#good Black Magic Remove in UK

[blocklists-just-4-u]

hi, have you made a gimmick account blocklist? I know it's a MASSIVE ask, but it could be so so so useful to people who don't ever want to be gimmicked

What is a gimmick blog here as well as a good list there are two types of gimmick blogs imo, one is the listing blog, such as how many 7's, identifying blogs ect, the other is character blogs such as @black-magic-osha or @sans-in-heat, ill be covering the first kind as holy fuck its hard to tell sometimes... Also anon you owe me, I've basically invited hell onto this blog @alphabetcompletionist completes the alphabet @dailyquests daily quests @t-counter @q-counter @e-counter @r-counter @y-counter @i-counter @a-counter @k-counter @z-counter @c-counter @b-counter @identifying-cars-in-posts @identifying-scotland-in-posts @identifying-horses-in-posts @identifying-planes-in-posts @identifying-guns-in-posts @identifying-phones-in-the-post @identifying-trains-inposts @identifying-pokemon-in-posts @identifying-typewriters-in-posts @identifying-uk-trains-in-posts @identifying-ssobreeds-in-posts @identifying-spacecraft-in-posts @identifying-sharks-in-posts @identifying-dogs-in-posts @identifying-dinosaurs-in-posts @identifying-dolls-in-posts (look i could keep going but this post would be 600 @'s long so no?) @how-many-letters @punctuation-completionist @numberscompletionist @asciicompletionist @seven-counter @one-counter @two-counter @three-counter @four-counter @five-counter (no six counter??) @eight-counter @periodiccompletionist @rainbow--completionist @in-the-bible @colourpickingpride @post-store @free-post-store @i-remove-color-from-posts @i-say-ok @orange-content-rater RIGHT IM DONE, enjoy anon you owe me one

[a-forbidden-detective]

The snowball fight

—

Written for @flashfictionfridayofficial with the prompt #FFF235 Little Pink Houses

Fandom: Kamonohashi Ron no kindan suiri / Ron Kamonohashi’s Forbidden Deductions

* Saw two men playing on the street throwing snowballs at each other and suddenly I had the urge to write a RonToto fic situated in London after they visited the Scotland Yard’s Crime Museum. They looked like they were having fun these two… then the taller one attacked the other and they vanished. Got carried away as the word count surged to 995!!! (Beware of the spoilers if you don’t or haven’t read the manga.)

—

There are six different ways to describe snow in Japanese, thought Toto. Of all those six, the sight of snow-covered streets reminded him of the untouched yuki-boshi. He grabbed a handful of lily-white snow from someone’s hood of a car and like a ritual began to mould it in a way Toto knew by heart as a small child in Tokyo.

The reminiscences brought a smile to his face, but right now he couldn’t be much happier spending New Year’s Eve in London with none other than Ron. It was not on Toto’s bucket list more than a year ago, yet here he was in the UK capital enjoying the sights with his friend, discovering its nooks and crannies away from the touristic places.

Accompanying the forbidden detective had been natural now for the Tokyo police officer after all what they had been through. To witness his friend donning a toga to officially graduate from the BLUE Academy was already a privilege.

The gruelling events in the late October at the cruise ship and the murders that followed were enough to be a good excuse to stay away from Japan at the moment, to give them the chance to heal from physical wounds and mental exhaustion, thus, to be alone together far away from his hometown.

Toto couldn’t help asking himself the real score between the two of them, but somehow there was something that was hindering him to take action.

It was only 4:45 pm, but already dark when they left the New Scotland Yard’s Black Museum. The snow on his black gloves started to melt. Ron looked at him fondly and was still shaking from excitement of meeting some of the Scotland Yard staff members that he learned to know as a student at the BLUE.

The immaculate white flakes blanketing the whole city still fascinated Toto even if he was already in his early 30s. The streets that they walked turned magical. Strange that the weather stopped the outpouring of a crowd where they were. They were almost alone except from one or two bystanders.

“Come to think of it, I don’t think it is more different than in Tokyo. My grandmother sent me pics from their balcony. The whole landing was full of snow as well,” Toto showed several pictures taken by his grandma.

“Whoah those!” Ron just exclaimed.

Toto wondered what made his friend astounded.

The image of little pink houses emerged from his view that he himself was dumbfounded seeing the landscape.

“Beautiful, isn’t it?” Toto said. The images were taken during the sunset. The reflection of the sun’s weird angle against the fresh snow decked on the roofs rendered the whole scenery with a pinkish hue.

Ron happily glanced at it again only to smack Toto’s face with snow. It took the police officer by surprise, but he was ready to avenge himself.

“You devil!” Toto scooped more snow from the parked cars and threw them nonstop at his friend who did the same thing.

Soon enough there was a barrage of flying snowballs in the air to and fro. The two behaved like children and the almost empty streets of London became their oyster.

Ron then got a hold of Toto’s coat collar and without further ado kissed him full on the lips as he poured bits of snow inside his shirt.

Stunned both from the amorous action and the cold temperature that engulfed Toto, removing his gloves, he then gripped Ron’s face to ultimately kiss him back. To hell with the melting ice running down his spine. The world stopped as Toto sucked Ron’s tongue and licked the insides of his mouth.

Laughing, Ron struggled to let go as he dragged Toto to an alley where no one could see them at all. Leaning on the abandoned store window, he then proceeded to kiss Toto again whilst taking off his scarf then lifted Toto’s shirt wiping away the wetness on his friend’s back.

After the initial contact, the younger man caressed his friend’s cheeks and kissed his forehead, nose, ears, the top of his head and back to his lips again.

“Apologies, Isshiki-san, it is taking you so long to get your act together.” Ron whispered, his voice two octaves lower than usual. His long hands travelled from Toto’s neck down to his lower back that made Toto shiver.

“Cunning devil…” Toto could only say as he smiled and gave in to Ron’s tender hands.

“So that settles the score, ne?”

Toto nodded and placed his head on Ron’s chest. With the forbidden detective’s fingers behind Toto’s back, Toto wished they could stay like that forever away from the madness of the M Family and gruesome crimes in Japan. But he knew that it would make his now lover sad and useless. Ron loved and lived for sleuthing, puzzles and crimes.

His phone beeped, a message incoming.

Toto searched for his left pocket where his iPhone was.

“Not yet, Toto…”

The messenger was insistent. Ron loosened up his hold on Toto so the latter could maneuver his hand.

“Oh shit! It is Spitz! He and his companion are already at the pub,” Toto couldn’t stand it when he forgot something, but on the other hand, he couldn’t pass up this moment with Ron.

“Ack! Oh well, we must take our leave, I guess…” Ron didn’t give any sign of moving at all.

“It is Spitz, Ron. He promised us to give more information concerning the M Family,” Toto looked at his friend-lover, who reached for his nose to stroke gently.

“Ron, we have to go now.”

“All right. But remember, we aren’t done here yet,” Ron seized Toto’s hand and placed it on his crotch. It made Toto’s eyes bulge.

“Oh my god, I created a monster…”

“Heh,” Ron showed Toto his winning smile.

Ron and Toto then tread the path leading them to Soho holding hands to meet up with their friend.

~ fin ~

[esoxy]

The fabled blue UK passport is 3 years old today

So this is the perfect time to do a proper, page-by-page comparison of both the old and the new passports, to see how much better the new one is.

Let's start with the front cover

Although neither of them says anything about the EU anymore, the new one contains the words "BRITISH" and is also (a very dark shade of) blue. 0-1 so far to the blue one

Opening up the pages you can start to see some changes.

The first thing you'll notice that the second page is now in HARD plastic, hard as the Brexit that allowed this passport to become blue.

Since EU rules don't apply anymore so you could also remove all of those 22 extra pesky translations of our great country, only leaving English, Welsh, Gaelic, Irish, French and Spanish freeing up the space to include your face not just once, but two times!

We also got rid of the map of Cardiff in the background, and the references to seafaring. The latter was recently banned anyway.

2 points to the blue one so far

Not much change on the next page, apart from the use of hard plastic on the photo page, and the fact that I gained weight. Getting rid of the map of the UK was also a nice change as it was showing Scotland too prominently. They don't deserve this.

In any case this is a tie, so 1-3 points so far

Next one up some notes and some security notes on the old passport, while the translations of the previous page on the new one. There is a watermark of Shakespeare on the old old one, and a map of Edinburgh, both which were replaced with a watermark of the floral emblem. This at least contains reference to all four countries, so that's definitely a nice addition, but so far this is also a tie. 2-4 points so far

Next up on the old design we had to fill up two whole pages with translations. Completely superflous, we could have just used up the same space to allow for extra visas to be added to the passport. With the abolishment of the Freedom of Movement having two extra pages for visas is definitely a worthy addition, so 1 point extra for the blue passport. 2-5 so far.

(We also got rid of the map of London and Belfast. Who needs them)

Page 8 and 9 shows John Harrison and his invention of the marine chronometer that revolutioned sea travel. On the other hand sea travel is dangerous and we just recently banned it, so it's good that this has been removed in favour of a much more stylized clock-like image. Note that it's hand aligns nicely with the page number, showing 8 and 9 respectively. This is definitely a nice touch, much more self-referential than the image of John Harrison, so a win to the blue one. 2-6 so far.

On the old passport the next two pages show John Constable, someone who pursued a lesser career like painting instead of becoming a much more important member of society, like banker or a CEO. There is no need for this kind of vice in our society, so thank this has been removed.

On the new design you can see that the hand of the clock jumped to the 1 position, instead of pointing at 11 and 12 respectively! And it remained in the same position on both pages. This choice must have saved the artist designing the passport some work, so extra points for keeping the design cheap and affordable. 2-7 so far

Next two pages show references to the Royal Mail including the iconic post box, and the first adhesive stamp, the Penny Black. On the other hand spending two pages on this archaic institution is just a waste of paper, especially as they do nothing just strike all the time nowadays.

On the new design? Look, there are now TWO HANDS on the clock! What a lovely addition, it definitely took me by surprise, 2-8 so far.

Next up on the old one are trains, you know that things that are always late, if not cancelled. They are also expensive as hell compared to car ownership, so no need to promote them anymore.

Look a magical line of UNITED KINGDOM has appeared in the background. Hats off to yet another surprise change in design, 2-9!

Next two pages feature Sir Giles and his architectural designs. Unfortunately for him he designed too many well known things and therefore now the page simply looks too cramped for the average viewer.

Unlike the new design, which is still clear, spacious and easy to understand. 2-10

Next two pages feature the London Underground, which will definitely give PTSD to anyone who ever used it during peak hours. London was already featured in the passport with Greewinch and Battersea already anyway, while we haven't seen anything from Wales, Northern Ireland or Scotland yet.

No such issue from the new passport, clean and clear with no surprises, and representation from all corners of the UK inside the watermark. 2-11 of course

Architecture yet again, this time from a woman. Also England again, Triple boring.

Seall! The design on page 21 is the same as the one on page 12 albeit the colour difference. This duplication hopefully has yet again driven down the design costs! 2-12!

Antony Gormley. Yet another useless artist who could have become something great during his lifeteime, like I don't know, a Conservative MP, but has chosen not to.

On the other hand we have yet another page where we have design reuse - with page 20 and 22, but this time the colours match as well! Must have been some great savings, 2-13

Come on, didn't we have enough artists so far? And featuring one of the most hated artist of all time? And he is also an immigrant? Yuck!

Thank god we got rid of all of this perversion! 2-14

Arts, Architecture, Shakespeare and London, all on the same page. Everything we have seen so far. Space could have been used for something much more important.

Like this nice and plain design we can see on the new passport. 2-15

Edinburgh Castle? Bagpipes? Who allowed Scotland to be present in the design, we definitely need to fire them and never let them design passports anymore. Also the dragon on the corner looking at the girl like that? That is definitely sexual harassement, let's get rid of this carnality!

On the other hand we can see another clean and nice design, a perfect place to put your last remaining few visas before you need to get another one for £82.50 + shipping fees. 2-16

Finally no more arts or achitecture but something useful: Computers! Internet! The stuff bankers use to do important stuff! No idea why they had to put a women on this page though, but let's just disregard that.

Watch that elements from new design can be seen on the computer screen in the old one. This must have been some great foreknowledge. Let's make this one a tie! 3-17

Buildings? Again? And why so many? Ah, yeah we forgot to include Wales and Northern Ireland in the designs yet, so let's quickly sort them out, before the nationalists notice! Let's still make sure the London eye is centre and front, not to give them too much credit though.

The new one? Same old same old. You can see some art reuse on page 33 (vs page 30) as usual.

However since both designs feature all 4 countries, let's make this one a tie as well: 4-18

Final page! Yet again, only Scotland and Northern Ireland above, but the whole of the UK on the new one. Blue one is a clear winner here: 4-19

And finally the back page. Plain burgundy on the old one, a nice embossed floral design on the blue one. The winner is clear.

So this takes our total to 4-20! A clear and massive victory to the new passport, an exquisite masterpiece, perdectly designed and ideal to the new place of Global Britain in the world, far away from the woke dictatorship of the European Union, and the best Brexit dividend so far (apart from being able to buy cheep booze at airports again)

[obeah-rituals]

All you wanted to know about Obeah

Obeah is a religious activity premised on a fusion of various religions. It is an art form – in fact, it would be more appropriate to call it an art of "resistance". This activity is widespread in the Caribbean and African countries. Over there, people use "Obeah" to ward off evil entities and the negativity inflicted on people's lives. As such, this is a practice somewhat connected to spirituality. 

There are plenty of Obeah practitioners today who know the power that this particular practice possesses and hence come forward to help people. There are two paths to Obeah. 

The first path involves summoning supernatural entities, and the second involves using plants and animal products. 

Obeah practices around the world 

If you want to practice Obeah, it would imply that you learn how to control and channel negative energy and spiritual forces. It comprises a wide range of practices and beliefs. The main aim of this activity is the well-being of the intended beneficiaries and society in general. It is supposed to bring good fortune, protect people from negative energies, and prevent illnesses. However, at times, Obeah is used to harm people. 

During the period when slavery was legal, Europeans practiced it for positive reasons. In the colonial era, this practice helped minimize the adverse effects of negativity in one's life.

The meaning of Obeah 

The word Obeah derived from an African term with a strong and significant meaning. There are many ways the meaning of the word "Obeah" could be perceived. Still today, in some parts of Africa, it is referred to as Obey. Some people practice this as a source of strength. In other cases, people practice it to harm others by summoning supernatural forces. History says that this particular practice originated in Africa. No matter what he does – bad or good – the Obeah man is always treated with respect.

The rituals of Obeah

Obeah is a spiritual practice often sought when someone wants to remove negative energy, especially when they feel stuck in witchcraft practices, and to remove the curse. As we have said already, this ritual is beneficial to remove negative energy from one’s life. As such, it can deal with negative forces such as jinn, Voodoo, black magic, and evil spirit. 

There are many instances when you may feel nothing is going well in your life and strange things are happening repeatedly thus affecting your life. This is when you can consider a consultation with an Obeah man. An Obeah man can play a central role in the life of any individual surrounded by evil and supernatural effects. You can be sure that no matter what, an Obeah man will always help you come out free from the spells inflicted by any other people or person to cause harm.

How can an Obeah man help you?

There are so many services that Exuma the Obeah Man can provide as enumerated below:

Obeah removal

witchcraft removal

curse removal

negative energy remedy

jinn removal

Voodoo removal

evil spirit removal

black magic remedy 

 Obeah rituals are followed extensively in Caribbean countries such as Jamaica and other African countries for centuries. It also includes casting love spells and other magic apart from what we have said here. These practitioners are efficient and can provide a permanent remedy for all kinds of Obeah evils. 

 Conclusion

Apart from the regions that we have mentioned so far, Obeah is even practiced in the USA (United States of America), the UK (United Kingdom), Canada, New Zealand, and Australia. Some so many people have had such good things to say about the positive way in which they have been affected by Obeah. Some people say that Obeah has helped them turn around the bad luck in their lives and the financial problems they were facing. 

[sarah-dipitous]

Hellsite Nostalgia Tour 2023 Day 87

Good God Y’all/Voyage of the Damned

“Good God Y’all”

Plot Description: While Castiel goes in search of god in the fight against Lucifer, Sam and Dean help out an old hunter friend of Bobby’s

Would I Survive the First Five Minutes??: No one died

Cas’s faith is fascinating. Both in the “god is boppin around and CAN be found” way AND the “and I CAN find him. I’ll be the one to find him so you don’t have to become Michael’s vessel” way

NO HE’S NOT ON ANY FLATBREAD

He really has sacrificed a lot already for these boys…there’s so much overlap in the devotion he and Ruby have/had to their creators that I wish could have been explored more

Welcome back to relevance, Ellen!

You can tell how American this show is when the most logical, most reasonable solution to the problem in this town is more guns. Arm everyone that’s left

Sam?? SAM DONT DO IT. Do not drink the demon blood.

YEAH, I wouldn’t be too trusting of him either, Dean

I can definitely understand the struggle of the desire to exorcise demons without killing the person they’re possessing but knowing that the only way to do that is a GIGANTIC betrayal

Imagine if Ellen had been able to be around to smack some sense into the boys the whole of last season

Wait. What??? So…who’s actually possessed?? Or is this all some weird delusion? Because Jo and Rufus seem to think Sam and Ellen are the possessed ones while we’re shown that THEY have black eyes

Who’s THAT guy? What’s HE doing??

With every sentence she says, I’m more and more convinced they needed Ellen to keep them in line.

Oh…that guy was War of four horsemen fame (the Good Omens one is better, imo)

WHAT A FUCKING LIIIIIIIINE. He’s talking about how he didn’t need to do much to turn this town against itself. “I’m like Jell-O shots at a party. I just remove the inhibition”

He’s a terrible, manipulative son of a bitch but…he’s good at his job, I’ll say that

Oooooooo, Ellen comin in with Jo’s middle name

Omg…he came into town in a red Mustang???

Pleeeeease tell me they’re not STILL trying to push Dean/Jo

Oh Deeeean, making the VERY obligatory lord of the rings reference after cleaning up War’s magic ring, and it’s just a plain gold ring

This feels so wrong. Y’all should not be splitting up. Why do you think this is a good idea. Unless Sam was going to go with Ellen and Jo, which he’s NOT.

“Been On My Mind…”: no. 7

“Voyage of the Damned”

Plot Description: When disaster hits the Titanic, the Doctor uncovers a threat to the whole human race

I’d be unnerved by those angel statues even BEFORE they moved

Why on Earth (or really in space) would you name a ship the Titanic AGAIN??

Oh! I know this guy!! I’ll see him again in a month when he goes to Sherlock for help. I feel like he doesn’t make it out of this episode

Tired of the Capricorn = greedy business man stereotype. The cruise line owner’s name is literally Max Capricorn…….

I love when he goes out of his way to make friends with those of the lowest social standing.

Omg these “ancient” Christmas myths are fantastic

WILFFFF 🥰

I mean, yeah, you can’t save the Titanic from getting hit

I love that the angel robots do NOT move like robots but like the humans who are very much in the costumes

CONVENIENT that the TARDIS falls directly to the UK/really, to London

Mmmmm but he IS rather dashing when he takes charge of a situation while in a tux

Good on you, Bannakaffalatta not letting him shorten your name to make it easier for him!!

Morvin and Foon are so sweet together. I love them

The only person worse than Rickston was the captain…I take that back. The captain still did what he did to take care of his family, this dude is REALLY only out for himself

Of COURSE the Doctor was there at the first Christmas…

Morvin!!!! NOOOO!!!!

He could disarm them this … oh, but at the cost of his own life. Poor Bannakaffalatta

Not Foon, toooo

Why does Rickston get to live when the three who gave their lives deserved it SO. MUCH. MORE.

“You can’t even sink the Titanic!” Is a great line

This is not very OSHA compliant, Astrid. I can’t believe only Mr Copper and Rickston Fucking Slade are gonna walk away from this, from the Doctor’s lil crew

The way his hair did not budge as they flew up to the bridge

Omg…I forgot Midshipman Frame’s first name was Alonso, so the Doctor got to say “Allons-y, Alonso!”

Ok, Mr Copper DOES deserve this

I love that he thinks he’s gonna travel alone and Donna’s gonna track him down anyway

[yesastrologervikramjius-blog]

Pandit Vikramji - Best Spiritual Healing Services in London, Manchester

[phantomtrader19]

Phantom of the opera 1st & 3rd preview review

PART 1

Auction - I was absolutely overjoyed to see the chandelier onstage!! I personally loved the new set, it was sad to see the angel had gone but I’m so glad they put the homage to Maria bjornson in the centre where the angel was as seen below (it’s modelled after Maria I overheard)

The cloth covered piece behind the chandelier is a broken middle section of the inner proscenium that when the overture starts re-assembles and rises into place absolutely stunning addition!!

some words were changed

“Lot 666, a chandelier until recently believed to be destroyed... *normal lyrics* “Our workshops have restored it and fitted it with wiring for the new electric light so that we may get a hint of how magnificent it will look when re-assembled” so like the restaged tour lyrics.

Standard auction really not much change but haunting as always!

Overture - perhaps a new sound system? But the overture was absolutely thunderous and I was LIVING for it, lighting design is new and a lot more flashes of light which upped the dramatic feel to it! The chandelier was new and I thought it looked absolutely wonderful it certainly didn’t disappoint it’s a lot bigger than the original which was a cool change. The curtains rose like before and the inner section of the proscenium was sort of like a centre piece and as the overture gets to the middle part where the music sort of slows then dramatically picks back up again (I hope I’ve explained that okay 😂) the dust covers on everything are very swiftly removed and it looks beautiful. The audience went crazy for the overture and it was just amazing to witness!

Hannibal - Saori’s cadenza was so fierce and you could tell she was having a blast up there! Again she got an applause as she came out on stage. The ensemble was fabulous as expected costumes again all the same but fresher as they were all brand new or from the uk tour 2020. Christine doesn’t come out with the ballet girls she joins just before they all do that lovely en pointe section which Lucy does as she is a trained dancer as well! A couple ballet girls now wear their wigs in curlers and tied up in ribbons to give that extra feel of a dress rehearsal which I’m still to figure out if I liked. Yukina Hasebe one of the ballerinas wears a black wig in a plaited ponytail with a black fringe which was interesting but they all wear their regular degas wigs the rest of the show. Everything else remained relatively the same.

Think of me (Carlotta) nothing different I don’t think, Saori sounds brilliant she’s so sassy I love her! Her tantrum is brilliant as she’s so tiny and all this anger bursts out of her it’s really funny!

Lily was also absolutely divine in this part aswell gorgeous voice and good comedic timing.

Greg Castiglioni has a nice voice but not too convinced on his portrayal as piangi not my fave but not bad! (I miss Paul tabone so much!)

Think of me (Christine) My heart was pounding as the piano started I was so eager and excited to hear Lucy safe to say she doesn’t disappoint she’s so radiant and has the voice of a bell, her cadenza is the movie cadenzas but higher and it was fantastic Think of me was much the same but again the set looked so bright and new it really was gorgeous, I absolutely love the new addition of the mini proscenium inside the outer one it frames the stage just beautifully! Rhys’ part was great aswell lovely voice :)

Angel of music - much the same again, the ballerinas have a bar where they practise upstage left which was a nice touch. Lyric change to -

Meg - “your face Christine, so strange”

Christine - “I’m changing Meg”

Meg - “No one’s changing”

In the third preview the lyrics changed to

Christine - “he’s with me even now”

Meg - “Your hands are cold”

Christine - “all around me”

Meg - “Christine are you alright”

Christine - “it frightens me”

Meg - “don’t be frightened”

So reverted back to something similar to the original lyrics! Ellie is a lovely Meg and her wig is auburn and it looks lovely!

Dressing room - everything the same

The mirror - everything the same again killian has a great voice and sounded very threatening! when the phantom brings Christine through the mirror Raoul calls out angel and instead of the title song beginning the music continues into a dramatic swell no where near as long as the restaged tour though.

Title song - Raoul leaves the dressing room as the title song begins and the ballerinas walk onstage congregate round Raoul and then they all walk off as Lucy and Killian appear on the bridge so no more doubles a bit of a restaged tour moment again I’m still to figure out how I felt. There seems to be extra set pieces like flat cutouts of staircases which move with the bridge which I really enjoyed, I think it added more depth to the stage.

The first preview the candles on the candelabras were poking out of the floor as they usually did and Lucy and killian appeared on the boat and however the candelabras didn’t rise which was confusing however they did in the third preview apparently it was a technical malfunction so I was very happy to see it fixed as the lair looked really bare without them.

I Have brought you - nothing different

Music of the night - mostly the same but it was like the phantom could put Christine to sleep when he sung close your eyes her eyes closed and she seemed to kind of lose consciousness it was a really nice touch to see how much control the phantom had over Christine. The catch is gone now :(

The morning after/ I remember - again the same

Stranger than you dreamt it - Lucy’s acting in this scene was just out of this world you can tell her Christine was absolutely horrified by the sight of the deformity and killian was fantastic!

Magical lasso - same as normal

Notes/ prima Donna - exact same as before except i don’t know if it was just me but the curtain behind the manager’s desk seemed a lot larger which was nice as it filled up a bit more of the empty space. Raoul wore a brown bow tie for this scene. Saori and Lily both were fantastic in prima donna would love to see lily again and will most likely be seeing Saori anyway in my upcoming visits. Rhys was really good in this song he was very clever and lovely belt. Francesca Ellis is definitely a standout in the show her voice is so unique unlike any other I’ve ever heard her acting is also 10/10! Managers I think could work on their timing for the comedic parts but that’s the only complaint Matt and Adam are great otherwise :)

Il Muto - lovely to see Manon Taris back on stage and James Hume and I want to say Hywel Dowsell were amusing to watch aswell! Saori and Edward court as Don Atillio were great Lucy was so cute as Serafimo!

The ballet - all the ballerinas were gorgeous! And the male ballet dancer was fantastic! Andre was trembling like crazy when trying to introduce the ballet and engaged with the audience quite a bit which was fun, the ballerinas screamed a lot when they noticed the phantoms shadow on the backdrop and the music had a build up behind the actual original score which made the reveal of buquet’s body more dramatic!

The Rooftop - Lucy looked gorgeous in her rooftop costume! She seemed genuinely distressed and her acting again just shone through, Rhys at the beginning was giving me Hadley Fraser/ restaged tour vibes coming off as dismissive of Christinebut he begins to soften Lucy’s soar was sublime probably one of the best I’ve heard it just floated from her!!!

All I ask of you - Rhys and Lucy had a lot of chemistry and she was beaming from ear to ear when Rhys sung to her. Beautifully done

All I ask of you reprise - the controversial Pegasus.... would it have been nice for the phantom to appear on top of the angel? Yes, is the Pegasus statue THAT bad absolutely not it was beautiful! Killian was fab! Loved the sustained note on “when he heard you siiiiiiinggggggggg” liked a lot!!!

CHANDELIER CRASH WAS SO COOL, killian appeared in box five and shot sparks from his staff essentially shooting the chandelier down. It crashed like it did in the original and swung really fast over the audience and made an explosion noise which was changed at the third preview the music sort of rumbled instead of the explosion which worked better as the explosion was rather odd since the chandelier didn’t collapse or like the restaged tour chandelier spew fake glass.

INTERVAL The blue curtain is GORGEOUS

[bjornsonbrightman]

A (not-so-brief) list and analysis of the things that were changed in the set design of Phantom London, part 1

[*includes things that were changed in between the release of the infamous Planning Document™ and opening night!*]

WARNING: long, image-heavy post

The past week has undoubtedly been very confusing and anxiety-inducing for a lot of phans, I myself included, who were (and are) still horrified of what C*mM*ck has done to Phantom London.

So naturally, as someone who lives somewhere that couldn't be farther from the UK, I decided to compile a list of all the things that I've learned — through hours of shamelessly scrolling through Instagram, Twitter and Facebook tags — about the planning, creation and production of the new set design.

Hang on tight, it's a bumpy ride.

1. The proscenium

The most obvious thing that is now different from the OG. Let's take a look at the concept art shown in the original planning document:

Ahh, I remember the release of this picture and the Tumblr/Twitter/FB explosion that ensued like it was yesterday. Good times.

The new set design by Matt Kinley is mainly derived from what he did for the UK tour, which introduced the cracked, sculpture-less proscenium and the separate proscenium frame/boxes that appear only during the opera scenes. Unlike the greatly simplified UK tour design, however, this design for London appears to have the original lyres and garlands at the top, as well as some structural elements of the OG proscenium (see the outward curved trimmings on the top sides). The surrounding areas of the auditorium are also shown to be restored to their original colours, the most interesting of which is a new false wall in the area behind the top part of the proscenium. These areas were previously blacked out with black paint and black masking.

Despite hewing closer to the OG than the UK tour did, this was still a sacrilegious bastardization far cry from Maria Björnson's design, and I guess the creatives were aware of it too, as they seemed to try to soften the blow by:

using actual pieces of the original proscenium that weren't a part of the OG plan such as this satyr-riding angel...

including an "homage" to Maria (according to ALW) in the form of a new sculptural bust that fills up the Golden Angel's spot (picture from @mariussansmerci) ...

The design of the false wall behind the lyres on top was also changed to... something that I guess gives off the impression of a false dome?? Not too sure about this one but I kinda like it ngl:

Something that the planning document mentions is that the removal of the side sculptures and the installation of a "cracked" proscenium allows for sound equipment to be installed behind the sides of the proscenium, which frees up the two side boxes to be "used as originally intended". And that's exactly what happened. Surprise, C*mM*ck now has 4 extra seats that he can sell overpriced.

And here's the finished result (photos from here):

With the safety curtain that was brought over from the UK tour and without the inner proscenium/boxes:

To be honest? I kinda like the final result. Those (possibly face-saving) changes really saved the design from looking like a bad copy of the original proscenium; now it just looks like a mediocre copy. But don't worry, whenever I get too comfortable with this new design I just pull out pictures of Maria's OG proscenium and my fiery anger for the new one is reignited.

And that's all I have on the proscenium!

Next up we have something that I believe had the most confusing and troubled development out of all the new set pieces:

2. The Chandelier

Man, this poor thing has been through a lot.

When it was originally designed for the UK tour, the chandelier was intended to utilize much of the same technology that the r*staged tour chandelier used, namely the drapes that are "magically" sucked into the chandelier itself and the straight-dropping mechanism. Hence, the new chandelier was made to be circular and non-collapsible, featuring a decorative spike on the bottom. According to pictures of the model and the concept art shown in the planning document, I suspect the drapes were to be sucked in through the decorative lyres (see the circular openings):

But this mechanism was precisely the reason for the downfall of this design. Come opening night of the UK tour, and this chandelier was nowhere to be seen. My suspicion of what went wrong? Either the drapes were snagging on the lyres (kind of like what happened to the short-lived garlands on R*staged Tour Chandelier), or the retractable frame that held up the drapes wasn't working properly.

But whatever the reason for the failure of this mashup chandelier, the designers must've realized and abandoned ship pretty late, because pictures from one of the prop makers showed that it was still being made with frames that were very much non-collapsible as late as February this year:

Once they realized it wasn't going to work, I believe a series of last-minute actions were made. My theory: they brought back the OG chandelier in all its missing-bulbs glory less than a week away from opening...

... and stripped it of its lyres, which were transplanted onto the new chandelier, as is evident from the final product (photo from @soulsoaringphan):

This hypothesis is bolstered by the fact that the new lyres were originally going to have holes in them for drape-sucking (ew), and so once the decision was made to have the chandelier work more like the OG, the logical step would have been to just borrow the lyres from the old one instead of making new ones in less than a week or two from opening.

Also note the gaps in the beading that would've had the rigid golden frame trimmings seen in the model and the in-progress photos above; the designers must have removed them hastily to allow the chandelier to collapse, but unfortunately they just... left it empty. Oh, and the absence of the spike on the bottom, which is now just a huge gaping hole (again, ew). There's also an additional tier on top that wasn't present in the OG, model or any of the concept art.

I'm actually quite relieved that the new chandelier is pretty similar to the OG and the Palais Garnier one, but if I have to nitpick: I miss the horizontal decorative beading, the ones that were on the top tier and in between the lyres in the old chandelier. Maybe it's just me, but the chandelier looks... incomplete without them.

And that's all I have on the chandelier!

3. The Orchestra Pit — wait, I can't upload any more pictures??

Welp, guess I'll have to make a part 2 then. Thanks for reading this long, long rant post, I hope it was at the very least entertaining and slightly informative!

And lemme know if I forgot to credit anyone whose pictures I used!

[grimoire2020aa]

The Magic of Chamomile

"Chamomile” comes from Greek meaning “ground apple” because of its fragrance. The Romans used it as incense, and the ancient Egyptians used it for cooling fevers; they dedicated it to the sun god, Ra. To the Anglo Saxons, it was one of the nine sacred herbs.

Chamomile prefers sandy, slightly acidic soil as well as direct sunlight, but if it gets too hot too often, it prefers shade. To harvest, cut the flower heads as they form and hang or leave on cloth to dry. In tea, dry chamomile goes a longer way than fresh chamomile.

MEDICINAL:  *Chamomile may cause allergic reactions in those allergic to ragweed. Do not use if you are on blood thinners, as some constituents may have an anticoagulant action*

Chamomile tea:

2 tsp Chamomile flowers in one mug of boiling water. Cover and steep five minutes. It tastes bitter, so honey, sugar, and milk can be added to improve taste.

Chamomile tea soothes the mind and body to prepare for sleep. It is safe for use with children and helps with teething stress and colic; to soothe a fretful baby, place them in a warm bath/infusion of chamomile (caution: babies are very sensitive to skin irritation, so make sure that the child isn’t allergic beforehand). For anxiety, insomnia, and nervousness, drink before bedtime (can be mixed with milk and honey). Infuse chamomile flowers in warm milk for a skin cleanser that fights acne and moisturizes. Use once a week, and within a week of making.

Chamomile is an antispasmodic and a muscle relaxer; it is good for reducing inflammation and muscle spasms. It is especially useful with menstrual cramps (drink two to three cups daily). When used topically, it can speed the healing of cuts, scrapes, blisters, and burns; it is also helpful with rashes, eczema, and inflammation of the skin. To treat, add it to a salve, rinse the affected area with tea, or add a few drops of essential oil to bath water. FOR BURNS: Do not use ointment/essential oil. Use a light lotion or gentle compress; oils hold in body heat and don’t let the burns heal, and the strength of the essential oil may irritate the burn. Eye inflammations can be soothed with a cool compress or a soaked chamomile tea bag.

It aids in digestion, soothes the bowels, aids with morning sickness, and relieves restlessness associated with pregnancy. To help with any of the above, drink a cup of tea on an empty stomach first thing in the morning, hot or cold.

If another plant of any kind is weak or ailing, place a chamomile plant near it to help it thrive; it can also be watered with an infusion of chamomile.

MAGICAL:

Chamomile is used in spells of money, peace, love, tranquility, and purification. It is a good protection herb; to keep unwanted entities or energies from passing through, use an infusion to wash thresholds (doors and windows). Sprinkle the powdered flowers around you or your home to remove spells cast against you and prevent fires/lightning. Use it in a ritual bath before performing protective spells. A bath can also increase your attractiveness to the opposite sex, or be used to release grief, pain, anger, or loss. Washing hands with chamomile water before betting/gambling will improve luck. Add in sachets for luck and money or tuck some into a wallet to increase cash flow. Place chamomile flowers near a weak or sick person to ease the sickness. Use in meditation incense. In a banishing ritual, sprinkle an infusion of chamomile around you and wash up with the cold tea to keep negativity away from you. In candle magic: anoint a green candle with the tea or oil for good luck and money, and anoint a black candle for banishment or exorcism.

Other names: Ground apple, Whig plant, Maythen

Gender: Masculine

Element: Water

Deities: Cernunnos, Ra, Helios, Jupiter, Lugh

Zodiac: Leo

Helps to cleanse and invigorate the throat chakra (5th).

Chamaemilum mobile

Roman chamomile, perennial, about 4 to 12 inches tall, daisy-like flowers with turned down petals, has an apple-like fragrance. Usually used in Britain/UK.

Matricaria recutita

German chamomile, annual, up to 20 inches tall, daisy-like flowers. Usually used in the USA.

Both can be used the same and both work well.

Source: marlowes-meadowFollow

[trashyswitch]

Catch Meeee!

The boys started off watching a movie. Next thing they know, they're floating around the room and having a one-sided tickle fight! There is just no telling where a date night will go.

This prompt was suggested by @thatweirdemonightmere. I hope you enjoy this Prinxiety fic!

Virgil and Roman were sitting on the couch, enjoying an underrated movie together. The movie? Rango! Even though the movie was somewhat dark, it was still a fun western. Virgil enjoyed how dark and unique all the characters looked, while Roman enjoyed the story of identity and the funny jokes within it. One of his favorite characters was probably the singing and playing owl band in between the scenes. He also found the cactus bottle to be a hilarious part and enjoyed the weird and trippy hallucinations. And of course, no one could forget that Johnny Depp voiced Rango and did amazing voicing the role. So, there was that.

“Man...Imagine being forced to live without water.” Virgil told him.

Roman groaned. “I could not IMAGINE. Water is the most underappreciated resource known to MAN.” Roman reacted.

Virgil looked over. “Water is used for everything! It’s used for cooking, it’s used for cleaning, it’s used for hygiene, it’s basically used for living.” Virgil explained.

“Plants, animals, humans, bugs, even bacteria use it! No one would be able to live without water.” Roman added.

“Get this: Logan told me earlier that it’s possible to be allergic to water.” Virgil told him.

Roman sat up and turned to face the emo. “What?!”

“It’s true! I’m not kidding.” Virgil told him.

“Can’t be! We just explained all the things we need water for! How can a person be ‘allergic’ to a liquid that’s constantly used?! How do they stay hydrated?! How to they get clean?! How do they LIVE?!” Roman asked.

Virgil decided to look it up on his phone. “Aquagenic Urticaria, aka Water Allergy, is a rare form of allergy in which hives develop on the skin after contact with water, regardless of temperature.” He read. “People with the Water Allergy are able to drink water, but can have an allergic reaction to bathing/showering, sweating, crying, and rainfall.” Virgil read further.

Roman felt his own arms. “Oh gosh…”

Virgil decided to read further. “A substance dissolved in water enters the skin and causes an immune response.” He read. “So...similar to a peanut allergy.” Virgil added on the side before continuing to read. “The hives are not caused by the water itself, but are rather caused by an allergen hidden within the water. An interaction between water and a substance hidden in/on the skin, creates a toxic material that gives them hives.” Virgil read.

Roman looked at him. “Sooooo...don’t live in Canada, Ireland or the UK. The UK and Ireland constantly create rainfall, and snow is basically frozen water.” Roman suggested.

“Yeah...I’d suggest either living in Las Vegas, Arizona or California due to its little rainfall.” Virgil told Roman, looking at his own phone.

“Alright.” Roman replied.

After a while of just watching the movie, Roman looked over at Virgil with a smile. “Hey Virgil.”

“Hm?” Virgil looked over.

“Wanna know something that’s cooler than water?” Roman asked.

Virgil grew a small smile. “Sure.”

Roman conjured up some water bubbles. The water bubbles started floating around them, while the two boys stayed put on the couch.

Virgil’s eyes widened with wonder as he brought a finger up to one of the water bubbles. Amazingly, the water bubble didn’t pop when his finger touched it! Instead, the water bubble coated his finger in a layer of water.

Virgil looked at his own wet finger and giggled. “It’s floating water!”

“It’s zero gravity water!” Roman explained briefly.

Virgil laughed. “If it’s zero gravity, then why aren’t we floating too?” Virgil asked.

“Do you want to float?” Roman suggested.

“Yes! That would be amazing!” Virgil replied.

“Alright!” Roman snapped his fingers and in no time, the two of them were floating! Their bodies were completely zero gravity, while the surrounding furniture and appliances were still staying on the ground! How this was actually happening, Virgil would never know.

“WHOA! HAHA! I’m FLOATIIING!” Virgil declared excitedly.

“ISN’T THIS COOL?!” Roman yelled excitedly.

“HOW ARE YOU DOING THIS?!” Virgil asked.

“MMMMAGIC! HAHAHA!” Roman joked.

Virgil started swimming and floating himself up to the wall, and pushed himself off to head back to the middle at a quicker speed. “WEEEEEE!” Virgil squealed. As soon as he reached Roman, Virgil tapped his shoulder. “YOU’RE IT!” Virgil immediately pushed himself away.

“WAIT, WHAT?! COME HERE YOU!” Roman reacted, pushing himself off the nearest wall to float to him.

“NO WAY!” Virgil laughed. Roman was about to tag his foot, but Virgil pulled it away quickly. “HA! NICE TRY!” He teased.

“GET BACK HERE!” Roman yelled, pushing off the sofa arm and soaring to Virgil. Roman started to do a zero gravity kartwheel, when his hand touched his head. “YOU’RE IT!”

“NOOOO!” Virgil reacted dramatically. “I CAN’T TURN AROUND!” Virgil complained with a laugh.

Roman laughed. “GOOD!”

“NOT GOOD!” Virgil yelled back.

Virgil grabbed onto the top of the table and pushed off of it, accidentally knocking off a coaster in the process. “I’M COMING FOR YA!” Virgil yelled, reaching his hands out and soaring at him.

Roman turned around and squeaked like a toddler! “OHSHITNO-!” He screamed.

“SUPERMAN!” Virgil declared, before booping his back with his finger. “YOU’RE IT!” Virgil declared. Then, Virgil turned his feet towards the wall using a chair, and bounced off the chair very hard to soar himself across the room in record time! “WHEEEEEEEEEEEE!”

“YOU SOUND LIKE BAYMAX!” Roman yelled.

Virgil stopped himself against the top of the sofa and smirked. “HAIRY BABY!” Virgil shouted at him.

Roman gasped and took off after him. “YOU FUCKIN’ TAKE THAT BACK!” Roman ordered loudly.

“MAKE ME!” Virgil yelled back.

Roman reached him and pulled Virgil towards him. “I CERTAINLY WILL!” Roman started skittering his fingers onto his ribs and armpits.

“aaAAAHAHA! NOHOHOHO ROHOHOMAHAHAN!” Virgil started laughing, and pulling his legs up to his chest.

“No what? No ‘skittering my fingers inside your super sensitive armpits’? No ‘counting all my ribs till I can’t even count myself’? Perhaps...No ‘tickling me till it’s all I know’?” Roman teased.

“NOOOOHOHOHOHO!” Virgil begged. “NOHOHOHONE OHOHOF THAHAHAT!”

“Okay!” Roman decided. “I’ll tickle your belly then and keep you in a constant stream of giggles!” Roman wrapped his arms around Virgil’s middle and started skittering all 10 of his fingers onto the sides of his belly.

“Uhuhuhuh OHohohohoh! Rohohoho plehehehehease!” Virgil pleaded.

“Please tickle you? But I am tickling you! I’m tickling you a lot!” Roman teased more.

“Hahahahahahaha!” Virgil started to twist himself left and right, which only tickled him even more. “Nahahahahat fahahahahair!” Virgil yelled at him.

“You want this to be fair? Okay. I’ll make it fair.” Roman used his magic to slowly turn the gravity back onto their bodies. It didn’t take long for their bodies to finally touch the ground. The moment this happened, Roman let go of Virgil and opened his arms up. “Tickle me.”

Virgil was still a giggly mess who was getting used to being on the ground again. “Wahahait, whahahat?” Virgil looked up and widened his eyes.

“Tickle me.” Roman told him.

Virgil blushed and stared at him with both confusion and awe.

“You wanted things to be fair, right? So I’m making it fair. Tickle me.” Roman told him.

Virgil shook his head, slowly shrunk himself down and hid his face in his own arms.

“I see...You can’t tickle me right now, cause you’re in a zero gravity lee mood.” Roman teased.

Virgil hid his face more and started to giggle into his arms. “Noooohohohohoho!”

“Looks like I gotta keep tickling!” Roman resumed spidering his fingers all over his belly.

“Wahahait! AAAAHAHAhahahaha! Nuuuuhuhuhuhuhuhu!” Virgil cooed and giggled, arching his back and kicking his feet absolutely everywhere.

“Tickle tickle tickle tickle tickle Virgey! I think the floaty spiders absolutely LOVE YOU!” Roman teased more.

HAHAHAhahahaha! Thehehere ahahare nohohoho flohohoatihing spihihidehehehers!” Virgil yelled back.

“Yes there are! Look!” Roman stopped tickling Virgil and unzipped Virgil’s sweater zipper. Then, he removed his hands and placed them behind his own back while small, black spiders started crawling all over his purple shirt. Virgil took a one second look at his chest, and squealed loudly! There were LITERALLY BLACK SPIDERS CRAWLING ON HIS SHIRT!

“NOHO! NO! COHOHOME OHOHOHON! ROHOHOhoho!” Virgil shrieked!

“Would you like the evil little spiders to stop tickle tickle tickling you?” Roman asked.

“IHIhihihi…” Virgil took a minute to think. Did he really want them to stop? Or was he secretly enjoying them and didn’t want them to stop? He couldn’t tell at this point!

“Too late!” Roman started skittering his fingers all over Virgil and spidered around alongside the black spiders that crawled and skittered on his belly.

Virgil was giggling, snorting and squirming all over the place! And the crazy part? These spiders weren't even capable of being killed! These spiders were from Roman’s imagination! So, they couldn’t be killed! They could only be unconjured by Roman! “ROHOHOHO! IHIHIHI NEHEHEED AHA BREHEHEHEAK!” Virgil begged.

“Are you sure you need a break? Or are you covering up the fact that you still want tickles?” Roman asked.

Virgil snorted and shook his head left and right. Roman was such an evil ler! How dare he exploit the spiders!

“NOHOHOHO MOHOHORE SPIHIHIHIDEHEHERS PLEHEHEASE!” Virgil begged.

Roman hummed in curiosity. “Alright. I suppose I can do that.” The prince replied.

Roman removed his skittering hands and snapped his fingers. Suddenly, the spiders disappeared into thin air and all that was left was a plain purple shirt. Virgil’s laughter quickly turned right back into giggles.

Roman watched this man’s giggle fit with a big smile on his face. Roman absolutely adored Virgil’s laugh! It was such a fun laugh to listen to! It was bubbly, it was cutesy, it was somewhat girly and it even had snorts! It was the kind of laugh that you’d want to hear for a very long time. But, due to lung capacity and...you know, breathing...Roman would have to stop eventually so he didn’t end up killing him.

Suddenly, Roman’s thoughts were interrupted by a few fingers grabbing his hand. Roman blinked in surprise and looked at Virgil. The emo was blushing madly as he slowly brought Roman’s hand closer and closer to his stomach. Virgil was telling Roman through his body language, that he secretly wanted some more tickles.

Roman smiled and started tickling his belly with his other hand again. Virgil giggled and let go of the dominant hand while starting to thrash. Finally, Roman started skittering his right hand on more of Virgil’s vulnerable belly.

“Hahahahahahahehehehehe! Yahahahahayyyy!” Virgil cheered.

Roman giggled at that. “Such a desperate little lee! So desperate that you used your actions to ask for more? How adorable!” Roman teased.

“Yeheheheah! Ihihihi cahahan’t sahahay thehe wohohord!” Virgil admitted.

“You can’t say the word? What word? Kerfuffle? Farlek? Dapplequack?” Roman teased.

Virgil started to laugh more and more at the stupid and silly words that he was coming up with. “NOHO NO NO NOHOHOHOHO!” Virgil laughed.

“Dirple, Maybe? Wombat? Dijery-doink?” Roman asked.

“Stahahahahap ihihihit! Thohohohose ahaharen’t ihihit!” Virgil giggled and laughed.

“Oooooh! Is it a word I already know? Like, spider? Snort? Adooorable?” Roman asked.

“Yehehehes! Ihihit’s aha wohohord yohohou knohohow.” Virgil replied.

“Hmmm...Is it another word for sensitive?” Roman asked.

Virgil bit his lip and covered up his mouth.

“OOOOoooh! I know what it is! Tickle! It’s the word tickle! A tickle tickle tickle tickle tickle tickllllle!” Roman teased more and more.

Virgil squawked and uncovered his face to cackle wildly! “NAHAHAHAHAHA! STAHAHAHAP SAHAHAYIHIHING IHIHIT!” Virgil shouted at him.

“Stop saying tickle? But tickle is my new favorite word! I can tickle here!” Roman tickled his sides. “I can tickle up here!” Roman tickled his abs. “I can tickle right in the middle!” Roman swirled his finger around his belly button. “I can even give a poke!” He poked his belly.

Virgil threw his arms all around himself in a failed attempt to get Roman’s bloody hands away! But it was just no use! He was just wasting his energy on a tactic that doesn’t even work 90% of the time! What’s the point in doing that?!

Finally, Virgil tapped his boyfriend’s lower arm to show that he was tapping out. Roman, happy to give him a break, stopped tickling him and started wiping off all the ghost tickles that could linger. Virgil was still all giggly and couldn’t keep himself together. Once Roman moved his hands away, Virgil curled himself up into a ball and wiggled his feet as he struggled to regain his composure.

“You...doing okay?” Roman asked.

Suddenly, Roman was grabbed and pulled down with him. Roman started giggling into Virgil’s shoulder as he was snuggled and hugged tightly by the flustered emo.

“You are such a cutie. You know that?” Roman told him.

Virgil giggled more and shook his head. “Ahaham nohohot.” Virgil protested.

“You certainly are!” Roman replied.

“Aham not! I’m nahahat cuhuhuhute!” Virgil protested back.

Roman giggled. “You’re super cute. You just don’t see it.” Roman booped his nose with a smirk.

Virgil shook his head and nuzzled into Roman’s chest. “Ahaham not.”

“Am too.” Roman argued back.

“StAAHAP! I’M NOT! CUTE!” Virgil whined like a toddler.

“Oh? So I’m completely wrong then?” Roman asked, sounding playful and offended at once.

Virgil started to giggle more as he nodded.

...Let’s just say that the cuddling didn’t last much longer after that...

[bopinion]

2021 / 37

Aperçu of the Week:

"We value people who speak their minds freshly and frankly - provided they mean the same thing we do."

Mark Twain

Bad and Good News of the Week:

Voltaire and I are actually against any form of censorship and in favor of unrestricted freedom of speech and expression. Actually. Because then came the Internet. I like the thesis that Johannes Gutenberg realized an achievement for democracy with the invention of printing by making knowledge universally available. A similar argument could be made for the Internet; after all, it empowers the general public to publish. Unfortunately, the Internet is proving to be rather ambivalent in its social role as a medium. It's like a knife. A very practical tool in the kitchen. But also a deadly weapon in the hands of a murderer.

An example from the other day: my son's mother writes me that the local police are warning about a pedophile hanging around in front of an elementary school. We would have to remind our son not to get in the car with strangers, etc. I grab the iPad and spend fifteen minutes researching. I go through all the official police reports - nothing. I go through everything "current" from the elementary school, including the parents' council, etc. - nothing. I go through the local press releases - nothing. Then I write back: "I can't find anything official. Where did you get that?". The answer came promptly: "My hairdresser posted it on Facebook". No comment needed here...

The magic word is media literacy. My generation grew up with the postulate of "It's there in black and white." What was in the newspaper or on the news was true. Because responsible editors worked there, everything was checked, the counterstatement was the exception. But this assumption no longer has any value compared to unregulated opinion forums on the Internet or deliberately misleading media like Fox News. Study of sources is propagated in school these days; it wasn't in the past. Therefore, the mother is more at risk of being taken in by fake news than her son - who is 13 years old.

It becomes dangerous when interest groups intentionally exploit the lack of media competence of many in order to achieve their own (political) goals through deliberate manipulation. It doesn't matter whether Russia wants to influence voter behavior or whoever is blathering about microchips that Bill Gates is planting in our arms with the Corona vaccination. Keyword Bubble: if I react often enough to "information" about the earth being flat, every algorithm sorts me more and more of these messages and I feel confirmed in my self-created echo chamber. Everyone may spin as he wants. And everyone is welcome to do so publicly. But when this escalates into calls for violence, into hate speech against innocent people, into radicalizing opinion-making, that's when it has to stop.

On Thursday evening, Facebook removed numerous accounts, groups and pages associated with the controversial "lateral thinking" movement. It is the first targeted action worldwide against a group that causes "coordinated social harm," according to the official statement. One can evaluate this just as differently as the blocking of Donald J. Trump: of course, no one may dictate to a privately run medium which positions it takes or whom it offers which platform. But of course, a forum that is largely freely accessible may not engage in censorship that follows particular interests. The public discussion has begun. The political positioning will really start after our federal election next Sunday. Legal battles will follow.

That's the bad thing about it: to date, governments have failed to clearly and unambiguously point out what is covered by freedom of speech in the digital space and what is not (anymore). After all, the state has not only the sole power to regulate, but also a duty of care to its population. Which it sometimes also has to protect from itself. The separation of powers exists to ensure this happening on a democratic basis. It is sad that politics is once again lagging behind a real development. This must change. Until then, we have to accept the decisions of the media themselves in this regard.

That's the good thing about it: the issue is now on the table. That's where it belongs. The sheer existence of a Tucker Carlson points to the need to clarify what form of opinion-making must remain protected in a democracy and where limits are needed vis-à-vis dangerous propaganda. Neither should the purchase of a butter knife depend on background checks and a clean criminal record, nor should there be a switchblade at handle height in the toy department. It is up to the state - as the representative body of the people on behalf of society - to create a binding framework here. Until then, we have to accept the decisions of the media themselves in this regard.

Personal happy moment of the week:

Yesterday evening we quickly went to Lake Tegernsee for the "Long Night of Museums". In front of the regional history museum, the amateur male choir "Liederkreis" (Song circle) performed a potpourri of local folk songs, some of them hundreds of years old. In the local dialect, of course. In traditional costumes, of course. It makes me happy that we Bavarians keep traditions alive and pass it on to future generations and incoming residents.

I couldn't care less...

...that the UK is turning its back on the metric system. Even if in this case the Brexiteers' "take back control" mania is being played out on the backs of the students. Every man is the architect of his own fortune.

As I write this...

...my son once again prefers to play virtual games with friends than to play basketball or ride his bike with them in real life. Not to mention the overdue cleaning of his room or the preparation of his school stuff for the first normal week of classes. I guess I have to put the foot down. Sigh...

[gayregis]

vampire headcanons 2020, pt. 1

part one: (non)physical form

the purpose of and reasoning behind writing all of this out: mainly to ward off against human-centric ideas of biology, and the preoccupation with gore that i have seen floating around when it comes to the vampires of the witcher

the nature of this: structured around the descriptions of vampires in the books. of course a lot of this is conjecture but it is intended to be based upon what is canon.

references: i am using the UK translations (2nd edition). (usually i think citing which translation you are using is a little unnecessary, but these headcanons are based upon the most minute details of how the vampires are described, where a change in the translation of words can make all the difference, in addition i have influced page numbers for ease of reference). i have transcribed these quotes from the paperback editions by typing, so hopefully there are no spelling errors.

disclaimer: i understand that there are meta reasons for certain parts of the lore (such as in the tower of the swallow, vampires not being able to be detected by long-distance magic was likely only written into canon because it was a necessity for there to be an error in the report of information for geralt to accuse cahir of betrayal). in addition, topics like magic in the witcher are not defined by extremely specific lore, the amount of specificity varies according to the necessity of it in relation to the narrative. this post is for fun and i only write things in a serious tone because i like treating things i care about with formality.

the theory as it stands:

> vampires do not have a physical form

technically, vampires do not physically exist. their physical forms are variations on something similar to illusion magic. 

within their range of powers alloted to vampired in canon are a large amount of mastery relating to controlling others’ minds, influencing their thoughts. they can put others to sleep, send them nightmares, and control their movements.

instead of having a physical form born of biological means of development, my theory is that their physical forms literally exist only as something similar to illusion magic, a trick on the minds of those around them to percieve someone as being there. of course, it is much stronger than an illusion, as they can physically interact with the rest of the world in their physical forms.

this would explain much, including how they do not have reflections or shadows because they do not technically exist within this dimension of existence. in addition, this would explain how they are not able to be detected using long-distance magic:

“Geralt may be right,” Regis said slowly. “Like every vampire, I’m invisible to magical visual probing and scanning; that is, to a detecting spell. A vampire may be tracked using an analytical spell, from close up, but it is not possible to detect a vampire with a remote, scanning spell. The detection will report that there’s no one there.”

The Tower of the Swallow, pg. 190.

from close up, they are able to identify that someone is there, because that is the extent of the vampire’s power to maintain their physical form. but their physical form is not able to be detected from far away, because they are not projecting their form into the minds of everyone on the continent - that would take an incredible amount of power. instead, they create this physical form only so that they can interact with their immediate surroundings and be visible to everyone who can see them physically. for all intents and purposes, their forms exist physically, as in one can interact with them: see them, hear them, touch them, but they can activate and deactivate this form at will when they have enough power to do so.

why do i think they exist metaphysically and not physically?

vampires demonstrate a number of abilities which would be difficult to explain if they existed with the type of “real” forms that humans and other alike creatures do. they are able to fly, shifting form into bats and disappear completely, not only turning invisible, but purely dematerializing. they are able to continue being alive following decapitation and other fates which would absolutely kill any other type of creature.

their physical being is the result of a variation of polymorphism. multiple characters in the series utilize this magic; the main ones being borch three jackdaws (aka villentretenmerth) and philippa eilhart. (dopplers are excused from this because their process of shifting form is not illusion, but perfect manipulation of their physical forms into the replication of others’). polymorphism is a magic that combines the physical and the illusory.

we see vampires dematerializing/rematerializing and changing from/into bats multiple times during the series.

Emiel Regis (...) shook his cape, wrapped himself up in it with a flourish and vanished. He simply vanished.

Baptism of Fire, pg. 220.

“Geralt,” the barber-surgeon said, his vague, wavering shadow materializing at the Witcher’s side, and immediately began to cut his bonds.”

Baptism of Fire, pg. 205

“Witcher,” said Regis. “This running is senseless. I’ll go off... I’ll fly off and do some reconnaissance.”

“Fly.”

The vampire took off as though blown by the wind. Geralt had no time to be surprised.

Lady of the Lake, pg. 352

“The bat beat its wings, soared up and glided towards the fountain. As the crooked claws scraped against the stone casing the monstrous, slobbering snout was already blurring, morphing, disappearing, although the pale little lips which were taking its place couldn’t quite hide the murderous fangs.”

The Last Wish, pg. 64.

“He (...) shot a blinding white flame at the attacking vampire (...). Regis nimbly avoided the flame and materialized in his normal shape alongside Geralt.”

Lady of the Lake, pg. 378

but unlike the others in the series who utilize polymorphism, such as villentretenmerth and philippa eilhart, vampires are able to undo their entire physical being and recreate it at will (during a full moon, when they are at their most powerful). i do not doubt that philippa eilhart and other sorcerer/esses could turn themselves invisible or undetectable, but to absolutely remove their bodily form from existence is another practice altogether.

they are able to create these physical forms and dematerialize and rematerialize them at will, during the time when they have the power to. 

> vampires conciously mimic humans, mimicing humans is not something that comes naturally to them

their “true forms” in physical terms, as in what their default form is when they initially create one, are likely the giant bats that we see them transform into, and not the human-like form that we see vereena take and the form closer to a human one that we see regis take.

“He’s already surprised me a few times, so he might still have something up his sleeve. I suspect he’s quite remarkable even among vampires. He imitates humans perfectly, and has done so for years. (...) Though my medallion doesn’t react to him either, and it ought to.”

Baptism of Fire, pg. 291.

from this statement, we can glean that vampires usually do not imitate humans perfectly, and this is congruent with the characters we have been presented with. regis, unlike vereena, is able to speak aloud without telepathy and interact with a broad array of humans and non-humans, living in a human city and convincingly posing as one.

even though vereena’s normal form is more similar to a human than a bat, we receive this other statement from geralt:

“You’re so like a rusalka,” the witcher continued calmly, “that you could deceive anyone. All the more as you’re a rare bird, black-haired one. But horses are never mistaken. They recognize creatures like you instinctively and perfectly. What are you? I think you’re a moola, or an alpor. An ordinary vampire couldn’t come out in the sun.”

The Last Wish, pg. 62.

this quote focuses on the part about deception. she is posing as something she is not, she is hiding her nature as a vampire. i call this mimicry, because it’s also what regis calls it:

��One could call it that,” Regis agreed. “Although I would argue that when mutation is spread over a sufficiently long period it ceases to be mutation and becomes evolution. But what you said about physical structure is apt. Adapting to sunlight was an unpleasant necessity for us. In order to survive, we had to become like humans in that respect. Mimicry, I’d call it.”

Baptism of Fire, pg. 300.

vampires mimic humans by adopting human-like forms, but the vast majority of them are not quite that good at it. they usually can only speak in telepathy and not aloud like humans do, and so usually, they are not able to interact with humans on a large scale.

(next post)

[cocos-cocoapuffsarenotforsale]

His Little Witch~~Part 7

MASTERLIST 

Part 6

Main Pairing: Tom Riddle x Reader

Background Pairings: Harry Potter x Ginny Weasley, Ron Weasley x Hermione Granger, Luna Lovegood x Neville Longbottom, James Potter x Lily Potter, Draco Malfoy x Pansy Parkinson

Tags: Swearing, Controlling!Tom Riddle, Controlling Relationship, Canon-Typical Violence, Possessive Tom Riddle, Soulmates, AU, CANON DIVERGENCE, Minister of Magic Tom Riddle, Out of Character Tom Riddle, nice Tom Riddle, Dumbledore and Tom get along, sane Tom Riddle

A/N: Gavin Grindlewald is Gellert’s son, Gavin is trying to continue his father’s agenda about blood/wizard supremacy.

Taglist: @peachsnyder138, @marvelous-glims, @ingeniouscollectionthing

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You wake up a few hours later, feeling much better after resting. You feel for Tom but only find cool sheets instead. You sit up and then you hear the shouting. You walk out of the bedroom and follow the shouting towards Tom’s study.

“I told you not to disturb me today Percy!” Tom shouts, his voice full of rage. 

“I know Minister but it’s important-“ Percy begins but Tom cuts him off.

“More important than the health of my mate?!” He roars, slamming his fist onto his desk. Ok, time to step in, you think to yourself.

“Tom?” You whisper as you gently push the door open.

“Baby girl what are you doing out of bed?” Tom questions rushing over to you and cupping your face in his hands.

“I missed you...and I heard you shouting,” you reply.

“I’m sorry love. I didn’t want to leave you,” he shoots Percy a harsh glare. “But someone decided to ignore direct orders.”

“Sir, I would never have done it if this wasn’t of the highest importance,” Percy says in a timid voice.

“Nothing is of greater importance than my mate.” Tom hisses furiously. You place a hand on his chest to try and calm him down. 

“Percy, what’s going on?” You ask.

“Gavin Grindlewald has attacked again. He and some of his followers killed and tortured a small muggle village. 15 Muggles were killed and another 30 were driven mad by the Cruciatus Curse.” Percy reports looking mildly ill.

“Why didn’t you say so sooner?!” Tom shouts as he pulls you closer to him.

“Minister I-I would have but-“ Percy stutters nervously.

“He would have if you would have given him a chance to speak. Instead, you shouted at him for no reason,” you reprimand Tom and he throws you an annoyed look.

“You’re right,” Tom sighs looking down at you and then he looks back to Percy.

“Have we captured any of the supporters?” Tom asks Percy.

“We have seven in custody. Five of them have confessed and we are waiting on you to determine what you want done with them. The other two are keeping their mouths shut. The five who confessed all claimed that there were two others plus Gavin there torturing the Muggles.” Percy responds.

“Give us a minute Percy. I’ll meet you at the Ministry in a little bit.” Tom dismisses him. Percy goes to the fireplace and floos off to the Ministry.

“I’m so sorry Little Witch. I have to go in,” Tom apologizes, watching you with concern.

“It’s ok Tom. I understand.” 

“I’ll send for James and Sirius to keep an eye on you. I don’t want you left alone right now.” 

“Tom I’ll be fine-“ he cuts you off before you can finish.

“I don’t care. You got kicked by a unicorn today and I’m not leaving you unattended. Plus if Gavin is back in the UK I don’t want you unprotected. Gavin despises me and would do anything to get to me. I’ve been working for years to unite the Wizarding community in the UK. Gavin, like his father, wants to tear it apart.” Tom explains before conjuring his serpent Patronus and sending a message to James and Sirius. 

“Shouldn’t they be out there hunting Grindelwald? They are probably the two best Aurors we have?” 

“That’s why they will be guarding you. You are the most important thing to me, if I am to do my job properly I need to know you are safe. Potter and Black are the best ones to ensure that.” You sigh but nod in agreement nevertheless, knowing you would never win this argument.

“I’m not sure when I will be able to come home. It depends on how things go. I want you to stay here until this is figured out, no Hogwarts. I will have Percy arrange tutors for you if you still wish to continue your education.” Your head snaps up at that.

“What do you mean ‘no Hogwarts’?” You ask in a dangerously quiet voice.

“Exactly what it sounds like.”

“We had a deal!”

“Yes but when we made that deal you hadn’t been injured on campus and Gavin Grindelwald hadn’t just attacked again!” He hisses back straining to keep control of his temper.

“It was an accident and it wasn’t even that bad! I’ve had much worse! And you have nothing to suggest that Grindelwald would come for me!” You yell, no fucking way was he going to decide this for you.

“Exactly! You’ve been hurt worse before on campus! There’s even more reason for me to say no to you going back! And yes I do! Grindelwald has always attempted to get to me. But he never could figure out a good way to before. No that I have announced you as my soulmate he has an in. A way to get to me, YOU!” Tom explains running his hands through his hair in frustration.

“Tom-” you start to argue but are cut off by the puff of smoke in the fireplace. Sirius walked out of the fireplace looking deeply concerned. Then a few moments later James appears with the same worried look covering his face as Sirius.

“Minister,” they both greet bowing their heads slightly.

“Potter, Black. You have been informed of the situation I trust?” Tom inquires, turning his attention to them.

“Yes, Sir,” The two Aurors reply in unison. You were taken aback for a moment, you had never seen James and Sirius look so serious.

“She is not to leave the grounds, preferably the house, until I get back. I will be arranging tutoring for her and will keep you informed of the situation as it develops. Give us a minute now will you?” He asks dismissively. Both men nod and exit the study quickly.

“I’m not to leave the house? What the fuck Tom?!” You shout enraged. Who the actual hell did he think he was? 

“I said you were not to leave the grounds. And though I would prefer you to remain in the house you may go outside if you wish,” he replies, clearly clueless as to your anger.

“I may go outside?! I am not to leave the grounds?!”

“Yes,” he responds looking slightly confused by your rage.

“You don’t own me, Riddle! I’m not a puppet for you to control!”

“I never said you were!” He shouts back bewildered.

“You can’t force me to stay here! I’m going back to Hogwarts just like we originally agreed to.”

“That’s where you wrong darling,” he replies with his signature smirk taking over his face.

“What do you mean?” You were the one who was confused now. 

“I already took care of the possibility of you leaving without my blessing,” he says, eyeing your left wrist. You look down and see a cuff bracelet that you hadn’t noticed until now. It was silver and had the initials TMR carved into it. 

“What the hell is this?” You hiss holding your wrist up to him.

“That, my love, is a binding bracelet. I’ve been working on it since we met just in case we found ourselves in this position. It binds you to the grounds making it impossible for you to leave the grounds with it on, whether by force or willingly.” He explains looking quite pleased with himself. You growl at him before trying to pry the bracelet off, but no matter what you do it refuses to budge.

“You won’t be able to remove it, my love. It’s been enchanted so that only I may remove it when I choose.”

“Take it off Tom,” you hiss ferociously. How dare he chain you to the house like a pet?

“No, I will not remove it until I can be sure you will be safe,” he refuses as he collects his briefcase, cloak, and wand.

“I understand you are upset about this but please remember I love you. I’m just trying to protect you, my Little Witch.” He whispers leaning down to press a soft kiss to your temple.

“When will you be back?”

“As soon as I can. I love you,” he responds before walking to the fireplace and grabbing a handful of floo powder.

“Tom,” you say before he can disappear.

“Yes, love?” 

“I love you too. Be safe.” You might be angry with him but you knew he was going off to hunt Grindelwald and would be in danger. You couldn’t let him go off without letting him know you love him.

“I will darling. You stay safe too. I love you, Little Witch,” he replies before dropping the floo powder and vanishing.

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Part 8

[yesastrologervikramjius-blog]

Pandith Vikramji Best/Top Vashikaran specialist gives the power to control the minds, Vashikaran Mantra For Love Marriage, vashikaran mantra  for success, vashikaran expert in  London, UK