bouffolant, who immidately got Head Charge and proceed to devastate everything in his path with overwelming physical power. As a Tauros counterpart, he felt very fitting for the game, and while he never got a good coverage moves he was so good against the rest of the game it hardly mattered (I spent my Earthquake TM on Stunfisk, since he doesn't get it by level and he really should). He did one thing, hit really hard, and did it really well from the moment I caught him till the very end of the games.

[drgnbld]

they appear in his dream.

It’s not the current yellow. They’re smaller, if only barely, their face rounder and eyes wider.

They’re ten.

Yellow looks at their hands, brow pinched, before the dots connect.

“is this how you see me? … or is this how I think you see me?”

they’re getting off track.

“hi, aniki.”

wataru hardly dreams these days. since finding himself out of place, disconnected to the world and everyone around him, visions of what his dream world would be no longer visit him as they used to. he's gotten fairly used to it, or as used to as he thinks considering how little he sleeps to make the connection that he'll never dream again, so as his vision clears and eyes open to find not viridian, but ilex forest, he's a little bit taken aback.

more so when the timid voice of yellow catches his attention from behind. upon turning that's not the only thing which is weird about this ordeal - the fluttering of his cape passes his gaze and he notices the colouration of it is different. gone is the royal navy blue he sports now, nostalgic red and black hits him like a ton of bricks; the clothes match, too, old weathered jeans tucked neatly into boots, an old red leather jacket weighs heavy on his shoulders.

both of them, versions of each other lost to the memories of time.

" Yellow-? " his voice catches and he hates it. always has. a major fault in showing brief weakness as loud as that but even then he allows it for this bizarre situation. " what... what is this? "

[noweyesee]

For witchcraft practitioners who work with plants, be it in spells, charms, being tactile in nature or gardening, this list contains some of the plants that can bring harm if used incorrectly or have a high level of toxicity.

Always be cautious and so research on any plant or herb you’re planning to utilize or grow.

Rosary Pea (Abrus precatorius) • Ingesting a single seed can kill an adult human. Symptoms of poisoning include nausea, vomiting, convulsions, liver failure, and death, usually after several days.

Wolfsbane (Aconitum spp) • All parts are poisonous, if ingested, it usually causes burning, tingling, and numbness in the mouth, followed by vomiting and nervous excitement. Even casual skin contact should be avoided. Symptoms include numbness, tingling, and cardiac irregularity.

White Baneberry (Actaea pachypoda) • All parts are poisonous, especially the berries, the consumption of which has a sedative effect on cardiac muscle tissue and can cause cardiac arrest.

Arnica • Poisonous in great quantities. Symptoms of poisoning include gastroenteritis, fever, nausea, dizziness, abnormal cardiac frequency, diarrhea, skin reaction and internal hemorrhage in the digestive system.

Azalea (Rhododendron simsii) • If ingested it is poisonous. Continued contact should be avoided. Symptoms of poisoning are nausea, depression, respiratory difficulties, coma. It is rarely lethal.

Anthurium (Anthurium spp) • Prevent getting in contact with the sap. Symptoms are skin irritation and eye irritation.

Cedronella canariensis • Can cause skin irritation, indigestions. Should not be used or touch by pregnant people or lactating people.

Belladonna (Atropa belladonna) • Extremely poisonous, it is lethal and it can be absorbed through skin. Symptoms of poisoning are fogged vision, staggering, loss of balance, dry mouth and throat, headache, skin eruptions, constipation, confusion, hallucination and convulsion.

Lamprocapnos spectabilis • Can be poisonous in big quantities, which causes convulsions and other symptoms in the nervous system.

Iris versicolor • Symptoms pf poisoning include nausea, vomit, mouth and throat irritation, irritation on the digestive system, skin irritation, headache and epiphora.

Bryony • All parts are poisonous and any type of contact causes death.

Ranunculus • If ingested, the juice can cause serious damage to the digestive system.

Acorus calamus • Toxic in big quantities, can cause hallucination, nausea and vomit.

Physostigma venenosum • Extremely toxic, can cause intense sweating, extreme salivation, nausea, vomit, diarrhea, irregular cardiac rhythm, change in blood pressure, confusion, convulsion, coma, muscular weakness, paralysis, respiratory difficulties and death.

Cinnamomum camphora • Skin rash, itchiness, respiratory difficulties, mouth, eyes, face or lips swelling.

Ricinus communis • Poisonous. Can cause burning in the mouth and throat, abdominal pain, bloody diarrhea. At a long period of intoxication, can cause dehydration, low blood pressure. If not treated, death will occur in 3 to 5 days

Daphne • Poisonous. Causes burns in the mouth and digestive tract, followed by coma. Can cause death.

Vinca ��� Must not be ingested, causes nausea, vomit, loss of hair, loss of hearing, dizziness, bleeding, nervous difficulties, convulsions, liver damage and death.

Asclepias tuberosa • Cardiac difficulties, nausea, vomit and skin rash.

Agave spp • The juice of a number of species causes acute contact dermatitis, with blistering lasting several weeks and recurring itching for several years thereafter.

Columbine (Aquilegia spp) • Seeds and roots contain cardiogenic toxins which cause both severe gastroenteritis and heart palpitations if consumed, columbine poisonings are easily fatal.

Mercurialis perennis • Symptons happen after some hours, they include vomit, pain, gastritis, renal inflammation and sleepiness.

Colocasia • All parts are poisonous and cause mouth and tongue irritation. Can be fatal.

Gelsemium • Extremely poisonous, even in low quantities. Causes headache, problems with vision, difficulty swallowing, dizziness, muscular complications, convulsions, respiratory complications and low blood pressure.

Laburnum • Causes excitation, loss of balance, convulsions and coma. Can be lethal.

Helleborus • Dangerous if ingested or applied on the skin. Cause irritation in the mouth and throat and low blood pressure. Big quantities can cause vomit, diarrhea, difficulties swallowing, nervous system complications, blindness, convulsion, paralysis, respiratory complications and death.

Ilex aquifolium • The fruits can be lethal and the leaves cause diarrhea, nausea, vomit, stomach and intestine complications.

Hedera helix • Causes stomach pain, respiratory complications and possible coma.

Impatiens capensis • Dangerous when ingested in big quantities.

Datura stramonium • Don’t inhale or ingest. Causes dry mouth, extreme thirst, vision complications, nausea, vomit, constipation, tachycardia, hallucinations, fever, convulsion, loss of conscience, respiratory complications and death.

Convallaria majalis • Causes irregular blood pressure and cardiac rhythm, indigestion and confusion.

Mandragora officinarum • Fogged vision, dry mouth, difficulties to urinate, headache, tachycardia, vomit and hallucinations.

Viscum album • Gastrointestinal discomfort, diarrhea, low blood pressure, convulsion. It is rarely lethal for humans.

Morning glory (Ipomoea tricolor) • Diarrhea, indigestion, disorientation, loss of apetite, ataxy and hallucinations.

Artemisia vulgaris • Prolonged contact may be fatal, so it’s best to use in a open and ventilated place.

Oak (Quercus): In big quantities is poisonous and affects the renal kidneys.

Nerium oleander • Causes cardiac complications, indigestion and can cause death.

Taxus baccata • Fatal. No symptoms come as a warning.

Hypericum perforatum • Causes fatigue, dizziness, confusion, dry mouth and can affect medicaments.

Angel’s Trumpet (Brugmansia spp) • All parts of this plant contain toxins and are often fatal. Effects of ingestion may include losing connection with reality and hallucinations.

Foxglove (Digitalis purpurea) • The leaves, seeds, and flowers are poisonous. These cause irregular heartbeat, general digestive upset, and confusion; can be fatal.

Hyacinth (Hyacinthus orientalis) • The bulbs are poisonous, causing nausea, vomiting, gasping, convulsions, and possibly death. Even handling the bulbs can cause skin irritation.

Hydrangea (Hydrangea spp) • Hydrangeas are moderately toxic if eaten.

Frangipani (Plumeria spp) • Contact with the milky latex may irritate eyes and skin.

[brokenpokeworld]

@theredvaporeon​ @ask-team-searchlights​ @themeowsticvigilante​ @askthepathfinder​

Riley turned to Gen. “Goldenrod is a little north of here. Most direct path is out the West Gate and through the Ilex Forest.”

“Lakkika Town has a long, storied history to it.” Kasu cut in, starting to pour himself another cup of tea. “It all begins back in the War of Gods. East of where our home now stands was a city built on the shoreline. However, when that war began, it, like many other coastal cities, was destroyed when the oceans were whipped into a frenzy. The survivors fled inland to where a hermit who would later become one of the Great Sages made his home.”

“As his homestead was where the town was eventually built, it was only appropriate for the town to take on his name… Mostly. As time has passed the name shifted from ‘Lucky Cat’s Town’ to ‘Lakkika Town’ over multiple iterations that have been lost to time.”

“They’ve got basic internet and television there to keep an eye on what’s going on worldwide and they’ve got a really good signal if you’ve got a cell phone, but that’s about it.”

“There is more than that there, we just prefer doing things the ‘old fashioned’ way.” Kazu interrupted. “It’s a small town, so there isn’t much need for vehicles aside from a cart to move large, heavy objects from point A to point B, maybe also to help move around those who have problems walking too. And we do have air conditioning and heaters for the hot and cold seasons.”

“That being said, it’s still pretty rural. Everyone either farms, hunts, or makes things for a living, and everyone is trained to fight. Some of us were sent to the coast on guard duty and to greet visitors from the Silver Priest’s Islands, but nobody aggressive really comes to our shores.” Riley finished his drink. “Now, originally this was just going to be a vacation to go enter Crown City’s tournament and return home. However, when we were about to leave, the Elder had a vision that really rattled him…”

“Oh yeah, I was about to ask how Elder Gordo is doing, but I’m guessing not too well?” Silk interrupted, looking a bit concerned.

“Nah, he’s just fine. Pretty energetic for a 100-year-old human.” Riley grinned before his face turned serious again.

“Honestly, it’s pretty normal for him to have nightmare visions, but they never have that feel of being real, so he chalks them up to bad dreams. This one, though, apparently felt very real. So now we need to win the tournament now to wish for a way to stop them from reawakening… Or, at least, wish for the knowledge of HOW to keep them asleep.”

[sexysilverstrider]

Pet Names (Soulsilvershipping)

  Looking back on their journey, anyone would be surprised that they were rivals before. It was one-sided at first, but both learned and grew from each other in time. Hell, they were rivals still, but this time with other fluttering emotions blooming in their hearts.

  However, not all were sunshine and rainbows even when their relationship had progressed more than just rivals.

  “Ugh!” One foot stomped the hard ground. “You are so—!” Words died down between gritted teeth. Her head looked up, hazel eyes glaring at the tall redhead who was equally stubborn without fault.

  Arms crossed tightly against his chest. “Deal with it.” Deep voice growled lowly, matching his anger that quietly bubbled inside a raging heart. Their distance was a mere few inches apart, yet none decided not to move an inch. Silvers drilled against hazels. A thick air of rage loomed above the two trainers. In the eyes of strangers walking by, one would take it as a lovers’ spat.

  A very dangerous, quite terrifying lover’s spat.

  Silver squeezed back a flinch to see tears shimmering her eyes.

  “Tch—” It frustrated her; how cruel he could sometimes be. She slid one foot backwards. Both hands curled to fists by her sides. “You…” His cold remarks still rang inside her head. While yes, the start of their argument was also partly her fault, Kotone sometimes wished he could have some decency for her.

  One hand quickly wiped her tears. “I’m—” She should apologize first. Someone had to. It’s the least she could do.

  “—crying!”

  Alas, the heart was far more dominant that the mind.

  Hazel eyes snapped in his direction. A jerk of his shoulders was seen. “You make me cry!”

  Silver eyes widened as her voice echoed in public. Shame burned his cheeks. White teeth clenched harder at the sound of judgemental whispers nearby.

  Damn it! He watched as Kotone finally spun her heel. He gaped as her hypnotizing eyes no longer fill his field of vision.

  Nails dug into the skin of his palms. “Y-You…” He should apologize first. Someone had to. It’s the least he could do.

  “Baby!”

  “No!” Kotone spun to face him. “Now is not the time for pet names!”

  Alas, the heart was a cruel dictator against the poor, fragile mind.

  “No, I’m calling you a baby!” His voice cracked the atmosphere. Eyes seeing red, he pointed an index finger straight at the startled woman. “I’m insulting you!”

  Bafflement wiped the tears off her face. A few seconds of heavy silence occupied the space between them. Once again, only the questionable murmurs of passers-by lingered into their ears, further deepening the shade of red in their faces.

  Kotone had had enough.

  In a matter of seconds, a bright red light flashed before Silver. Knowing exactly what it was, he quickly unsnapped his Pokéball and released his Feraligatr.

  Soon enough, the lover’s spat had evolved into a heated, concerning Pokémon battle.

----------

  After the whole fiasco that happened this afternoon and the police having to intervene due to battling in a public area that was not meant for battles at all, Kotone finally took solace in a hidden meadow in Ilex forest. Serenity took hold of her emotions, letting her see some senses and faults that caused her to act in a way a few hours ago.

  Now, only shame reeled in her head.

  “Urgh…” Another groan exhaled for the fifteenth time. After paying the battling fine—turns out that even as the Johto Champion, she still had to pay where it was due—she quickly summoned her Togekiss and flew away. Shouts of her name by someone she didn’t want to talk to echoed in the skies, and Kotone only instructed her Jubilee Pokemon to fly faster.

  A couple of hours had passed, and her heart still hurt.

  A sigh escaped next. “I should apologize.” The advice left such pink lips. But the advice was nothing but words, whisked by the calming wind that breezed her body. She knew that if she faced him right now, it would just spark her anger back to square one. She knew it was also her fault. She knew he had trouble in opening up his true feelings. For a relationship to work, communication and understanding are vital.

  And yet…

  It stung both her heart and eyes to feel how much she loved and loathed him.

  “There you are.”

  Shoulders jerked at the husky voice she loved so much.

  Unable to meet his gaze with another tearful sight, Kotone spun around and hugged her knees tighter. Serena, her Ampharos crouched in a defensive stance. As much as the Pokémon liked the human her trainer was dating, there were days—like now—that really made her want to give the redhead a little electrifying awakening.

  A frown worsened on his face. Silver was just beyond glad that it wasn’t her damn Typhlosion that was out of the ball. “Kotone.” He called out to her. No longer did his voice seethe of irritation nor anger. It was calm, yet lulled with such chill that sent shivers down her spine.

  Kotone only showed her back.

  A crack shook his raging heart. “Kotone.” He tried again. Step by step, he approached her. Both hands raised in assurance as Serena’s quiet growl filled the mystical forest. “Easy, girl…” Soothing shushes left nude lips.

  Kotone hated that sweet voice. Damn him.

  To see the Ampharos carefully lower her guard, Silver was forever grateful that it wasn’t the Typhlosion. Silver eyes observed as Serena scooted to the side, providing a space for him yet also being at a safe distance near Kotone.

  He mouthed a ‘thank you’ and kept his full attention on the sulking woman.

  Slowly he took a deep breath. “Baby.”

  Oh, it seemed he never learned.

  “Oh, shut up!” Sorrow boiled back to anger, Kotone turned around and raised her right hand. “I know I’m a baby! You don’t have to rub it in—!”

  Pap.

  Before her palm could meet his cheek, Kotone froze to feel her right wrist being held.

  Anger burst to shock. Pupils shrunk at the realization of their minimal distance.

  “No, I’m not calling you a baby.” Slowly, breath by breath, he closed the damn gap and kneeled in front of her. “I’m sweet-talking.” A shameful reason, but an honest one. “It’s your pet name, remember?” A teasing lilt tickled her skin as Silver pressed his lips on her open palm.

  Hazel eyes shimmered beautifully amidst the dusky light.

  She tried to pull her hand away. Vainly. Poorly. To no one’s surprise, Silver kept his grip. Firmly. Gently.

  “I’m sorry…” The apology brushed the nerves in her wrist. “I’m really sorry, baby…”

  Damn him. Damn him. Damn him. Damn him!

  Kotone knew heat had flushed straight to the tips of her ears. Sincerity flickered in a pair of wonderful silvers. It did leave her some semblance of relief to see pure red burning his cheeks as well.

  “Mmm…” Finally, a mumble of forgiveness bubbled her lips. “I’m sorry too, honey…” Mind and heart finally reached an understanding that she missed and loved him so much, Kotone threw herself to him. Slim arms wrapped around his neck, shamelessly pouring her emotions to the briefly stunned man.

  Surprise held him still for a few seconds. Feeling her face nuzzling the side of his head, Silver only breathed out a shaky sigh. “Thank you, Kotone…” Strong arms embraced the body of the woman he loved so dear.

  Serena only watched the couple who now seemed quite lost in their own world. The Ampharos just sighed.

END

[love-letters-blog]

Muy buenos días!

Te abrazo❤❤!

Namaste

Si vamos a trabajar con hierbas es muy importante conocer sus usos mágicos, antes de hacer algún ritual de protección, amor, abundancia, o algún otro.

Encontré esta información básica y muy importante!!

HIERBAS Y SUS USOS MÁGICOS

A continuación, encontrarás una lista de muchas hierbas diferentesy como se pueden utilizar, cabe mencionar existen muchas propiedades más.

Para protección

Jazmín (jazmín)

El jazmín favorece el desarrollo de poderes psíquicos y también se utiliza para realizar sueños premonitorios. También ayuda a combatir el insomnio y ayuda a resolver conflictos entre personas.

Enebro (Juniperus)

Las ramas se utilizan para alejar el mal, mientras que las bayas actúan en cualquier tipo de ritual, especialmente en los de amor y en los hechizos de protección.

Hierba de San Juan (Hypericum perforatum)

La hierba de San Juan es una planta muy utilizada en magia y brujería, en particular, para atraer la buena suerte y eliminar la negatividad.

Laurel (Laurus nobilis)

Laurel protege contra el mal de ojo y la negatividad en general . Atrae dinero y suerte. Para los antiguos romanos, era un símbolo de fuerza, tanto en la guerra como en el espiritualismo. También es útil en rituales de protección mágica y en aquellos para desarrollar poderes psíquicos.

Ortiga (Urtica dioica)

La ortiga se usa tanto para protegerse del mal como para enviarlo, especialmente en el amor desatado y en todos los rituales para provocar peleas y separaciones.

Orégano (Origanum)

El orégano protege contra el mal de ojo y la negatividad en general. Junto con la menta, el laurel y la alfalfa, resulta muy potente en los rituales para atraer dinero.

Olivo(Olea europaea)

Las ramitas ahuyentan el mal y son muy útiles en hechizos de purificación y protección. Al recitar el Salmo 23 con tres ramas de olivo en la mano, puede "abrir" y "cerrar" facturas muy poderosas.

Ruda (Ruda graveolens)

Ruta es un remedio muy poderoso contra el mal de ojo desde la antigüedad. También es útil para exorcizar objetos, lugares o personas.

Hinojo (Foeniculum vulgare)

Las semillas u hojas de hinojo finamente ralladas protegen contra el mal de ojo y la negatividad en general. Además, junto con otra hierba mágica, amplifica el poder de esta última.

Ajo (Allium sativum)

El ajo es un antibiótico natural , incluso en magia. Protege contra el mal de ojo y mantiene alejada la negatividad. Es útil en rituales mágicos de alejamiento y, sobre todo, en exorcismos.

Angélica (Angelica archangelica)

Angélica protege contra el mal de ojo y la negatividad en general. Muy útil en rituales mágicos para disolver hechizos malignos y maldiciones de magia negra.

Artemisa (Artemisia vulgaris)

La artemisa confiere poderes psíquicos (como el anís estrellado) pero es mucho más poderosa. Usado para convocar espíritus, es útil en ceremonias más complejas para purificarse y protegerse del mal. También es útil en hechizos para realizar sueños premonitorios o para tener visiones del futuro.

Canela (Cinnamomum verum)

La canela promueve la memoria y otorga poderes psíquicos. Si se quema como incienso, es útil en rituales de amor y en hechizos de purificación y protección.

Trébol (Oxalis acetosella)

Las hojas secas se pueden usar para mantener alejada la negatividad y es útil, en general, en todos los rituales mágicos para atraer la buena suerte.

Cebolla (Allium cepa)

Como el ajo, protege contra el mal de ojo y mantiene alejada la negatividad. En el Hoodoo también se usa en rituales para atraer dinero y / o prosperidad en general.

Comino (Cuminum cyminum)

El comino protege contra el mal y es útil en hechizos de purificación y protección. Con sus semillas también puedes crear un aceite mágico que promueve el amor.

Manzanilla (Matricaria chamomilla)

La manzanilla promueve la paz entre las personas y es útil en todos los rituales de Magia Blanca que tienen este propósito. Las cenizas de las flores secas son un amuleto muy poderoso contra el mal de ojo y la negatividad en general.

Para la limpieza

Ingredientes imprescindibles para el baño de limpieza espiritual

Árnica (Arnica montana)

Árnica está ligada al sol. Es útil en hechizos de purificación y, sobre todo, para resolver problemas relacionados con un “bloqueo”, tanto física como psicológicamente.

Salvia (Salvia officinalis)

La salvia es útil en hechizos de purificación y protección. Gracias a la influencia astral de Júpiter, a la que está vinculado, también es muy poderoso en cuanto a rituales para atraer dinero.

Pino (Pinus)

El pino se utiliza principalmente para la fumigación durante períodos particulares de purificación y protección. Protege del mal y elimina la negatividad.

Tomillo (timo)

El tomillo confiere poderes adivinatorios y es útil en hechizos de purificación y protección. Los antiguos griegos lo quemaron en los lugares sagrados para ellos solo para purificarlos.

Hiedra (Hedera helix)

es muy útil en los rituales amorosos más imponentes como los ligamentos, y también en los rituales de Magia Negra . Las hojas, si se queman alrededor de un objeto, un lugar o una persona, promueven la protección contra cualquier daño.

Asafetida (Ferula assa-foetida)

Asafetida es útil para acabar con el mal de cualquier tipo y en los rituales mágicos del alejamiento.

Hisopo (Hyssopus officinalis)

El hisopo es una hierba lunar y sus propiedades mágicas son básicamente depurativas. El agua de hisopo, en particular, ayuda a depurar y exorcizar lugares como casas o tiendas.

Fumaria (Fumaria officinalis)

Fumaria protege del mal y ayuda a exorcizar objetos, lugares o personas. Por tanto, también es útil en hechizos de purificación y protección.

Para algunos, estar ligado al planeta Saturno, también es propiciatorio de éxitos económicos y financieros ya que la influencia astral de este planeta ayuda en rituales mágicos que tienen fines puramente materiales.

Limón (Citrus limon)

El incienso de limón protege contra el mal y elimina la negatividad, mientras que la fruta (como papas y huevos) se usa principalmente como "dagida" en los hechizos de Magia Roja y Magia Negra.

Por dinero, suerte y éxito

Anís estrellado (Illicium verum)

El anís estrellado confiere poderes psíquicos y es útil en cualquier hechizo relacionado con el concepto de “atracción”, por lo que también es útil en hechizos y rituales mágicos para atraer dinero y / o suerte .

Amaranto (Amaranthus retroflexus)

También llamado el "trigo de los dioses", el amaranto era un cereal sagrado para los incas, los aztecas y los mayas. Promueve la abundancia y es útil en hechizos para atraer dinero y / o suerte.

Acebo (Ilex aquifolium)

Junto con el laurel y el muérdago, el acebo es un amuleto de la suerte muy poderoso . Sin embargo, solo es útil protegerse del mal de ojo y de la negatividad en general.

Albahaca (Ocimum basilicum)

mi planta de albahaca, El rey del verano, sagrado para Júpiter y vinculado al planeta Sol, la albahaca es útil en cualquier hechizo, especialmente en aquellos para atraer la buena suerte y en los rituales mágicos para atraer dinero y / o prosperidad en general.

También es útil en todos los hechizos que tienen una afinidad particular con el concepto de "concepción". Entonces, hechizos para la fertilidad , pero también hechizos para propiciar la buena suerte para un negocio que acaba de comenzar .

Achicoria (Cichorium intybus)

La achicoria ayuda a eliminar obstáculos y, en general, es útil en cualquier ritual mágico para propiciar la buena suerte.

Naranja (Citrus sinensis)

El naranja es útil en los hechizos de amor , especialmente en sus flores. La cáscara seca, por otro lado, es excelente en rituales mágicos para atraer dinero y / o prosperidad en general.

Madreselva (Lonicera)

En magia, las flores se utilizan tanto en rituales amorosos como en aquellos para atraer dinero y / o prosperidad en general.

Cardo (Carduus)

Ligado al planeta Marte, el cardo favorece todos los conjuros relacionados con el concepto de “lucha”, por lo que es útil sobre todo en los rituales mágicos para vencer a los rivales o, en un sentido psicológico, para exorcizar los propios miedos.

Clavo (Syzygium aromaticum)

Los clavos son muy útiles tanto en los rituales amorosos como en los de atracción de dinero y / o prosperidad en general.

Cilantro (Coriandrum sativum)

El cilantro se usa para convocar espíritus; también es útil en los hechizos de amor y en los que atraen la buena suerte.

Alfalfa (Medicago sativa)

La hierba trae dinero y suerte económica en general.

Fresno (Fraxinus excelsior)

Corona Venerable Fresno Potente Monumento Verde, Las ramas de fresno se utilizan mucho para hacer varitas mágicas. Las cenizas de esta madera también son una valiosa ayuda en los hechizos de amor y en los que atraen la buena suerte y eliminan la negatividad.

Helecho (thelypteris phegopteris)

El helecho se utiliza sobre todo para realizar sueños premonitorios y, en general, en todos los hechizos para atraer suerte o dinero.

Castaño de Indias (Aesculus hippocastanum)

Solo se utilizan castañas que caen “por sí mismas” del árbol, y atraen dinero y / o prosperidad en general.

Menta (Mentha piperita)

El aceite mágico a base de menta se utiliza para consagrar velas y promueve el éxito de cualquier tipo de ritual mágico. Para crearlo, simplemente deje que las flores de menta se remojen en aceite de semilla común durante un mes al sol.

Mirto (Myrtus communis)

es muy útil en cualquier hechizo que tenga afinidad con el concepto de “atracción”, por lo tanto es útil en los rituales amorosos y en aquellos para atraer dinero y / o prosperidad en general. Además, las flores de mirto junto con las de limón son un amuleto muy poderoso contra el mal de ojo.

Amapola (Papaver rhoeas)

Las semillas son muy poderosas en hechizos para atraer dinero y / o prosperidad en general, mientras que los pétalos de flores se utilizan mucho en hechizos de amor.

Para el amor (rituales de endulzamiento y para aumentar atracción sexual, no para amarres).

Passiflora (Passiflora incarnata)

Passiflora es muy poderosa en los rituales amorosos, especialmente sus flores.

Rosa (Rosa)

es poderosa en cualquier ritual de amor.

Lavanda (Lavandula)

La lavanda se utiliza en ligamentos amorosos en los que la víctima elegida es un hombre. Además, sus propiedades mágicas incluyen la capacidad de hacer que las personas sean más valientes.

Regaliz (Glycyrrhiza glabra)

El regaliz se usa principalmente en rituales de amor (¡los hace más poderosos!), Pero también en hechizos para atraer la buena suerte.

Verbena (Verbena)

La verbena es la planta de las brujas por excelencia. Es útil en hechizos de amor pero también en aquellos para desarrollar poderes adivinatorios. Los galos, de hecho, lo usaron para predecir el futuro. Además, al ser considerado afrodisíaco, favorece el éxito de los rituales de Magia Sexual (por ejemplo, para aumentar el deseo sexual en la pareja).

Sándalo (álbum Santalum)

El sándalo es una planta tropical con extraordinarias virtudes mágicas, especialmente en lo que respecta a los rituales amorosos. El incienso de sándalo también se usa ampliamente en el Hoodoo para purificarse y protegerse antes de lanzar un hechizo.

Tilo (tilia)

Considerado el árbol de Venus, el tilo tiene semillas de extraordinarias propiedades mágicas en lo que respecta a los hechizos de amor. Además, las flores se utilizan para desarrollar poderes psíquicos.

Acacia (Robinia pseudoacacia)

La acacia confiere poderes psíquicos (pero no es tan fuerte como el anís estrellado o la artemisa). Sus flores son muy útiles en los hechizos de amor, especialmente los menos exigentes: por ejemplo, en un ritual mágico para encontrar un alma gemela.

Garra del diablo (Harpagophytum procumbens)

La garra del diablo es ideal contra las energías negativas y muy útil en los hechizos de amor.

Caléndula (Calendula officinalis)

es muy útil en los hechizos de amor, especialmente aquellos para un ex que regresa. Las flores son un poderoso amuleto contra el mal de ojo y la negatividad en general.

Bardana (Arctium lappa)

Sagrada para Venus, la bardana es muy útil en los hechizos de belleza y, particularmente la raíz, en los hechizos de amor y en los rituales mágicos de reconciliación amorosa.

Abedul (Betula)

El abedul es sagrado para los celtas y está vinculado a la luna. Es útil en cualquier tipo de hechizo, especialmente en los del amor, pero también en los rituales mágicos para atraer la buena suerte y en aquellos para desarrollar poderes psíquicos.

Gardenia (Gardenia)

Vinculada a la Luna, la gardenia favorece todas las formas de rituales amorosos.

Malva (Malva sylvestris)

La malva es útil en los rituales amorosos. Las flores hervidas ayudan a desarrollar poderes adivinatorios.

Mejorana (Origanum Majorana)

Al igual que la bardana, la mejorana se usa mucho en hechizos de belleza y rituales de amor.

Para la fertilidad

Muérdago (Viscum album)

El muérdago es un amuleto de amor por excelencia. Muy útil en hechizos de amor y “milagroso” en rituales para promover la fertilidad y la concepción.

Por la paz

Valeriana (Valeriana officinalis)

La valeriana promueve la paz y la serenidad. Es muy útil en los rituales para reconciliar a las personas.

Romero (Rosmarinus officinalis)

El romero mantiene alejada la negatividad y promueve la paz y la serenidad. Junto con la menta y el laurel, se utiliza en hechizos de amor y para atraer dinero y / o prosperidad.

Bálsamo de limón (Melissa officinalis)

El toronjil elimina la negatividad y promueve la serenidad.

Loba blanca

lobosmísticos

[imjeralee]

Wallflower: Chapter 19 - rEaD mE :)

Raihan x F!Reader

Disclaimer: Do not own Pokemon

Summary: You’re an unassuming Pokemon breeder who works at the nursery in the Wild Area and he’s Raihan, the fearsome gym leader of Hammerlocke who has more than a million followers. You don’t want anything to do with him but he’s…persistent.

Rating: Mature/Explicit

Warnings: Lemon, smut, violence, language.

Extra note: this chapter is also messed up 

rEaD mE :)

...

...

Drifloon has deposited the little girl in a strange world.

It looks around, seemingly confused. This new area they're in is eerily quiet and it resembles a cave of some sort... The pokemon turns to the girl, tilting it's head to the side. She's beginning to stir as she lies on the cold, hard ground. Perhaps this is her doing?

A profound darkness sweeps their surroundings but then a weak, tawny glow begins to dot the area and Drifloon sees that there are several glowing rocks on the wall which is the source of the light along with a strange, jellyfish-like being that has appeared from nowhere. It floats around and hovers near them, dancing around in the dark before it jostles closer. Drifloon watches it cautiously.

You watch silently as the little girl finally wakes up, looks up and around and realises she's far from home. Bringing her knees to her chest, she begins to sniffle and wail.

"Looker?" You call out, "Looker, are you here?"

"I'm still here. What do you see?"

"There's a Nihilego." You mutter.

"What's going on?"

You continue to observe: Nihilego floats near the little girl and the balloon Pokemon watches it warily. It tries to get closer but Drifloon stops it by hurling a ball of dark energy at it, prompting it to retreat - but only briefly. Nihilego comes back, determined to get it's human host and the girl begins to cry.

Drifloon continues hurling shadow balls at the creature and the girl keeps crying, her sobs growing louder and louder until a bright light suddenly flashes and you watch as a slit appears in mid-air, as though the very fabric of the universe is being torn open, a glitch in the matrix - and the slit widens and expands into a circle, revealing a clear blue sky within and a large spray of trees - it occurs to you that it is Ilex Forest.

Without wasting a further second, the exhausted Drifloon grabs the girl's arm and tugs her towards the portal as the Nihilego swoops down on them, its tentacles reaching for the girl. However, the portal closes in seconds and its prey disappears within, abruptly leaving the scene.

It was a close call.

Nihilego watches the empty space before it turns to you.

You're still here.

You stiffen on the spot, freezing up entirely.

"What's wrong?"

The creature begins to slink over towards your direction.

This can't be right.

Looker said nothing here can hurt you.

".......It's looking at me." You cannot explain it but you feel it is staring right at you, it can see you.

And it's coming closer.

"Looker, get me out of here!"

But nothing happens and Nihilego comes closer and closer and it lifts one of its thin, transparent tentacles towards you and -

...

Your eyes open in a snap as you jerk awake.

You've returned to the interrogation room. You're lying on the hypnotherapy chair with Looker and Hypno at your side. However, it doesn't stop the distress from overwhelming you; your heart begins beating frantically and your breathing grows laboured, your forehead covered in sweat.

"It's okay, you're safe now. Take deep breaths." Looker instructs as your panicked eyes meet his. "Breathe in."

You suck in a noisy breath, still trembling.

"Now breathe out."

You exhale as calmly as possible.

Looker does this breathing exercise with you until your breathing returns to normal and your pulse slows down and it takes a while but finally, you've tamed your racing heart and panicked state and you slump over the chair, exhausted. You look up and around the room, noticing that it's been roughly an hour since the session and you're surprised you were under for so long considering you thought it was a relatively short experience.

Also, the band on your wrist is pulsing fiercely with two lines dotting the small screen - one line is orange and other one is green. The green one must be reflecting your heart rate as it blips in a routine fashion whilst the orange line is incredibly erratic, going in all sorts of directions. Meanwhile, the polygraph which Looker mentioned earlier shows a convoluted zigzag pattern all over the white sheet.

Looker hands you a cup of water and a tissue and you thank him as you dab all over at your damp forehead. He asks, "Are you okay?"

"I...I think so." You mutter, gulping the water down noisily. He takes the cup off you and refills it.

"Take it easy." He mutters, handing you the cup once more as he returns to his chair whilst Hypno moves to sit on the stool, watching the two of you with its beady eyes.

"I saw it, Looker. I saw everything. It was Driffie."

"I know."

"And he took me to this weird place where I saw Nihilego - and it saw me. It was looking at me." You continue to mutter in disbelief. The tape is still recording, which you're all too aware of. "....I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"I don't think I'm the missing child you're looking for."

Looker emits an inaudible sigh under his breath and throws his glance to the recorder on the desk. "...We've confirmed two possible theories though. That place you were in - there's a name for it - it's known as Ultra Deep Sea. It's the home of Nihilego. You've passed through an Ultra Wormhole. During the session, your energy levels spiked and the reading went off the chart. There's a practice called remote-viewing. If you've never heard of it before, it's not that well known or scientifically proven but essentially..."

"It's okay, I've heard of it and I know what it is."

Looker nods again. "Whilst you were under...although you were hypnotised, you made contact with Ultra Deep Sea. I believe that's why Nihilego saw you. Although you were viewing a past memory, you had crossed over." A brief silence spawns until he adds, "My theory is that your energy diverted you and Drifloon to a different dimension. You were also able to open a portal which deposited you in Ilex Forest."

"But how? I don't get it."

"It would seem to be because you were under extreme emotional distress." Looker mutters, "Your Drifloon protected you from Nihilego. I don't think he realises what he has done. Do you despise him for what happened?"

Despise Driffie? "I don't...I don't know."

"What are you going to do?"

You sigh heavily, holding your head in your hands. "...I don't know." You say through gritted teeth as your head begins to throb; you can't stress it enough.

The session's over now, so Looker thanks you for the time and for your cooperation. The session yielded very good results and interesting information which he'll send to the Bureau for examination and further study.

Whilst Looker recalls Hypno and begins tidying up, he says, "I'll talk to my superiors about this and get back to you. However, you need to be careful from now on. If we hadn't undergone the hypnosis, I doubt you would've known about your abilities. We've opened a door - one which we intend to keep shut."

"What do you mean?"

"The last thing we need right now are Ultra Wormholes opening and closing in Galar." Looker says, and you nod. "Keep the band with you at all times; it will continue to read your energy levels. Avoid anything that can and will inflict emotional distress. Things are going to be different from now on."

"Got it." You say; you really doubt anything will trigger you to undergo or experience the intense emotional distress that you felt when you were in Ultra Deep Space. "Bye Looker."

"Goodbye."

When you leave the room, you close the door behind you and turn round, spotting Raihan in the empty waiting area: he's slumped over a plushy seat with one hand stuck in his hoodie and Rotom in his other hand, scrolling through photos on his social media account until he senses your presence and looks up.

"Rai, what are you doing here?" You ask as you head over and stop in front of him.

He looks up at you with a wide grin, puts Rotom down but his phone chooses to float by his left shoulder. Reaching for your hand, he lifts your palm to his lips and you can't help but smile as he pecks the back of your hand and your knuckles with light, warm kisses. "Thought I'd come pick you up. How'd it go?" He murmurs, when he releases you to rub your palm gently.

"It was fine. I'm fine." You shrug casually but your face says otherwise; Raihan stares at you for longer than usual and you wonder what's wrong until you blink and something wet and warm trickles down your eye and over your cheek. "Oh..." You quickly lift a hand up, wiping at your face and the corner of the eye. "What's wrong with me....? I'm...I'm crying."

Raihan stands up immediately, reaching for you and pulling you into his embrace. "C'mere." He says, encircling his arms around you protectively. You're so small and tiny in his arms all of a sudden.

“Sorry...” You croak out as your vision becomes blurred with tears.

He chuckles, giving you a squeeze. ”Don't apologise, just let it all out...” Raihan murmurs as he hugs you tightly, patting you and rubbing little circles on your back.

You hug him in return as you're enveloped all over with his warmth and he presses his nose against the side of your head, nuzzling your hair affectionately. Squeezing your eyes shut, you begin sobbing and Raihan pats you on the head and strokes your hair soothingly. You can't seem to stop, sniffling and snivelling drearily in his arms.

He doesn't ask you what happened, he just hugs you and tells you its going to be okay, over and over again.

When you finally stop, he slowly loosens his grip and peers at you inquisitively. "...You okay?"

"Uh-huh." You choke out, nodding as you wipe your eyes.

Letting go of you, he cups your cheeks, plants a big kiss on your forehead. "Let's go."

You nod.

Once you leave Hammerlocke police station, you were planning to go to Raihan's place but when you see the massive gate, you decide to leave the city instead and sit down on the large stone steps of Hammerlocke that connects to the Wild Area, overlooking the magnificent green pastures. Your eyes are puffy and red and occasionally you'll still hiccup and sniff slightly but you're no longer crying. Raihan joins you, seating himself by your side and you both sit and stare at the vast grandness of the expanse.

You inhale deeply, closing your eyes as he watches you. Re-opening your eyes, you slide your gaze to the sky where you see a few Butterfree and Beautifly in the air until one of the Butterfree abandons the group, deciding to flutter towards your direction. You gingerly hold your arm out, reaching for it and it lands on your finger and looks at you. Raihan observes you quietly before lifting Rotom up and snapping a quick picture.

He switches the camera shutter to silence mode so the sound of the shutter won't scare the Butterfree away and takes a few shots of you with the butterfly pokemon before it flies away. You watch the Pokemon return to its group before you throw your gaze to the ground, bringing your knees to your chest.

You tell him everything that happened.

Although you're not sure where to start precisely, you tell him that Drifloon took you away. It took one moment where your mother and father took their eyes off you - perhaps for a few seconds or so - and you were gone but you didn't end up being spirited away, it turns out that you are a Fallerand you had somehow passed through an Ultra Wormhole and you ended up in Ultra Deep Sea. A Nihilego attacked but you were able to escape by opening a wormhole that brought you to Ilex Forest in Johto.

And then...obviously, you were found.

Raihan listens intently and it's a lot to take in; you wonder what his reaction might be but the more you spoke, the more you could not believe your own ears.

It sounds....unbelievable.

Raihan's holding your hand the entire time and he gives you an affectionate squeeze. "I'm sorry about Driffie. What'll you do about him?"

You hesitate before fishing out Drifloon's pokeball and you press on the button, releasing him. Drifloon appears, blinking at you and Raihan with his beady eyes. Standing up on the step to face him, you say, "I know what you did. You took me away from my family.... and if I continue to keep you, I...I-I can't forgive you for what you've done, I just can't - "

Inhaling a shaky breath, you mentally shake your head. Your fists curl at your sides as Raihan watches your interchange silently. "I'm releasing you; I don't want you anymore." You utter, "Go."

Driffie attempts to float towards you but you firmly stand your ground.

"I said go. Go on, get!"

The balloon pokemon shrinks away at the threatening tone of your voice and lowers its head. With his pokeball in hand, you toss it as far as you can, watching it vanish over the horizon. Driffie watches it sail in the air, blinking wildly before turning to you. "Floo....!"

"Get out of here! I don't want to see you ever again!"

Finally, Driffie stops.

You glare at the small pokemon and it turns round sadly and hovers towards the plains before he disappears from your view entirely; Raihan slowly moves to stand up beside you. You know what he's thinking - he's never seen this side of you before. You've never raised your voice, been angry. Not like this. Not towards a pokemon, no. You've always been so loving and caring. For a long time you stare at the horizon, wondering if Driffie would return.

He doesn't.

Your legs shake and you almost collapse if Raihan didn't catch you.

Tears build up in your eyes as you begin sobbing helplessly all over again and the dragon tamer helps you sit down with him and brings you into a hug, gently pulling you into his lap and wrapping your arms around your waist and you loop your arms around his neck in return and although you've embraced him many times before, this time you hold onto Raihan as tightly as possible as though fearing he would disappear. Raihan lets you cry it all out, rubbing your back and stroking your hair soothingly.

"He's gone," you croak out, wiping at your eyes. Your voice is hoarse and raspy. "Rai. Have I made a big mistake?"

Raihan looks conflicted; he can't give you a straight answer. "I'm so sorry, princess." He murmurs, threading his fingers through your hair and brushing some strands behind your ear before he presses his lips against your cheek.

"...Nothing's changed. I still don't know my real family and I still don't know where I come from."

"Maybe you're from a parallel dimension."

"...That's a bit farfetched."

"What if you're from that dimension your brother mentioned, where there's no such thing as pokemon?"

"No, I'm pretty sure there's pokemon where I'm from. I can't imagine a world without pokemon. It would be miserable, I bet."

He laughs and you feel his chest rumbling. "What if there's another you from another dimension somewhere out there and she's with a parallel mighty Raihan."

"Well...even in a different dimension, we're still together."

"Yep." Raihan presses another deep kiss over the curve of your cheek and the thought actually makes you happy. It occurs to you that he's trying to cheer you up so you force out a chuckle,  "When's your next appointment with Looker?" He murmurs, as he continues smothering your jaw and cheek with kisses.

"I dunno; he says he'll be in touch. I've to keep this band on for the time being and make sure my energy levels don't go crazy or something bad might happen. Looker didn't say that but I got the feeling that was what he was trying to say. Who knows, maybe I'll end up opening an Ultra Wormhole by accident or something. I don't know." You say with a sigh, blowing some hair from your eyes before you turn to him and his lips press against yours.

He was aiming for the cheek but when your lips meet, he pulls back with a grin and then leans forwards once more, capturing your lips with his. You kiss passionately for a brief moment or so, until Raihan gently pries your lips apart and tangles his tongue with yours. Admittedly, you don't kiss enough with tongue so Raihan pulls you further into his chest, your mouths pressing harder together.

When you finally break apart, his grin widens as you sit in his lap, breathless. "C'mon, let's go. Let's go check out some beds."

You force yourself to smile, nodding. "Okay."

...

A few days later.

After bed-shopping the other day with Raihan at a department store in Wyndon, you had returned home, glancing at your little cottage house. Something just feels different but you can't quite place your finger on what it is and why. Perhaps it is a matter of perspective.

It's just you, Espie and Poliwag in the house now.

A day ago or so, you could not bring yourself to get out of bed. You found yourself wondering why you were alive and what was the reason why you were even here on this earth. You were suffering and in pain. You called in sick and took a few days off. You couldn't bring yourself to get dressed properly, comb your hair, wash your teeth or hair or face...you could not even eat or drink....and your Pokemon tried their hardest to bring you out of this depression and luckily you were able to snap yourself out of it. Your pokemon care for you and love you. You still need to train Dreepy; he's counting on you.

And you still have Raihan and your family. It would hurt them to see you like this.

Therefore, you pulled yourself out of bed the day after.

You've called mom and Glenn, informing them what happened and what you had discovered. They want to visit you in Galar but you reassure them countless of times that you're fine. You tell them you've released Driffie. It's a shame, they said.

You do miss Driffie, but what's been done has been done.

In an attempt to move on with your life and focus on other things, you call your friend's mother and ask about the progress of your friend's recovery. Your friend's mother tells you she is getting better and firmly believes that she will be waking up soon; her fingers twitch occasionally and she responds to her voice. You thank the heavens above that your friend is fine.

Also, you're going to move in with Raihan. You've arranged some time to talk to your landlord about your lease - you still have roughly a half year left on your contract and although you looked over the terms and conditions, you had wanted to speak to the landlord to clarify on a few things. You wonder if you can break lease early, but most likely you might get fined... unless you find someone who can take over.

Raihan's already ordered the new bed which will arrive during the weekend - it's a king-sized mattress, not too soft or too hard. You both had tested out a few mattresses at the store which was a fun experience and eventually discovered the one dream mattress that fitted both your needs. It was perfect for sleeping and for...well...you know, other activities.

You're really looking forward to moving in with him. Never in a million years did you think you would meet your partner whilst working abroad - and now you are going to live together too. You're aware that usually this can also test the strength of one's relationship because you never truly know what someone's really like until you live with them. Nevertheless, it's all very exciting.

You're going to attend one of Raihan's matches later on and then you will be meeting with him to buy some necessities.

You had spent all of last night on the phone discussing about things you'd be sharing from now on - it dawns to you that this is new to Raihan as well - but essentially you'll get the bottom shelf of the bathroom cabinet because he's tall and can reach the top shelf better. You'll sleep on the right side of the bed near the window and he'll sleep on the left near the door. You'll get your own cupboard and drawer in the kitchen where you can put your baking stuff. And he'll clear some room in the cupboard under the stairs so you can put the equipment you use for work inside.

You fondly recall how you had been chatting animatedly with him about what you'll do together on the weekends, how you'll spend your evenings and how you can both take turns cooking breakfast, lunch or dinner. Indeed, it's the life you've always dreamed of and a few years ago, you wouldn't have thought about these things...but having someone by your side and sharing things is very appealing to you.

It's almost time for Raihan's match so you grab the ticket he's given you and head out with Espie. The Corviknight taxi takes you to Hammerlocke in a matter of minutes and you approach the stadium, joining the massive queue of fans and tourists alike. The lobby is bustling - a huge number of people queue up for merchandise, taking photos with Ball Guy and various aspects of the interior of Hammerlocke stadium. It's even busier when you enter the stalls - you weave your way through the crowd and finally find your block.

Raihan's gotten you a front row VIP seat so once you show your ticket and the attendant allows you in, you realise you're sitting with all the hardcore, die-hard Raihan fans who have broke their banks for the chance to see their idol up close and personal; they are screaming and cheering for him, waving glow sticks and taking selfies with their friends and pokemon. The majority are female and as you hop down the aisle and find your seat, you notice a few girls stop chatting abruptly about their Raihan photo collection and stare at you; you think they recognise you and immediately, the entire row goes silent.

You don't pay them any attention; you sit down in your seat with Espie in your arms and wait for the match to begin, watching the large TV screen which shows a video of the Pokemon League and several replays of Leon's and Raihan's matches. Down below on the pitch and you see the cheerleaders have split themselves into two groups, practising a routine for the crowd whilst they wait. You fail to see Alicia, funnily enough.

"...Isn't that Raihan's girlfriend?"

"What?!"

"She's here??"

"Yeah, I think that's her..."

You don't respond to the conversation that's going on in the background. Let them talk. Who cares?

The stalls are slowly being filled up and once all seats are full and the match is about to start; suddenly the lights of the stadium go dim, bathing the audience in darkness until a few spotlights switch on and the cheerleaders cartwheel away and out of view as the referee appears - he's roughly Kabu's age, wearing a black and white striped jersey, matching shorts, socks and shoes; the crowd gasp in awe as the huge screen stops playing the Macro Cosmos endorsed videos and is stamped with the words: "Welcome ladies and gentlemen!!!"

The referee has a microphone taped over his cheek near his mouth, his voice amplified as he thanks everyone for coming, announcing loudly that the match is going to begin; he holds his arm up, gesturing to the left of the stadium. "Please welcome....gym challenger three hundred and sixty one!"

The crowd begins to go wild and you watch as the gym challenger appears, emerging from the dark corridor. It's a teenager in the gym challenger uniform, maybe....fifteen or sixteen years old. Although she's reached the final gym, she looks terrified.

The referee then announces Raihan, throwing his arm to the corridor in the right and the crowd goes insane. The fangirls in your block begin screaming for him and stomping on the floor, causing your row to shake violently. Espie clings onto you and folds her ears down in an effort to blot out the noise as Raihan finally appears and the cheering grows a thousand times louder in volume that you think your eardrums are about to burst.

You check if Espie's fine and she seems okay, so you avert attention to your boyfriend as he swaggers out to face off the challenger. Along the way he waves to the crowd before he takes a selfie and your heart thumps hard against your chest; you watch him stride across the pitch and smile widely to yourself for you are extremely proud of him.

Bringing Rotom out, you ask him to take some photos of Raihan for you. The dragon tamer also seems to be searching for you so you wave frantically with Espie meowing loudly, hoping to catch his eye. You hope he sees you and when he spots you in the stall, he gives you a wink.

A few girls behind you think he's winking at them and squeal with delight.

Raihan and the challenger arrive at the middle of the pitch and exchange a few friendly words of sportsmanship before they turn away, heading to their respective spots. The referee stands at a safe distance in the middle, glancing at the gym challenger and Raihan. With his whistle in hand, the referee tells both battlers to get ready - the TV begins a countdown, starting at three - and Raihan brings his Rotom out with a gentle smile, checking the little screen briefly before he lifts his arm and in a split second, his expression changes into a fierce one.

The fangirls scream wildly in response and the countdown is over; the message on the huge TV immediately switches to "You are challenged by Gym Leader Raihan!" and the referee blows on the whistle.

The match starts.

Raihan does his signature pose before he tosses two ultra balls onto the field.

He begins the battle with Gigalith and Flygon; Gigalith's ability whips up a sandstorm but the crowd is safe from the weather effects by a mysterious, invisible shield that protects the viewers whilst the referee, Raihan and the gym challenger are battered.

It's a tad hard to see and you wouldn't have known exactly what was going on unless the referee wasn't outlining the match with energetic vigour that keeps the crowd on their toes, full of nail-biting suspense. The TV also shows close ups from both battlers from various camera angles. The battle is tense but the gym challenger is prepared - she's brought a fairy type and a water type. Gigalith is quickly taken down after a few hits and Flygon is smacked around by a 'Play Rough' move courtesy of her Grimmsnarl. Flygon takes down the water pokemon and Raihan brings out Sandaconda, who quickly knocks out Grimmsnarl.

When both are down to their final pokemon, Raihan releases Duraludon and starts to Dynamax him but not before taking a quick selfie with the enlarged glowing ultra ball; it's the moment everyone's been waiting for as he tosses it high into the air. The fangirls alternate away from mindless screaming and cheering and begin chanting to a tune which you are all too familiar with, having watched so many battles online.

In fact, the entire stadium is lit up with this chanting and it encompasses the entire arena which is now bathed in a red glow as Duraludon re-appears, having grown to the size of a skyscraper (and looking very much like one too).

"Bring the storm! My partner will send everyone in the stadium flying!" Raihan yells, and it's his trademark quote which causes the crowd to erupt into a frenzy.

The gym challenger releases their pokemon - it's a Cinderace - and she dynamaxes it. It also grows to a gargantuan size that matches Duraludon and you watch as both pokemon whale blows on each other using G-Max moves until Duraludon's health is brought down to zero and he returns to normal size, collapsing over the pitch.

Raihan's expression falls as he recalls the fainted pokemon and the referee blows the whistle again, officially ending the match.

"Gym challenger three hundred and sixty one WINS!"

Raihan hangs his head low whilst the gym challenger jumps up and down with happiness and dances around with her Cinderace.

The fangirls seem sad too but soon the crowd returns to cheer and Raihan picks himself back up with Rotom grinning haplessly.

"...At least I still have my good looks." He mutters to himself with a pout, adjusting his headband over his forehead. The fangirls go crazy, squealing with glee.

Re-gathering at the middle of the pitch, Raihan shakes hands with the gym challenger and passes over the badge. You don't stay for the cheerleaders when they re-appear to celebrate the victory and watch as Raihan heads for the corridor whilst confetti and happy messages appear on the screen.

Leaving your seat with Espie, you quickly leave the stalls and take the stairs down to the 'staff only' area, showing your pass to a gym trainer who lets you through. You arrive at the dark corridor where you see Raihan leaning against the wall - he's been waiting for you - and you quickly make your way over.

"Rai!" You call out to him and he looks up from his phone, grinning at you.

"Hey, princess."

You hold your arms out but instead, he pulls you into his arms and crushes you into a tight embrace that would put a Bewear to shame and promptly lifts you off the ground, spinning you round in a circle before he settles you back onto your feet where he clutches you firmly and buries his nose into your neck, trailing kisses over your cheeks and lips. You can't help but giggle as he kisses you all over.

"I watched the match; it was amazing."

"But I lost."

"Aww, it's okay." You gently pat his head, smoothing down his hair before you pinch his cheeks gently, "You did a great job out there."

"The gym challengers are seriously keeping me on my toes. How can I keep up with Leon at this rate?" He mutters as you let go; he leans forwards and he smooches you, pressing his lips firmly over yours again and again.

"Perhaps you'd be interested in some EV training?" You suggest, "Then you'll be able to squash all of Leon's Pokemon with one hit."

"Nah, s'alright. If I did that, it wouldn't be fair on Leon and it wouldn't be fun either." He replies with a wicked grin. Scooping your hand with his, he kisses your knuckles swiftly. "Let's get outta here. I'm hungry."

"Sure, where'd you wanna go?"

"Hm, let me think about it. I gotta grab something from my locker first."

"Okay, I'll wait for you outside in the lobby." You reply, and he presses a quick kiss on your forehead before you split up.

Raihan heads to the locker room and you make a beeline for the exit until you spot the gym trainer from before who let you in, holding onto a white envelope. He looks a little troubled and as you pass him, he stops you in your path.

"Oh, uh...Excuse me." He says, "Are you Raihan's girlfriend?"

"Yeah, I am."

"Someone just came up to me and told me to give this to you." He hands you the envelope and you raise a brow as you hold it limply in your hands.

Turning it around, your blood turns cold when you see that the front is indeed addressed to yourself and it is stamped with the words: rEaD mE :)

Your eyes grow wide and slowly, you pry open the flap. Delving your hand inside, you pull out a single piece of paper which you unfold and there are instructions spelled in Unown, telling you that they have the DVD and you are to meet at the top of Rose Tower immediately. You are not to tell a single soul and you must come alone.

Or else.

Panic seeps into you all over. Fear grips you like ice and you reread the instructions a second time....you cannot believe it. It's deja vu all over again. And again, it's to do with the goddamn DVD. However, as you tremble and shake in horror, suddenly these feelings evaporate entirely, replaced with searing hot anger as you scrunch up the blackmail letter so tightly that your knuckles go white and your bones clench.

It’s happening again.

Why is this happening again?

You're about to use Rotom to call Looker.

But you stop.

No, this time you will deal with this on your own. Whoever it is and whatever it is they want, you simply don't care anymore. You have your pokemon with you so you are well-protected and you won't show any mercy.

You are sick and tired of being pushed around and you aren't going to let this pass, to let them get away with it.

Not this time.

The energy band on your wrists starts to blip intensely but you ignore it.

You tell the gym trainer to inform Raihan that you've got to leave due to an emergency and without further ado, you leave the stadium abruptly and hail a taxi. You don't want Raihan to worry or get hurt because of you. You'll deal with this quietly and quickly.

When the Corviknight taxi arrives in Wyndon, you enter Rose Tower without further ado and although a staff member comes up to you, asking a polite 'How can I help you?', you tell them someone is expecting you at the top of the tower and they seem to understand, allowing you entry to the lift.

You enter, watching the lift doors close behind you and it begins to chug up to the top floor. You clutch onto the strap of your bag firmly, your knees quaking. You can't help it. Your stomach does numerous flips, the back of your throat is dry. The lift finally arrives at its destination and the doors slide open, revealing the same outdoor arena you had once set foot on with Raihan, although on this occasion the dragon tamer is not with you.

You step inside and there are two familiar figures within: it's Alicia and Raihan's ex-girlfriend.

You’re not totally shocked to the very core that they are the ones behind this. You always knew they were up to no good and they disliked you so the fact that they are the ones responsible doesn't really make heads turn. This is it, probably. The final confrontation. You will tell them to leave you alone right here and now. You storm over, stopping a short distance away and you give them beady looks whilst they stare you down.

Raihan's ex speaks first. "I didn't think you'd come."

You notice Alicia's Rotom phone is facing you with a little light on. Holy crap, are they...are they recording this???

You ignore the phone for the time being. "Where is it?" You demand angrily, having successfully stamped down the fear and nervousness and you're able to control your voice; you don't stammer or at stutter at all and your energy band blips again.

"Oh? Not so timid now, are you?"

"Answer the goddamn question."

Raihan's ex isn't fazed by your newfound hostility considering the last time you spoke, it was all rather genial. She dips her hand into her bag and pulls out a shiny, flat disc. "You mean this?"

"Hand it over." You growl, "I'm not in the mood for any games."

"I'll hand it over if you do something for me in return."

"You want me to break up with Raihan, don't you? I know you messaged him. Why are you doing this? I thought he already told you this - he doesn't want you," you bark and her face goes a funny colour in response. "And you don't deserve him."

"It's not like you deserve him either." She quips back.

It's because of the DVD that this is happening so honestly, you could just walk away from this. "Do you know what? Just do it. Just upload it online. See if I care, because I clearly don't and neither does Raihan. You don't scare me, neither of you do."

There's a brief silence and Alicia throws a quick glance at the ex worryingly. "Maybe we should - "

"Shut up." The ex snaps, crossing her arms. Her expression turns dark but then her lips curl into a cruel sneer. "Fine then, maybe I will. And I'll also tell everyone that you're adopted, that you were abused when you were a kid and that you were bullied in school, that you're nothing but a loser. I'll dig up every single dirty little secret you have and make sure it goes public."

Your fists curl. What the fuck. What the actual fuck. How does she know this, how did she find out???? You cannot fathom and as she smirks, you begin to seethe with rage. You are enraged, flush with anger. But at the same time, you are also panicking deep inside.

"...Is she having a mental breakdown?" Alicia mutters.

"Who cares, you're getting this on camera, aren't you?"

"Yeah."

You begin to find it hard to breathe, your mind racing frantically and your heart cannot pounding so hard it hurts - and they notice, laughing at your reaction. They're recording this too. Why is this happening? Should you fight her? With punches and kicks? No, she's not alone - you're unlikely to get the upperhand although you want to strangle the wind out of her if you could. Hell, you could get your pokemon to attack them but that's a criminal offence. Realising that you have no advantage here, you find yourself at a loss and you're reduced to a quaking mess again, sick to the stomach.

As you despair, the band on your wrist beeps louder and louder and the orange line is spiralling out of control; it's at the peak, quivering violently as the reading begins to go off the charts, the band cannot keep up as you become lightheaded and dizzy and you drop to the ground.

Suddenly, their laughter stops.

Instead, they're now adamant in staring wide-eyed at something behind you.

Turning round, a slit has appeared in mid-air.

...

Meanwhile.

Looker sits in his office in Hammerlocke Police station, going over the transcript of the hypnosis session.

She had described Ultra Deep Sea in-depth. She had even seen a Nihilego. Looker rubs the bottom of his chin as he reads the final part: the Nihilego had seen her during the session. He has a bad feeling about this so he goes to one of his briefcases and opens it. There's only foam inside, cushioning a single pokeball and a folded piece of paper.

The label on it says: "Type: Null - Property of Macro Cosmos."

Looker takes out the paper and unravels it, revealing that it is now property of the Bureau, having been confiscated. He glances to where his signature is along with the print where it details that Type: Null is under Looker's protection. Contemplating to himself, Looker reaches for a small bottle of correction fluid from a tub on the desk and carefully removes his name.

Once it dries, he picks up a pen and writes her name in his place.

Nodding to himself, Looker folds the paper back and pats the pokeball. "You'll be in good hands." He says.

Suddenly, his Rotom phone beeps loudly and he glances over. "Bzzzrt, abnormal energy level detected from zzzubject zzzixteen!" Rotom cries out.

His brows furrow at once. "Whereabouts?" Looker demands as he gets up from his seat, grabbing his coat off the hook and donning it. He picks up his suitcase too, packing in some of his equipment.

"It'zzz coming from Rozzze Tower in Wyndon."

"Thanks, Rotom. Let's go check it out."

Looker hopes he's not too late.

...

[fieryfafarfanfics]

Ecstatic Requiem 3

 For a place so bright, Hibiki is sure seeing stars.  “Ugh…” The throbbing in his head doesn’t seem to stop. One hand rests on the side of his temple. Another groan slips weakly through quivered lips. “What happened…?” Grey eyes blink once and twice to register his surroundings. Bright light seems to tamper with his sight, but the man soon realizes that it is no longer the light from something mysterious; rather, it is the light from the sun.  “What?” Stupor still clutches his rationality. Slowly he sits up, though utterly thankful that the dizziness is dissipating.  “Hibiki!”  His shoulders jump at the voice, which then emits another low groan from the young apprentice. “Kotone…?” Left and right he slowly shakes his head, then finally turns to the owner of the voice. Though bafflement falls heavy on his head, Hibiki is beyond relieved to see his friend by his side. “Are…Are you okay?”  She looks better than him, and it would be no surprise that she is. “Yeah…” A small smile paints her face as reassurance. “I’m not dizzy anymore.” Left and right she looks around. “And…I don’t think we’re dead.”

 White teeth clench unnervingly. “Right…” Upon seeing her stand up, Hibiki follows suit. “Where are we?” Once ensuring that his head is clear of any ache, he looks around. True enough, the sun is shining. No tall trees or thick thickets can be seen. A field of green grass is spotted a few feet where they’re standing, but other than that, it takes them less than a few seconds to realize they were no longer in Ilex Forest.  “I don’t…” She stops. Deeps breaths are taken, in and out as she tries to recollect her nerves. “It…seems like we’ve been transported.”  “Somewhere?”  “Somewhen.”  Grey eyes widen at her blunt response. “Some—what?” Shock is splashed all over his face. “What do you mean somewhen?” Confusion and panic stir inside his heart, but Hibiki remains as calm as he can since the area they are in technically doesn’t feel alarming.  Kotone doesn’t reply immediately. She looks left and right.  “Kotone.”  The stern, albeit fearful tone, brings her attention to him. “Hey, do you remember a legendary Pokémon called Celebi?”  Shock turns to surprise at the sudden question. Hazel eyes seem focused and intense. “Uh…yeah?” One finger taps his chin in wonderment. “That’s the Ilex Forest’s guardian. She protects the forest and the Pokémon inside it.” Hibiki has never seen the legendary before. But from pictures and stories alone that the man knows the Pokémon is powerful just as she is beautiful.”  “Did you know that she has the power to travel through time too?”  Another question catches him off guard. “Uh…” Now that he thinks about it, it does makes sense why the legendary is called the ‘Time Travel Pokémon’. “The documents do say about her abilities.” Two and two click together. Eyes widen at the connections. “Wait, you’re telling me Celebi did this?” One finger points from him to her to him again. “She made us go through some time-travel?”  It is a wonder as to how calm she looks. “I saw something before we were basically blind for a few minutes.” Palms pressed together, she brings them to her pursed lips. “I even heard some chirps that sounded a lot like Celebi.” A deep breath is taken, then exhaled in a slow manner. “So unless this is all some weird dream, I assume it was Celebi who caused the bright light and brought us somewhere in time.”  The explanation was easy to understand, but that doesn’t Hibiki from being frozen in stupor. “So…” He believes her. He actually does. It’s just the time to digest the information took longer than expected. “If Celebi was the cause of all this, when are we?” Again he looks around. Once common sense is lodged back inside his brain, the man realizes some familiar spots he once has seen in his adventures when he was a kid. “Why are we here?”  “FATHER!”  Before Kotone could reply, they both jump at the sharp sound of a voice.  And for the Johto Champion, most of all, prickles run up to the skin of her arms once she recognizes that voice oh so well.  “It can’t be…” Her head turns to the side, body then follows suit as she spins around. Without hesitance, her feet brings him to the owner of the voice.  Boy, was Kotone giving him all kinds of surprises in a span of an hour. “H-Hey wait up!” Not giving a chance to wait for a reply, Hibiki runs after her.  Thankfully, she didn’t run far. During times like these, Hibiki is beyond glad that he keeps a little training regime during his field studies. “Kotoneeee…” A long whine slurs childishly. Annoyance bubbles from within. “What’s gotten into you—?”  “Shh.” She quickly shushes him up. Eyes never focused on the man behind her, Kotone mindlessly waves one hand behind until she feels what she assumes is his wrist. “Stand down…!” Fingers nimble and quick, she pulls him to his knees.  “Whoah!” One hand presses hard against the hard tar. “What’s wrong?” Annoyance now melted to concern, he looks at her. But his gaze was never returned, for her attention is solely, absolutely fixed at whatever is on the other side of the bush.  “Kotone…”  “Look…”  Her voice in hushed whispers, Hibiki finally, carefully pushed away a few thin branches to see what is on the other side.  And when he does, small gasps are forced out of him to see somewhere oh so familiar. ---  This can’t be happening.  “You t-old me…” Voice cracks. “You were…” Breathing hitches. “You were the number one in the w-world…!” Mouth remains agape. Heartbeat pummels all too violent. “In the world!” Like a fool he repeats, tone very much betrays the very mask he wears all too often.  “Are you gonna quit?” A mixture of growl and laughter chokes out in a form of a desperate question. The young boy stands before the still man. His back is still facing him, still taunting him of the answers he so desperately wishes to deny.  This can’t be happening.  His whole body is shaking. His own breathing is seething. Vision are tainted by clear tears, but the boy fights them back. The foolish man does not deserve to see his pain. The foolish man does not deserve to see his anguish.  The foolish man does not deserve to see the damage he has gravely caused.  Strong. He needs to be strong.  “What—” His voice is a traitor. “What are you going to do now?” Fingers clench into tiny fists. Dull nails dig deep into the dry skin of his palms. The whole world seems to shake below him. But he needs to stand strong. He needs to stands still.  The man remains silent.  Speak… Thoughts plague what words cannot be spoken. S-speak—speak!  Finally, the man turns around.  Cold. Calculative. Stern.  Void of the love the child desperately, secretly craves.  The man takes a single breath. “One must acknowledge one’s defeat before he can move on.” His words are laced with indifference, dripped with apathy. Grey eyes stare at the son who is shaking violently. Unruly red hair shields some parts of his face, but he can perfectly see the rage that burns violently inside a pair of crimson eyes.  There is no love. No care. No tell-tale signs that resemble the wife he misses so much.  Guilt choke around his neck. Fingers dug deep into the skin of his palms.  Yet he remains uninterested, apathetic. “I must go solo…for now…” Grey eyes tear away from the child. There is no point in reasoning with him. There is no point in giving back the love and attention that died along in the explosion.  No. He must not grieve.  He must move on. Live on. Even when his most beloved didn’t agree on his choice of living, even when his own flesh and blood denies his very form of existence, the man must walk forward to carve a better path—for him. For Team Rocket.  “So that one day—” A new form of spirit rise within him. Roaring hotter. Bigger. “—I will form a stronger organization!” No longer does he see the son before him. All he sees now is a newly-formed team. A stronger team. A team that will help him realize a future where he stands above all.  The child is flabbergasted. Still shaking. Still seething.  This can’t be happening! “What aspect of you was number one?” Laughter trickles along with the jeering question. Tears now trickle down his face, but anger completely envelopes the child to realize his moment of weakness. “Gathering so many only to be defeated by a mere child?” Stomp! One foot stomps the ground. “A mere fucking child?!” Stomp, stomp, stomp!  The man merely watches the boy throw a childish tantrum. His gaze is cold, unforgiving. “Putting together the potential of many is how you produce a huge power…” One hand slips out of his pockets. Sweat shines upon the rays of brilliant sunlight, yet he can still feel the chill of his beating heart. “That’s what an organization is…”  He can never forgive himself. He can never forgive the monster.  All he can do is move forward.  Fingers tighten to a harder fist. “That’s the strength of an organization!” Anger lurches from the pits of his stomach. Memories he so disgustingly hates start rolling in his mind. “I failed…” —to protect her— “to make the best use of my subordinate’s potential…!” —to love you—  All he can do is start anew—even if it means abandoning his past.  Finally, grey eyes sharpen at the sight of widened crimsons. “But you shall witness one day the revival of me and my Team Rocket!” The roaring fire within him grows brighter and hotter, swallowing his dead heart whole.  As the man relishes at the birth of his new resolution, the child he has left for dead merely gapes at him like a stricken fool.  Potential… Organization… Team Rocket…  It makes him sick.  “Y-You…” Anger lurches his throat until he feels literally sick. “You…” He wants to throw up. He wants to belch here and now if it isn’t for the fact that fury completely fuels his entire being. With breathing hitched sharply through gritted teeth, he stomps one step, two steps forward.  “I don’t—understand you!” A scream cracks his tone into two. “You don’t make any sense!” He tries to raises his hands. He tries to grip at the old man’s jacket. Anything. Anything as long as it means he is looking at him.    He never does.  Without a word, the man turns around. He hears the strained gasp. He hears the choked tears.  It hurts. But he must move on.  “One day you will understand…” And with that, he leaves.  If heartbreak was a physical disease, the child would have died right now.  No… Mouth falls agape, wide and open. N-No…No… Lips are dry and chapped. Eyes are red and strained. How dare—no—! The child merely stands there, shaking, trembling. Knees almost give away. Shoulders slump heavily as if boulders had been placed on each of them.  The man is walking farther and farther away.  Not once did he look back. Not once did he care about him.  Snap!  Whether it was the mind or the heart, he doesn’t know. He doesn’t care.  “I don’t want to understand you!!” A shriek finally echoes amidst the bright sky. “I’ll never…” His voice strained from the ache, from the pain. “I’ll never become someone like you.” Gaze is thrown left and right and up and down. Dull nails scrape at his jacket, scratch harshly at the skin of his burning neck. “A c-coward…” He laughs, cracks a mirthless laugh at the despair that pours upon him. “A coward when you’re alone and acting like a tyrant when you’re in front of other COWARDS!”  Both hands now press around his neck. He can’t breathe. He can’t think. Reality crashes hard against him. Hopes and dreams turn to soot that fill his lungs until he can’t breathe properly.  He has lost his mother. He has lost his father.  He has lost everything.  And there’s nothing he can do.  Nothing. He laughs again. Nothing. And again.  Under the bright blue sky that promises a wonderful day, a lone child cracks a cackle that seethes of nothing but agony and hatred.  A scream then burst out of a dry throat.  “I WILL BECOME STRONG!” Mania widen a pair of crimsons. “I WILL BECOME A STRONGER MAN ALL BY MYSELF!” That’s it. He has no one. He relies on no one. If the foolish bastard he once called father needed some weak people to stand where he is, then the child will prove to him that he can rule anything with just him. And him alone.  The man is nothing. He will be everything.  Laughter and choked tears corrupt the poor boy. Fingers madly tugging the red strands of unruly hair, Silver slams one foot hard to the ground and shrieks, “ALL BY MYSEEEELF!!!” ---  As the scene unfolds before them, every kind of emotion riles up in the two.  Shock. Anger. Sorrow. Sympathy. Everything boils down to create a shivering mess that can barely be kept together.  “Wow…” is all Hibiki can muster. From the moment he looked, his gaze never tore away from such a heart-breaking moment. “I can’t believe Silver went through all that…” Truly, the young man doesn’t know Silver all too well. He just knows that he was Kotone’s rival, and the man who stole the Totodile when he was a boy. All that, and also that Silver is a cocky bastard at worst.  But this…  “What should we do, Koto—what wait!” Concerns burst into shock once he realizes Kotone has stood up and walked past the bushes—walked towards Silver. ---  He hates this.  He hates this. He hates this.  Why is this happening to him? Why? Why, why, why? What did he ever do to deserve such a cruel punishment?  Laughter has finally seized, yet tears still mock him. Berating and mocking himself for wanting to fall to the ground, Silver instead quickly spins his heel and walks off.  At least, that was what he was about to.  Instead he bumps into someone, a woman he soon realizes. “What the—” The blurry vision and disoriented mind almost make him see stars. “Out of my way!” Neither a care in the world at who she is, Silver shoves the stunned lady with all his strength.  The mysterious woman trips to the side, and Silver takes this opportunity to run.  “Wait!”  He feels something around his wrist. His head whips in stupor to see the lady’s hand holding him.  Let go! He wants to be alone. Fucking let go! He wants to wallow in despair. Alone.  Not bothering to look at her for more than a second, Silver shakes and wiggles his hand away from her. Anger still boils in his heart, fuelling the strength he so desperately needs.  “Please don’t go…”  Crack!  A gasp weakly blurts out from such a soft tone.  “Let go…” He whimpers harshly. “I said let go, you bi—”  “You are strong.”  Crack, crack!  Silence hollows out as the sounds of his broken heart breaks anew.  He no longer struggles, yet his head drops low to the ground.  It hurts her heart, but Kotone takes this chance. “You’re stronger than you know.” In truth, she is at lost at what to say. Her body reacted out of pure instinct. Her emotions took hold of what her mind failed.  To see such a young child being ignored and ridiculed… To see such a lone child begging for love from a man who has no love to give… Kotone couldn’t bear it anymore.  She has to do something. Anything! “You’ll grow up to be amazing.” Her grip on him loosen. “You’ll grow up and you’ll surpass him. You don’t need him to prove to anyone that you’re strong.” His head is still down. Red strands cascade and hide the emotions he is too afraid to show. “You’re amazing… You can go on with life without him.” You can go on with life with someone better…  Hazel eyes observe the poor child before him. She realizes that his wrist is bony, that his whole body seem frail. Oh how her heart shatters at such a sight. While she knows the boy in front of him will grow up to be a happier, healthier man, no image could shake off the sympathy and anguish she feels for her former rival.  “I…” His name almost slips out, but Kotone sucks it back with a single breath. “I believe in you.” I always have. Always will. “You will be stronger. Better.” And I’ll support you. No matter what.  Slowly she lets go of him. The arm drops weakly by his side.  It hurts.  “Please…don’t give up…” While she comforts the broken child, Kotone hasn’t realized that her body is slowly disappearing. Pain was never present, so it took the realization that her fingers had turned transparent that made her realize she is about to be transported back to the present.  He still doesn’t turn around.  It really hurts.  “I know you’ll be the best trainer ever! No matter what!” Panic rises as she digs up words of comfort. “Know that I’ll always support you! Know that, no matter what, I’ll always be with you!” Her hips and legs have now turned to nothing. Her ghostly arm reaches out to him one last time.  “Please…” Her voice echoes. “Please…don’t give up…” Fingers disappear before one could even brush his jacket. “Silver…”  And with that, she disappears.  But before she could finally be shrouded into nothingness, Kotone finally, finally, sees a pair of horrified crimsons. ---  Once they are back in their own time, heavy silence fills the air.  They know it wasn’t a dream. It feels too real. It is too real.  The two remain quiet, trying to register the entirety of it all. It has been a good few minutes, and all that can be heard are a hard, laboured breathing.  All Kotone can see was him. Small. Broken. Alone.  The ache in her chest reminds her that it wasn’t a dream.  Silver… Despite the stories he told her, the agony they both went through, nothing could prepare her the sight of a child losing everything before his very eyes. Anger sparked her heart at the memory of what Giovanni had done to him. Although she had only met him once and beat him in battle, Kotone wishes she could go back in time again just so she could punch him in the face.  Granted, the bastard is dead in this time, but still.  She exhales through her mouth. One hand rests where he heart frantically beats. In and out she calms her breathing. She is back in her time. She is back with her beloved Silver. Although she knows she was gone probably in less than an hour, Kotone now wants nothing more than to fly off to Indigo League and give her husband a big hug, Pokémon battle be damned.  “Hey, you okay?”  The sound of her friend’s concern brings her back to her senses. “Yeah…” A smile, small and sad, curves her mouth. “I’m…I’m fine.” She will be fine. Silver is fine.  Returning her knowing smile with his own, Hibiki lets out a sigh. “Man, that was really something.” Grey eyes stare at the shrine behind them. “I don’t know what Celebi was thinking, but I’m just glad we’re back in our time.”  “Maybe she wanted to show us that to help Silver.” Kotone calmly explains, sorrows drips her tone at the bitter memory.  “Maybe she wanted to show you,” he corrects, “I was just there coincidentally.” Feeling as if he had ran a marathon, Hibiki whips out his Pokégear. “Well, I’m all time-travelled out. I’d say we call it a night and head back home.” His thumb unlocks the communication device, ready to call a Pidgeot Grab to fly to Goldenrod.  Kotone only nods once, feeling fatigue rushing over her body. “Yeah…” She considers calling a taxi of her own too, but then opts to just share the ride with him since they were both going in the same direction—  “Huh.”  The single sound snatches her attention.  “What?” Kotone stares at him, a single eyebrow raised.  Hibiki doesn’t answer immediately. Up and down he flicked through the Pokégear screen. “That’s…odd.” He can’t find the Pidgeot Grab application. What’s more, he can’t find the other transportation applications on his phone. “Hey, Kotone, can you try checking if you have….the…” Words fail him when he sees the signal on his phone.  There is a small letter on the top right.  A single eyebrow raised.  Once he pressed the signal bar however, grey eyes then widen in sheer horror.  Realizing that he’s not going to continue his sentence anytime soon, Kotone walks closer towards him. “Hibiki?” Hazel eyes looks at him in confusion. “Hey, you okay?”  His mouth agapes widely. His breath hitches inside his throat.  Confusion now turn to concern, Kotone follows the trail of his sight.  And when she does, her own eyes widen in pure, unbridled shock.  A big, red ‘R’ logo shines menacingly on the phone screen.

[tinyshe]

Mary  Garden from FishEater.com

Mary Gardens: Flowers for Our Lady

Common Name

Scientific Name

Medieval Name and/or Religious Meaning

Amaryllis Amaryllis belladonna Beautiful LadyAmaryllis Hippeastrum hybr. St. Joseph's LilyAnemone, double-flowered Anemone coronaria St. BrigidAster Aster nova-belgii Michaelmas Daisy                        

(September)

Baby's Breath Gypsophila panicul. Lady's VeilBachelor's ButtonsCentauria cyannisMary's CrownBean caper plant                         Zygophyllum dumosum ? Found on Shroud of Turin. See footnote for more information on the flowers of the Holy Shroud. Begonia Begonia fuchsioides Heart of Jesus Begonia Begonia fuch. rosea Heart of Mary BellflowerAdenophera Lady BellBird of ParadiseStreliztia reginae Bird of ParadiseBlack-Eyed Susan                         Rudbeckia hirta Golden JerusalemBleeding Heart Dicentra spectabilis Mary's HeartBlue Phlox Phlox divaricata                         Lady's WeddingBluets Houstonia caerul. Madonna's Eyes Bougainvillea Bougainvillea gen. TrinitariaButtercup Ranunculus acris                         Lady's Locks Buttercup Ranunculus sp. Our Lady's Bowl CameliaCamellia (japonica)(Purity)Calla LilyZantedeshia aethiop.St. Joseph's StaffCanna Canna generalis Rosary BeadsCanterbury Bells                         Campanula medium                         Our Lady's Nightcap, Mary Bells, Our Lady's SmockCaper, Caper bushesCapparis spinosa (var. aegyptia) ? Found on Shroud of Turin. See footnote for more information on the flowers of the Holy Shroud. Carnation Dianthus caryophyllus Mary's Love of God. These flowers are said to have bloomed at Christ's Nativity, according to a German legend.

(January)

Castilian roses (Damascus Roses or Damask Rose)Rosa damascenaI am not sure of the medieval name for these native-to-Spain flowers, but these are the variety that St. Juan Diego found after the vision of Our Lady at Guadalupe.Chrysanthemum (mum) Chrysanthemum All Saints' Flower. Chrysanthemums in general are associated with death and are used and funerals and to adorn graves (Chrysanthemum coronarium is believed by scientists to have been present when Christ was laid in the tomb. See footnotes).

(November)

ClematisClematis virginiana Virgin's BowerClematisClematis (flammula) CrossColumbine Aquilegua vulgaris Our Lady's Shoes, Lady's Slipper. Said to have sprung up under Our Lady's feet as she went to visit Elizabeth. The dove-shaped petals of this flower invited -- and invites -- its use for decoration on the Feast of the Pentecost.Corn MarigoldChrysanthemum segetum Mary's Gold

(November)                        

CosmosCosmos sp. St. Michael's Flower

(September)

CostmaryChrysanthemum bals. Mary's LeafCowslipPrimula verisLady's KeysCrocus Crocus vernus Penitent's RoseCross VineBignonia capreolata Cross VineCrown DaisyChrysanthemum coronarium ? I don't know the medieval name for this flower, but "Crown Daisy" is appropriate: this flower shows up on the Shroud of Turin. See footnote for more information on the flowers of the Holy Shroud. Daffodil Narcissus pseudo-narc. Mary's StarDahlia Dahlia (hybrids)                         Churchyard FlowerDay Lily Hemerocallis flava St. Joseph's LilyDieffenbachia Dieffenbachia sao ant. St. Anthony DieffenbachiaDog RoseRosa canina Mary's ThornDutchman's BreechesDicentra cucullariaI don't know the medieval name for this interesting flower, but it has sentimental interest for me so I would love to discover it if anyone happens to know and cares to write.Edelweiss Leontopodium alp. PurityEaster Lily Lilium longiflorum Easter LilyEnglish Daisy Bellis perennis Mary-Love English Holly Ilex aquifolium Burning BushEvening Primose Oenothera biennia Easter CandleFern Asplenium ruta-mur. Lady's HairField BindweedConvolvulus arvensisThis lovely flowering plant -- closely related to, resembling, and sometimes called the same name as the Morning Glory -- is pervasive once planted and, so, is generally considered a weed. Its old common name according to the Grimm's short tale of the same name is "Our Lady's Little Glass." The story in its entirety: "Once upon a time a waggoner's cart which was heavily laden with wine had stuck so fast that in spite of all that he could do, he could not get it to move again. Then it chanced that Our Lady just happened to come by that way, and when she perceived the poor man's distress, she said to him, 'I am tired and thirsty, give me a glass of wine, and I will set thy cart free for thee.' 'Willingly,' answered the waggoner, 'but I have no glass in which I can give thee the wine.' Then Our Lady plucked a little white flower with red stripes, called field bindweed, which looks very like a glass, and gave it to the waggoner. He filled it with wine, and then Our Lady drank it, and in the self-same instant the cart was set free, and the waggoner could drive onwards. The little flower is still always called Our Lady's Little Glass."Forget-me-not Myostis scorpoides, Myostis sylvatica Eyes of MaryForsythia Forsythia suspensa Easter BushFoxglove Digitalis purpurea Our Lady's GlovesFuchsiaFuchsia speciosa                         Christ's Blood Drops or Our Lady's EardropsGeranium Pelargonium (dom) Lady BeautifulGeraniumPelargonium sp. Heart of Jesus, Gentle VirginGerman Iris lris germanica Mary's Sword of SorrowGladiolusGladiolus sp. Twelve Apostles, Ladder to HeavenGolden Rod Solidago canad. Lady's Plant Grape HyacinthMuscari (gen) St. Joseph's BellsGrape Hyacinth Muscari botryoides Church SteeplesGround Ivy Nepeta hederacea                         Madonna's Herb Hawthorn

Crataegus monogynaMary's Mayflower

(May)

HawthornCrataegus oxyacanaMary's Berry

(May).                        

The Crataegus Oxyacantha praecox variety is the plant of England's "Glastonbury Thorn" -- a plant of Mediterranean origin but which, in Somerset, blooms twice: at Easter and at Christmas. It, therefore, has become a symbol of Christmas. The Glastonbury Thorn is said to have arisen when St. Joseph of Arimathea thrust his hawthorn staff into the ground in Somersetshire. The original plant was destroyed by Puritans (the soldier who did the chopping is said to have been struck in the eye by a large splinter from the tree), but shoots from it were taken, and England's Glastonbury Thorn lives. Since 1929, blossoms from the Glastonbury Thorn are sent to England's Monarchs for their table on Christmas Day.Heather Calluna vulgaris                         Lady's Adversary                         Holly (Christmas Holly)Ilex opaca. var.                         Christmas Holly

(December)                        

Holly (English Holly) Ilex aquifolium Burning BushHollyhock Althea rosea St. Joseph's StaffHoneysuckleLonicera caprifol., Lonicera (japonica) Lady's Fingers

(June)                        

HoneysuckleLonicera xylosteum Lady's Stick

(June)                        

Hosta (Plantain Lily)Hosta plantagineaAssumption LilyHyacinth Hyacinthus oriental. Lily-Among-Thorns, Lily-of-ValleyHydranga var. Hydranga macro. mar. Ave MariaImpatiensImpatiens Wallerana Our Lady's Earrings, or Mother LoveIvy Hedera helix Where God has WalkedJasmineJasminum officinale MaryJob's TearsCoix lachryma-jobiJob's Tears (Job 16:20). The seeds of this plant are often used for Rosary beads.Jonquil Narcissus jonquilla (December) St. Joseph's StaffJudas TreeCercis siliquastrumSaid to be the tree upon which Judas hanged himself after betraying Our Lord. It is a beautiful tree, with lovely pink flowers in the Spring.Larkspur

Delphinium ajacis, Delphinum (grandif.) Mary's Tears

(July)

Lavender Lavendula (offic.) Flight into EgyptLilac Syringa vulgaris                         Ascension FlowerLily-of-the-ValleyConvallaria majalis Our Lady's Tears. These flowers are said to have blossomed from Mary's tears for her Son as she stood at the foot of the Cross.

(May)

Lungwort Pulmonaria officinalisMary's Milkdrops, Our Lady's Milk Herb, The Virgin Mary's TearsMadonna Lily Lilium candidum Annunciation Lily, Virgin Lily or Mary's Lily

Note: The Venerable Bede (A.D. 672-735) described the white petals as symbols of Mary's body, and the golden anthers as symbols of the glory of her soul. Roses and lilies were said to have filled Mary's empty tomb when it was opened by the Apostles. While lilies' association with purity cause them to be depicted with many Saints, such as SS. Francis and Claire, they are most strongly associated with St. Joseph, whose rod is said, in the Gospel of the Nativity of Mary, to have blossomed to prove he was worthy to guard Mary and become her spouse; with St. Anthony of Padua, because lilies left in chuches on his Feast Day miraculously remained fresh during the French Revolution; and with the archangel Gabriel, who is depicted as presenting Mary with the lily at the Annunciation (hence the name "Annunciation Lily"). Lilies are also associated with Solomon's Temple (III Kings 7:19-22), and their beauty is commented on by Christ Himself (Luke 12:27).Maltese CrossLychnis chalcedonica "Maltese Cross" (or "Jerusalem Cross"). The shape of these flowers' petals strongly evokes the Maltese Cross, and they are said to have been introduced into Europe, from Russia and Siberia, by the crusading Knights of Malta.MarigoldCalendula officin. Mary's Gold

(October)                        

MeadowsweetFilipendula ulmar.Our Lady's BeltMillfoilAchillea millefoliaChrist's Back, Our Lord's BackMistletoe Viscum album CrossMoonflowerCalonyction acul.Lady-of-NightMorning GloryIpomoea purpurea                         Our Lady's Mantle

(September)

Nasturtium Tropaeolum majus                         St. Joseph's FlowerOrchid Orchis purpurea Lady Orchis Orchid Brassavola nodosa Lady-of-Night Orchid Orchis maculata Gethsemani Oriental PoppyPapaver orientale Christ's Blood, Crucifixion Blood-Drops

(August)

Ox-Eye DaisyChrysanthemum leucanthemum Mary's Star. The legend told is that the Magi followed the star to Bethlehem but weren't sure where to go once there. King Melchior then saw the ox-eye daisy growing, which looked very much like the star they'd followed. He picked it, and the door to the stable opened revealing the Holy Family.Pansy Viola tricolor Trinity Flower, Our Lady's DelightPassion FlowerPassifloraPassion Flower, whose 5 stamens symbolize the Five Wounds of Christ; the outer fringe, the crown of thorns; and stigmas, the nails. See more

here

. PeriwinkleVinca rosea Virgin FlowerPetunia Petunia hybr. Lady's PraisePeony  Paeonia officinalis Pentecost Rose (does anyone know of any name or meaning associated with Paeonia lactiflora?)PinkDianthus (gen)Mary's PinkPoet's Narcissus                         Narcissus poeticus Lady's RosePoinsettia Euphorbia pulcherima Nativity Flower, Christmas StarPot Marigold Calendula officinalis Mary's GoldPrimrose Primula elatior Mary's Candlestick

(February)

Primrose Primula vulgarisLady's Frills

(February)

Quaking GrassBrizaLady's Tresses, Our Lady's BraidsRanunculus, double-flowered Ranunculus I don't know the medieval name for this flower, but it's a gorgeous blossom.RoseRosa White: Mary's Purity

Red: Mary's Sorrow and the Blood of Christ. Also martyrdom.

Gold: Mary's Glory

Red and White: Visitation

Note: The Rose symbolizes Mary herself (she is known as "The Mystical Rose," see

Litany of Loreto

) and is described in Dante's Paradiso when the guide asks him to contemplate Mary, "Why are you so enamored of my face that you do not turn your gaze to the beautiful garden which blossoms under the radiance of Christ? There is the Rose in which the Divine word became flesh: here are the lilies whose perfume guides you in the right ways."

Roses and lilies were said to have filled Mary's empty tomb when it was opened by the Apostles.

Roses are also associated with SS. Dorothy and Thérèse of Lisieux (who both send roses from Heaven), Elizabeth of Hungary, and Rose of Lima. St. Francis once threw himself on the thorns of a rosebush as penance. Since then, the rosebushes in that garden (near the cloister of Santa Maria degli Angeli in Assisi) have no thorns. See also the entry for Castilian Roses.

(June)

Rock RoseCistus (landanif.) Rose of SharonRock RoseCistus creticus? Shows up on Shroud of Turin. See footnote for more information on the flowers of the Holy Shroud.  Rose of JerichoSelaginella lepidophylla

and

Anastatica hierochunticaThis desert plant survives in a curled up, dormant, brown, dessicated state for years, and then opens up and turns green with a bit of water. After returning to a lovely green, it goes dormant again when its water source is removed. Because of this fascinating property, it is often kept dormant in the home and brought out at Christmas time to blossom and then close in order to symbolize the opening and closing of Mary's womb. The plant is also known as the Resurrection Plant, Siempre Viva ("Everlasting"), and Dinosaur Plant. Read more about this plant on the

Rose of Jericho

page off the

Chrismastide Overview

page.Rose of Sharon Hibiscus syriacus Rose of Sharon Scabiosa Scabiosa columbariaMary's PincushionScotch ThistleOnopardon acanthium Judas' CloakSea PinkArmeria maritimaOur Lady's Cushion. These flowers are said to have made a place for Mary to sit during the Flight into Egypt.Shamrock Trifolium dubiuma symbol of St. Patrick and his evangelization of Ireland, and of Ireland itself -- but St. Patrick used it as a symbol of the Trinity, with each leaf representing a Divine Person while the plant remains one plant. Snapdragon Antirrhinum majus Infant Jesus' ShoesSnowdropGalanthus nivalus "Candlemas Bells" or "Purification Flowers." These flowers are said to have bloomed on Candlemas, when Mary took Jesus to the Temple for His "redemption."

(January)

Spanish Moss Mentha requienii                         Mother-of-ThousandsSpiderwortTradescantia zebrina (Zebrina pendula)Wandering Jew. The name for this plant -- often used as a houseplant -- derives from an old legend about a Jew who mocked and hit Christ during His Passion and so was condemned by Him to wander the earth until the Last Judgment. Two other species of this plant are also known by this name: Tradescantia fluminensis and Tradescantia pallida (Setcreasea purpurea, Purple Heart). Star-of-Bethlehem                         Ornithogalum umbellatum symbol of the star that led the Magi to ChristStockMathiola incana Our Lady's VioletStrawberry Frageria vesca Fruitful VirginSummor Phlox Phlox paniculata                         Christ's-Cross FlowerSunflower Helianthus annus                         Mary's GoldSweet AlyssumLobularia maritimaBlessed by Mary, Mary's Little CrossSweet Pea Lathyrus odoratus Our Lady's Flower

(April)

Sweet Pea Lathyrus pratensis Mary's Foot

(April)

Sweet William Dianthus barbatus Lady Tuft Tournefort's gundeliaGundelia tournefortii ? Found on Shroud of Turin. See footnote for more information on the flowers of the Holy Shroud. TuberosePolianthes tuberosaSt. Joseph's StaffTulip Tulipa gesneriana Mary's PrayerVioletViola odorata Our Lady's Modesty

(March)

Water LilyNymphaea alba Lady-of-the-Lake                        

(July)

Winter Rose (Snow Rose)Helleborus nigerChristmas Rose, or Lent Rose. A German Christmas symbol.Wisteria Wisteria frutescen Virgin's BowerWood Anemone Anemone nemorosa                         Candlemas Caps, Lady's NightcapYellow Flag IrisIris pseudocorusFleur-de-lis of French royalty, Mary as Queen, the Immaculate Conception YuccaYucca treculeana                         St. John's PalmZinnia Zinia elegans The Virgin, Church FlowerZinniaZinnia multiflora Little Mary, The Virgin

Herbs

Parsley Petrosolenium crisp. Our Lady's Little VineSage Salvia officinalis Mary's Shawl Rosemary Rosmarinus officin. Mary's Nosegay Thyme Thymus vulgaris The Virgin's Humility Chives Allium schoenopras. Our Lady's Garleek tarragon Artemisia dracunculusits botanical name means "Little Dragon" and evokes St. Martha's slaying of the dragon known as La TarasqueDill Anethium graveolens Devil-Away Coriander Coriandrum sativum St. John's Head Sweet Bay Laurus nobilis St. Bridget's Flower Basil Ocimum basilicum                         Holy Communion Plant. Pots of basil are used to decorate homes and to give away as gifts on St. Anthony of Padua's Day. Marjoram Origanum vulgare                         Mary's Bedstraw Cumin Cummin cyanum Cross-CumminFennel Foenlculum vulgare Our Lady's Fennel Anise Pimpinella anisum Our Lady's Sprig, Lady's Tobacco Spearmint Mentha spicata Mary's Mint Chicory Cichorlum intybus Heavenly Way Horehound Marrubium vulgare Mother-of-God's Tea, Mary's NettleSassafras Sassafras (albidum) Virgin's Tree Hyssop (Syrian Oregano)Origanum syriacumI am unable to find a medieval name for this plant, but include it because of its importance in the Passover, Psalms and Passion. The variety of hyssop properly called

Hyssopos officinal.

, and known as St. Joseph's Plant in the Middle Ages, is not the variety spoken of in the Bible and at the Mass. The Biblical plant is Origanum maru.Catnip Nepeta cataria Mary's Nettle Feverfew Chrysanthemum parth. Mary's FlowerFeverfew Parthenium hystero.Santa MariaChamomile Anthemus cotula Maiden Weed Chamomile Matricaria chamom. Lady's Flower St. John's Wort Hypericum perforatm St. John's Wort, Fuga Daemon ("Devil's Flight"), John's Blood, Jesus' Blood Drops, Christ's Sweat, Mary's Glory Spikenard (or "Nard")Nardostachys grandiflora (or Nardostachys jatamansi)The portion of the plant just above the roots has a patchouli-like scent which was used by Mary Magdalen in the ointment she used to annoint Christ.Dandelion Taraxicum officinMary's Bitter SorrowValerianValeriana officin. Lady's NeedleworkPennyroyal Mentha pulegium Lady's Flavoring

[hailtheheroes]

-17, 21, 33 and 41 :v-

Learn All About this Nerd!

17. Does your character have dreams of getting married and/or having children?

(Probably! She doesn’t right now, of course; she’s too focused on work and growing into whoever she is/will be once she’s not too focused on work. She’s in that in-between stage where she’s technically an adult, but she’s still growing and maturing, so something as “grown up” as getting married or having kids is still a long way off for her. If someone really wanted to know, she would probably say she has visions of running the day-care with her spouse and having lots of little red-haired babies underfoot.)

21. What is one of your character’s biggest fears? How would they react when dealing with this fear?

(Right now, her biggest fear is proooobably failing her grandparents or dishonoring them somehow. She knows that wherever she goes in any kind of official capacity, she goes with the reputation of her family on her shoulders. That’s a lot to carry! And a lot to ruin if she isn’t careful. She doesn’t hold on to little slip-ups or things like that. She’s still learning the wider world of working as a breeder, after all! But if she were to ever really screw up, I don’t know what she would do.

(The only time she was ever really faced with a huge screw up that she was personally ashamed of and felt guilty about (in a timeline where the events with Team Rocket had already taken place), she ran away to Sinnoh to hide for like... two+ years. Granted, those circumstances were pretty different and there was extra stuff going on that influenced that decision so, if she were to do something tomorrow that really screwed things up for her family, she would probably do everything in her power to fix it. Dedicate all her free time and focus on whatever it was that would fix the problem or take complete blame for whatever happened so her family wouldn’t suffer for her mistakes.)

33. If your character wanted to be alone, where would they go?

(Ilex Forest, most likely. Or her apartment. Only her really close friends know where she lives and she’s rarely with them there unless it’s planned in advance, so it’s a good place to just kind of... isolate and be by herself. She’s not really a “be by herself” person unless things are really bad, though. She tries to shoulder a lot of things on her own so as to not be a burden on others, but usually the best way for her to cheer up is to be around her family and friends or throw herself into long hours at work, so unless something was... bad bad, she wouldn’t isolate too much.)

41. Does your character’s family affect your character in any way?

(Answered!~)

[phantompsychic]

((Headcanon time!))

Subject: Will’s Feelings on the Myths of Johto

aka Why Lugia is his favorite Legendary Ever

((As I said before, Will likes Johto. It’s full of such long and interesting history, and he’s the type of nerd who was always enamored with learning about all the various stories of, say, Feudal Johto, or its war with Kanto, etc. (and he did learn about Kalosian history too since his Dad was Kalosian, but that’s for another hc). He preferred listening to such stories rather than read about them, though. He didn’t really have anything against books, but it’s just that the stories seemed much more easy to listen to when spoken aloud by someone. Made it come more alive to him.

Anyways, as he got a little older, he began to notice that many bits of Johto’s history intermingled with mythical accounts of divine intervention by Johto’s Legendary and Mythical Pokemon. The two that interested him the most were Lugia’s intervention in a war/subsequent creation of the Whirl Islands and the legends of the Forest Guardian, Celebi. Ho-Oh and the Burned Tower was up there too ofc, but regardless, he was confused when so many of his classmates and even some teachers say that such accounts were just myths. He was still on the innocent phase of ‘but x said it/I read it in a book so how can it be false?’

The thing is, even as he reached his teens, he kept hearing and reading about the stories in many books. He didn’t get why there was so much confusion in Johto regarding the Legends. It kinda bugged him a lot that these Legends that played so much of a big role (supposedly) in parts of Johto’s history were possibly just a myth. If they were a myth, then what really happened, y’know?

And yet, at the same time, it also fascinated him.

Mysteries always made Will curious and hyperfixate on them. It tickled his curiosity, made him wanna investigate and find all their secrets. So, these conflicting accounts on the myths of Johto had a strong hold on his attention. In fact, both during and after the circus, wherever Will would stop in his travels, if he heard rumors of a myth or legend or any kind of mystery, he’d tend to want to investigate it. And as he traveled all over the world, he got to explore many different, mysterious places, even if exploring them went against his better judgement.

Usually, when Will investigated the spot of some mystery or myth, he’d be able to ‘sense’ something in the area. Be it something off or the actual presence of a higher power, ever since he was a kid, he knew when some ‘unusual’ power was near, and he learned to trust it, even if it wasn’t very exact.

Even though he was already pretty confident in its ability, there was one incident in which Will became fully convinced of his sense’s ability to detect true living myths/Legends and to never doubt it again (detailed in next para; skip it if you don’t feel like reading it).

During his travels, he explored the woods outside Veilstone City in Sinnoh. He’d heard of a secret path that led to an ‘evil 4th Lake of Sinnoh’, and he wanted to check it out. And, well, he didn’t even need to ‘search’. Even on the main official path leaving Veilstone, Will could feel an unnaturally powerful presence coming from the East, into very deep woods. All he had to do was follow its ‘pull’ so to speak, and soon enough he wound up at the Spring Path. As he went along, though, he noticed that his sixth sense was starting to react more and more the farther along the path he went. It felt very much like the sense he got when he was near Ghosts, and while it unnerved him, he at least wanted to put on a brave face and push farther until he at least caught a glimpse of the 4th Lake. Eventually, he reached a clearing, spying the edge of a large lake at the bottom of a depression. Just the way the lake sunk INTO the ground as opposed to being even level with an islet rising UP at the center was enough to tell him he had indeed found the ominous 4th Lake, Sendoff Spring. And it was a good thing he was able to take note of all this so quickly, ‘cause the very next moment after he set his eyes on the Spring, his sight became momentarily blinded as an eerie vision flashed before him. It was his sense, which was going absolutely crazy, flashing him a vision of a dark, six-winged monster swooping through the shadows. The level of cosmically horrific strength he sensed, paired with the frightening vision, was so overwhelming that he turned around right there and fucking ran all the way back to the main route. Of course, what he saw was a vision of Giratina, but he didn’t know that till he found the right book at Canalave Library.

So, even though this incident gave Will fucking nightmares for weeks (and still does on occasion), it did do two important things for him. First, it affirmed that he could indeed sense real, living Legends if he was even a fair distance from them. Second, it jogged his memory.

See, at first, Will had thought that incident in Sinnoh was the first time he’d ever experienced his sixth sense showing him a vision of the thing it was detecting, but the shock of ‘seeing’ Giratina made him remember he’d ‘seen’ another creature with it before.

It was when he was very little. Around 4. His parents had taken him on a vacation to Cianwood to chill at the beach. Now, even before they arrived at the beach, he heard all the old stories around town about how bad children get shipped off to Whirl Islands to be punished by a monster etc., making him reluctant to go. It took his parents’ constant reassurances they were not taking him to the Islands to calm him, but once they got to the beach, Will quickly started to get upset anyways. He couldn’t stop crying because he kept seeing a ‘bird with a mask’, believing that it was gonna come ‘take me away to the Whirl ‘lands and punish me’.

Reflecting on this memory now, Will realized, he had been sensing Lugia, all the way out on Cianwood’s shores.

So, naturally, when he returned to Johto later on, shortly before he officially applied to be an Elite, he set out for the Whirl Islands. He had to see for himself if he could still sense Lugia, or if he was even remembering that correctly. Of course, before he hit the Islands, he decided to check out the other mysterious locations in Johto, such as Ilex Forest, too. Unfortunately for him, though, he sensed nothing. Not a thing from any place he visited in fact. It kinda felt disheartening not finding any signs of proof for his home region’s myths, but he still went thru with checking Whirl Islands as well.

He started Surfing towards it on his Slowbro from Olivine, and initially, he still felt nothing. By the time Olivine was a dot on the horizon, he started to second guess himself a bit. Perhaps he’d just seen a Murkrow or Delibird as a kid and he was remembering wrong, y’know? But no, for once he was happy to be wrong; once he was a little deeper into the ocean, he got a similar feeling to when he was on Spring Path, though not as strong. A litter closer to the islands and sure enough, Will began seeing visions of a ‘masked bird’, surrounded by water. Seeing as he wasn’t running away like he did at the Spring this time, the visions persisted, flashing by every so often. His sense was naturally screaming ‘danger’ like it always did when it detected something, but he didn’t turn away this time. Stepping onto the Islands proper, which notably felt very intimidating to him, he kept pushing onwards through its cave systems.

Again using his ‘sense’ to lead him down the right path, he eventually did come to the imposing waterfall that comprised Lugia’s chamber. Here, his sense again was going crazy, and the scale of the room was quite intimidating to Will as well. The visions were pretty regular while he was in this room, but he could still tell that the ‘source’ of them was farther away. Later on, he read about Lugia in more detail, taking note of how Lugia lives at the bottom of the sea in fear of causing damage to others. So, having ‘seen’ where Lugia lives, Will now felt instant empathy for it. He knew what it was like to have to isolate oneself to ensure your powers don’t hurt anyone, and he also knew what it was like not being able to return to your former home. It made him feel bad for it, even though he was also aware that for all he knew, Lugia liked the bottom of the ocean.

Nowadays, Will still occasionally visits its chamber in the Whirl Islands, both because of his infinite mystification with the Legendary Psychic-type and to ‘give it company’ on the off chance it actually wants human company. He doubted it cared, but y’know just in case right? He never touches or destroys anything while he was there, not even fight the wild Pokemon (Teleported out of battle), so he’s doing no harm. He just sits there, really, thinking, awestruck by simply feeling its presence))

[galadrieljones]

Solas & Ghil: Giving, optional bonus - dawn, scarfs, winter flowers.

Thanks for the lovely prompt, @thevikingwoman. I’ve combined this prompt with the following prompt, also from you:

I also used a really old one I can’t find anymore, about Solas and Ghil hanging out in the floating castles over Arlathan.

Solas and Ghilan’nain. Nineteen Years Old. Arlathan

Nesting Birds

Sometimes in Arlathan, the snow would fall from sunny skies,like a reminder, or a warning. The clouds would gather over the Weathers andthe Backwater farms where the nature was pure, blanketing the purple fields andthe hilltops and the golf course. It was a lot like any other world, any otherplace where the redtails dive into the sea and there are farms and seasons.Solas’s mother would get out her shovel, clear the walk before Solas had thechance to do it for her, and he would be pissed off at this, but sometimes,like today, he would be grateful. This was wintertime.

The air over the city wasnothing like in the Weathers. In Arlathan, it was all so fueled with thedecaying magic of the old floating castles in the sky and the pollution fromthe royal palaces and the locomotive trains that the clouds were very oftentranslucent, especially in winter when the air was cold. Like jellyfish,squishing through the skyline in pinks and wet yellows, you could see theiroutlines, but it was sudsy, and the snow would fall in beautiful flakes thesize of a newborn’s palm. Winter was beautiful in Arlathan, but it was tainted.Magic and nature are not always one and the same, and sometimes it got allwound up, and the city streets became toxic, and the snow could burn or whisperdeath wishes in your ear. The sanitation department had their hands full, andthey spent half their winter days in the steam plow machines, moving up anddown the streets sucking the poison snow out of the gutters.

That morning, Solas and Ghil wokeup in one of the old floating castles that lingered on the cusp of spaceitself, floating high in the air above Arlathan. They had spent the nightthere, on a mattress that Ghil had spun of hay and silk, like they did every sooften when the hour got late—a place they had come to call their own. Solas, inall of his weird magics, had figured out how to jury-rig wormholes in space.With the right math, plus his magic, he could open a door from just about anywherethat lead right into the main halls of this very castle, and he only ever tookGhil, and he was the only living soul who could do this—who could unleash thiskind of fuckery onto the physics of the world, fold it in on itself and make itbend to his will. It was his ancestors who had built those castles in the sky1,000 years before, and finally, they were being put to use again. Whether itwas good use—a secret hideaway for acouple of nineteen-year-olds in very raw, earned love—that is up to you.

In any case, that morning, theywere sitting on the bed, drinking coffee out of ceramic mugs, looking out thewindow at the snow from way up high. The glass was frozen, covered with ice,and they’d had to build a fire to keep warm. Ghil had made a flower crown forSolas, but he had yet to put it on—a wreath of red ilex and sand daisies thatshe’d put together as more or less a joke, but it was beautiful, and he hadtold her so, but with his bald head it was such a statement as to make herlaugh. So he left it sitting on the nightstand, next to a wooden menagerie ofanimals that Ghil had wittled out of a tree trunk.

“Did you hear about that woman whogot caught cheating on her husband with one of the caddies at the golf course?”said Ghil. She was braiding her long, blond hair over her shoulder, wearing agray long-sleeved shirt that had once belonged to Solas. “She’s being sued.”

Solas gaver her a look. “What for?”he said. He’d been doodling something in charcoal, in a sketchbook—some sort ofhalla, only it had six eyes instead of two.

“She and her lover broke like fourspecialty ice sculptures,” she said. “There was a wedding going on.”

Solas smirked. “One of yourmother’s weddings, I presume?”

“My mother’s lawyers are likevipers.”

“That is the least of this woman’sproblems,” said Solas, sipping from his mug. He tossed the sketchbook to thefloor. “Do you know the husband?”

“No,” said Ghil. “I think he like,works at one of the banks in the Finery District. He’s probably cheating onher, too.”

“That would be typical,” saidSolas.

Outside, the dawn had cleared, andthe sky was red with sun and snow. “What are you doing today?” she said.

“Heading home,” said Solas. “I havesome things to do around the house. I’ll be back in the city around nine.”

“I am making flower arrangementsfor a wedding at four,” said Ghil. “But after that, nothing.”

“Where is the wedding?”

“In the Wind District,” she said.“The Arboretum.”

“They need flower arrangements inan arboretum?”

Ghil shrugged. She leaned back onthe bed, snagged the little silver case out of the drawer in the nightstand.From it, she drew one slender joint of elfroot and lit it with a bit of flamefrom the palm of her hand. “Apparently.” She took a hit, exhaled. “These arenot rational people, Solas.”

“Trust me, I know.”

“You can meet me after,” she said,self-deprecating. She shrugged, smoked, looking down at her hands. “If youcan.”

Solas sort of gazed at her, a long,careful look. She was pretty that morning, red-cheeked with her freckles. Shewas always pretty, but that morning, she seemed extra awake. Like she’d gottenbetter sleep than usual. He reached a little to lift her chin, get a betterlook at her. She didn’t like a lot of eye contact. She was self-conscious. Hehad to initiate, and so he did. “I’ll be at the Pale Dreaming,” he said. “Justcome find me when you’re done.”

She blushed, took a hit. “I will.”She handed him the joint.

He grabbed her face and kissed herhard on the temple, and then he smoked a huge lungful of smoke and released itinto the air with nonchalance. He sat smoking, finished the joint, while shepicked at her nails and looked out the window at the falling snow. At somepoint, he reached for the flower crown. He put it on her head. She looked likeone of the spirits who hung out by the sea, with fins and wings, tellingfortunes, always sharing its compassion.

“You’re a vision,” he said,smirking.

She swatted his hand away. “This issupposed to be yours,” she said.

“I’m bald,” he said. “There isnothing redeeming about a bald man in a flower crown.”

“Don’t kid yourself,” said Ghil.She put her chin in her hands and looked up at him, the loose blond hairfalling around her face in pieces. “It all suits you, Solas.”

He studied her then, how she wasalways a little nervous, a little worried about what he thought of her, or whathe might do, how he might disappear. Though he never had, he feared he’dsomehow made her think he might still. “Ghilan’nain,” he said.

“Yes?” she said.

He pushed the hair out of her face,tucked some of it up inside the flower crown. “We cannot keep doing this.”

“Doing what?”

“Coming here,” he said. “To thisplace. The castle is falling apart. It needs restoration, which I cannot giveit right now. It is not a home.”

She seemed disappointed. “I knowthat,” she said, biting off a hangnail. “But what are we supposed to do?”

He sighed. He slid around behindher, very easy. She settled with her back against his broad chest, his chin onher shoulder. He was so tall, so big, she thought. At some point, he had becomea man, and in so doing, became hers. He laced their fingers together. Outside,the winter falcons began to screech their handsome melody. They were huge birdswho nested in the castle towers. They tolerated Solas and Ghilan’nain, becauseGhilan’nain had convinced them of a truce—she was very good at this. “We need aplace,” he said.

“I know,” said Ghil. “But we can’tafford to live in the city, unless you want to knock over a liquor store, orget an apartment in one of the ghettos.”

“I don’t want to live in the city,”said Solas. “And I don’t think you do either.”

“Not really,” said Ghil. “There aretoo many people here. It’s a gross hive.”

“You know my mother’s property ismore than ten acres. It’s massive. My father always meant to add onto thehouse. By now, most of what there is, she lets go feral for a great deal of theyear. She likes to farm, but she is only one woman.”

“Your point being?”

“I could build us something,” hesaid. “Nothing fancy, but respectable. A house. Far enough away so that wedon’t feel her presence, but close enough to be…close. Does that make sense?”

Ghil paused, turned around to facehim. One of the little red ilex berries from the flower crown had dipped downover her eye. He nudged it away, smiled. She stared at him hard like she didn’tunderstand. She was surprised, that much was for certain, her hazel eyes likelittle gardens. “You want to build us a house?” she said. “All by yourself?”

“Not by myself,” said Solas. “Ihave some friends who would help out, and a couple of uncles who would sell methe resources for next to nothing. My mother never calls on them, because she’stoo proud to ask for help, but I know they’d give me a hand if I asked.”

“Solas,” she said.

“What?” he said. “It’s just anidea, Ghil. You don’t have to like it.”

“It sounds like you’ve given it alot of thought,” she said. She took his hands, studied the battered, scarredknuckles. They were healed now, mostly.

“I have.”

“I just—I’m surprised.”

“Why?”

“Because,” she said. “You’re alwaysso…one foot out the door. You know? Very Solas.”

Solas sighed, huge. Only he knewwhat this meant. He put the yellow hair behind her ear and smiled very earnest.He smelled good, and he was very cute there, in the cold, giving light from thesun, wanting her. “Not anymore,” he said. “I like us.”

“Me, too,” she said, fawning alittle, but fully aware. She knew how hard she fell every time he looked at herlike that. It had used to embarrass her, but now, she just gathered hercourage, picked up the flower crown off her head and placed it on his. “Build ahouse for us,” she said. “Solas.”

He smirked. “Very good.” He reachedup then, to adjust the crown at the top of his head. “How do I look?”

“Handsome,” she said.

“Yes well, to you I am alwayshandsome.”

She shoved him in the shoulder andkissed him on the lips. He picked up her braid between two fingers. But that iswhen they heard one of the winter falcons screeching in the belfry overhead, anunforeseen volume. Almost threatening. They both looked up to the ceiling,watching for the source, but there was nothing.

“What was that about?” said Solas.

“I don’t know,” said Ghil. Sheshrugged.

While Solas poked a pin through thespace-time continuum, she made friends with all the animals in all the land toshare their nests. Together, they were better. Together, they had more fun.

Solas and Ghil waited a littlewhile before going home. The snow seemed to be sticking to the windows so thickby now, you could hardly see through, and yet the sun was melting it off theglass, and the fire crackled on the other side of the dilapidated room with thedusty curtains, and Solas and Ghil were warm up there, way up high in the sky,over it all. The falcon kept making its wary omen noise, every once in a while,like a warning from the corner of the tower, in protection of its young,perhaps, and its big nest full of white, pebbled eggs. They tried to pay it noheed.

If they didn’t know any better,they’d have thought somebody was knocking, that somebody was waiting at theirdoor. But there were no doors here. Only wormholes. The cityscape could notpollute them. They could see all the rooftops where they’d used tosmoke—the train yard, the palaces in the hills with the parties and the Ring.They could measure them all with their eyes as they sat, looking out their icywindow with all of their purity in winter.

Read more Teen Wolf stories at AO3.

[nythroughthelens]

New York in the Snow 

The book! Huge news!

My 2nd book of New York City photography, New York in the snow is currently available worldwide!

Here are some Questions and Answers about the book:

I live in the United States or Canada. What is the link to use to order the book online?

United States Amazon:    New York in the Snow at Amazon

United States Barnes and Noble:  New York in the Snow at B & N Canada Amazon:   New York in the Snow on Amazon CA

Canada Chapters Bookstore:   New York in the Snow at Chapters United States Walmart: New York in the Snow at Walmart United States Target: New York in the Snow at Target

I like to shop at non-mainstream bookstores. Any love?

Yup! :)

The Strand: New York in the Snow at the Strand Rizzoli Bookstore: New York in the Snow at Rizzoli

Kinokuniya: New York in the Snow at Kinokunya

IndieBound: New York in the Snow at Indiebound

Powell's:   New York in the Snow at Powell's

Books - A - Million: New York in the Snow at Books - A - Million

Hudson Booksellers:   New York in the Snow at Hudson Booksellers

Drama Bookshop NYC: New York in the Snow at Drama I live in the UK or other parts of Europe. What are the links to where I can purchase your book in my part of the world?

UK Amazon:   New York in the Snow at Amazon UK

Waterstones: New York In The Snow At Waterstones The Guardian Bookshop: New York In The Snow At The Guardian Blackwell'S: New York In The Snow At Blackwell'S WHSmith: New York In The Snow At WHSmith  I Live In Australia / New Zealand How Can I Order the book? 

Booktopia: New York In the Snow at Booktopia

Is the book hardcover? Yes, I am excited to announce that it is available as a hardcover book worldwide! Front Cover:

Back cover:

I am proud to say that the printing is impeccable. I have not only included my writing but also the camera settings, cameras used, and locations for each photo ...

The book is published by Ilex Press, an imprint of Octopus which is under Hachette.

What's the story behind this book?

I photographed every snowstorm in NYC for 7 years. I walked up to 8 miles at a time through blizzards, nor'easters, and all sorts of snowstorms in an attempt to capture the feelings of loneliness, isolation, anxiety , longing, and nostalgia that NYC imparts on many city-dwellers 

I have always been intrigued by time, mortality, desire, and memory. Snowstorms are when all of these feelings and concepts surface.

I paraphrased and read the intro to this book in explore what snow in New York City means to me (plus there are snow sounds and nothing is better than the sound of snow crunching underfoot) ...

What's your story? Where are you from? 

I grew up here in New York City in Queens. My family was quite poor and my parents both moved to America to pursue better lives when they were younger.

In 2008, I was extremely broke and had very little money. I was also stressed out as I had quit my job to go back to school to finally finish the degree which I had abandoned nearly a decade earlier because I needed to work many jobs to support myself.

Living on my own since the age of 17 years old with no family support or safety net put me in the precarious position of working many jobs to keep myself afloat while living in New York City. I worked 7 days a week for quite a while and decided I needed to make a change in my life before my life passed me by and I barely explored my passions.

It took a huge leap of faith to put myself back in school. But I did. I decided to go back to school pursuing a pre-med path.

Without much in the way of material things or financial prosperity, walking became my number one way to deal with stress. It also became a way for me to experience the city like I hadn’t before. I would choose a direction and walk as far as my feet would take me; I still do this.

My walks opened my eyes to a New York City that I hadn’t experienced before. I knew that I wanted to capture the moments and experiences on my walks that made my heart swell. However, I was so broke that I couldn’t even afford a smartphone or a smartphone plan. I went on Amazon and purchased the cheapest point and shoot I could find. At $79, it was a huge investment at the time. That humble little camera had one button and a few settings (one of which was broken!). I didn’t care though. I finally had a tool to explore my view and vision of New York City.

In 2009, I decided to finally post the photos I had accumulated along the way online. I knew nothing about posting photography online and had heard that blogs were a great place to post photography. I literally googled the word “blog” one evening and Tumblr came up as the first search result. I decided to create my blog, NY Through The Lens on Tumblr purely for myself as a way to view my collected images in a beautiful way online.

Since I had no formal training in photography or in-depth knowledge of the rules and concepts defining the field, it didn’t occur to me that I’d have an audience for my work. I honestly didn’t think that anyone would be interested in what I was posting online to my Tumblr blog. However, within a few months of posting my photos to Tumblr, I amassed close to 70,000 followers and I was both humbled and touched by the messages I would receive on a weekly basis.

Most of my photography is heavily influenced by cinema, music, and other art forms as I have a background in fine art (painting and art history).

I am also endlessly haunted by a deep longing for a place that is unidentifiable but somehow familiar and indicative of what can be seen as home. I am on a never-ending quest to try to imbue my photography of Cities and landscapes with this complex notion Of nostalgic longing.

I am fascinated and interested in exploring how certain tones can produce feelings of different forms of nostalgia and how color or lack of color influences memory and desire.

I am currently a full-time photographer who is sponsored by Sony and my first book was a best-seller. It released In 2014. You can read about it Here . I do commissioned work for Hollywood, television, ad agencies, interior designers and also sell ​​my work as prints (and tapestries and much more) here:

New York City Prints and More 

Can I Where Else Find You Online? If you are still reading, I love you. Thank you for reading this far into this post. Here is where to find me online: Twitter

Instagram

Facebook

YouTube I Also Recorded A Little Teaser Of Me Flipping through my book today in case you are into that kind of thing (I am!) ...

It's my most vulnerable photography because it's my life's passion. It feels a bit like sharing a deep secret with the world.  Dreams are always fun to share. Hope you enjoy these dreams.

[themori-witch]

Celtic Tree Lore

Trees are important in magick, and in paganism. They are often symbolic, and have inherent magickal correspondences and powers that were used and revered by ancient Celtic people and Druids.

Alder (Aldus Glutinosa):

This tree is sacred to the Druids and is associated with protection and oracular power. You can use Alder to draw Air spirits to you, by binding shoots of it together and creating a whistle. The wood is oily and water resistant, and thus can be used to make various tools for magickal workings, such as wands. 

Magickal Associations: Release, foundations, determination, royalty, focus, strength, confidence.

Element: Air and Fire

Deities: Bran.

Ogham Letter: 4th consonant, “Fearn”.

Apple (Malus Pumila):

The apple is seen as a symbol of fruitfulness and can be seen as a means to immortality in some myth and folklore. Druids wands are usually made of Apple or Yew. 

Magickal Associations: Fae, Samhain, Mabon, Otherworld, death, life, prosperity, knowledge, magick.

Element: Water

Deities: Olwen, Cerridwen.

Ogham Letter: 10th letter, “Quert”.

Ash (Fraximus): 

A sacred tree in Druidry, Ash was also a common wand/stave/staff material. The Ash is one of the sacred Druidic three: “Oak, Ash & Thorn”.

Element: Water, fire.

Magickal Associations: Power, mastery, psychic power/awareness, healing, health, protection, love, femininity, sea magick, focus, prosperity, prophecy.

Deities: Lir and Manannán mac Lir.

Ogham Letter: 3rd consonant, “Nion”.

Aspen (Populus tremula):

Much like the Oak tree, the leaves of the Aspen were listened to for divine messages as Druids and the Celts believed that the wind was,… a messenger of sorts.

Element: Air

Magickal Associations: protection, combating fear, Mabon, protection from unwanted spirits, property protection, protection from theft.

Ogham Letter: 4th vowel, “Eadhadh”.

Beech (Fagus grandifolia):

Beech is significant as it is tied to ancient knowledge and to learning, which is a vital part of practising Druidry.

Element: Air and Earth.

Magickal Associations: wishes, manifestation, communication, spirit work, deity invocation, luck, success, youth.

Deities: Ogma

Ogham Letter: Additional consonant, “Phagos”.

Birch (Betulaceae):

Known as “The Lady of the Woods”, Birch was used to bestow fertility upon cattle and newlyweds. Cradles for newborn children were crafted from the wood. 

Element: Air and Water

Magickal Associations: warding, banishing, courage, healing, new beginnings, purification, protection, creativity, renewal, fertility and birth.

Deities: Brigid.

Ogham Letter: 1st consonant, “Beith”.

Blackthorn (Prunus spinosa):

Known as “The Mother of the Woods”, Blackthorn is associated with introspection, whilst also being associated with the strength of fate and outside influences in our lives. 

Element: Earth and Fire.

Magickal Associations: purification, protection, combating fear and anger, death, curses, Samhain.

Deities: The Morrigan.

Ogham Letter: “Straif”.

Elder (Sambucus canadensis):

Elder was used by Druids to both bless, and curse.  It is said that when one stands beneath an Elder at Midsummer, they are more likely to see the Fae. Wands crafted from Elder have the ability to drive away evil spirits and thought forms, - so do whistles or flutes made from it.

Element: Water.

Magickal Associations: judgement, transformation, fate, death, regeneration, prosperity, banishment, healing, Fae.

Deities: Cerridwen, The Morrigan.

Ogham Letter: 13th consonant, “Ruis”.

Elm (Ulmus campestris):

This tree is oft associated with Goddesses of Earth and Motherhood, or deities with a Mother aspect to them. Elm was used in tool crafting due to its resistance to splitting, and because it adds stability to magick.

Element: Water

Magickal Associations: balance, love, protection, psychic power, crossroads. the Fae.

Hawthorn (Crataegus oxyacantha):

It is said that the Fae are particularly fond of Hawthorn, and wands made from the wood are supposed to be wands that contain much power.

Element: Water

Magickal Associations: protecion, love, marriage, health, prosperity, fae, hope. magick, fertility, intuition, femininity, happiness.

Deities: Olwen and Blodeuwedd.

Ogham Letter: 6th consonant, “Huathe”.

Hazel (Corylus):

The Tree of Immortal Wisdom, Hazel is sacred to the Fae and a wand made of this wood can be used to draw them to you. In Celtic mythology, the Salmon of Knowledge - [click here to learn more about this] - is said to eat the 9 nuts of poetic wisdom dropped into its sacred pool from the Hazel tree growing beside it. Each token of wisdom consumed became a spot on the Salmon.

Element: Air

Magickal Associations: manifestation, spirit contact, protection, prosperity, divination, dreams, wisdom and knowledge, marriage, fertility, intelligence, inspiration, poetry, the Fae.

Deities: Óengus

Ogham Letter: 9th consonant, “Coll”.

Holly (Ilex aquifolium):

Holly is primarily associated with the death and rebirth aspects of Winter in both pagan and Christian lore. 

Elements: Fire

Magickal Associations: Lughnasadh, protection, prophecy, healing, animals, sex, vulnerability, good luck, and consecration. It is also said to have the ability to enhance other forms of magick.

Deities: Lugh

Ogham Letter: 8th consonant, “Tinne”.

Oak (Quercus):

One of the Druidic sacred 3 (Oak, Ash and Thorn), the leaves were burned to purify the atmosphere, and listened to and observed by Druids and Priestesses for divinatory messages. Oak has been considered sacred by myriad cultures, but it was held in particular esteem by the Norse and Celts because of its size, longevity, and acorns.

Element: Water

Magickal Associations: Litha, protection, strength, success, stability, healing, fertility, health, money, potency, and good luck. 

Deities: The Dagda

Ogham Letter: 7th consonant, “Duir”.

Pine (Pinus):

It was known to the Druids as one of the seven chieftain trees of the Irish. 

Element: Air and Fire.

Magickal Associations: alleviating guilt/identifying guilt, protection, purification, fertility, fortune, abundance, cleansing, stimulation.

Deities: Elon

Ogham Letter: 1st vowel, “Ailm”.

Rowan  (Sorbus aucuparia):

Also known as “Witchwood” and “Mountain Ash”, the Rowan was sacred to the Druids and the Goddess Brigit. It is a very magickal tree used for wands, rods, amulets and spells, and runes were carved into sticks made of the wood.

Element: Fire

Magickal Associations: Imbolc, divination, astral work, strength, protection, initiation, healing, psychic work, spirit work, psychic powers, personal power, and success.

Deities: Brigid.

Ogham Letter: 2nd consonant, “Luis”.

Willow (Salix babylonica):

Groves of Willows were considered to be magickally potent that priests, priestesses and myriad types of artisans sat among them to gain eloquence, inspiration, skill and prophecies.

Element: Water

Magickal Associations:

Deities: Cerridwen, Brigid

Ogham Letter: 5th consonant, “Saille”.

Yew (Taxus baccata):

Yew was used by the Irish to make dagger handles, bows, and wine barrels despite all parts of the tree being poisonous bar the skin of the berries. The wood and/or leaves were laid on graves as a reminder to the spirit of the departed that death is the path to rebirth.

Element: Earth and Water.

Magickal Associations: enhances magickal and psychic abilities, induces visions. Transformation, reincarnation, eternal life and immortality, death, rebirth, change and regeneration.

Deities: Banbha.

Ogham Letter: 5th vowel and last letter, “Idho”.

[tipsycad147]

Dream Pillow

A dream pillow is a pillow stuffed with fragrant herbs that encourage sleep and/or dreaming. It may be used for healing, to encourage the patient to rest, or it may be used by a magical practitioner in an effort to receive guidance or visions during sleep.

Herbs that encourage sleep or dreaming include:

Agrimony – Agrimonia eupatoria

Anise – Pimpinellaa anisum

Ash – Fraxinus spp

Bay Laurel – Laurus nobilis

Betony – stachy officinalis or betonica officinalis

Damiana – Turnera diffusa

Eyebright – Euphrasia officinalis

Hazel – Corylus avellana

Holly – Ilex spp

Honeysuckle – Lonicera spp

Mint – Mentha spp

Mugwort – Artemisia vulgaris

Oregano – Origanum spp

Poppy – Papaveraceae spp

Thyme – Thymus spp.

Wormwood – Artemisia absinthium

https://witchipedia.com/glossary/dream-pillow/

Picture https://www.moongoddessmagickapothecary.com/

[toadofskyart-blog]

ILEX VISIONS Johto concept album http://virtua94records.bandcamp.com/album/ilex-visions