#sniff acts silly and non serious most of the time

[clarawatson]

It Only Takes A Taste (3)

Pairing: Aaron Hotchner x [Fem]!Reader (GN pronouns, fem coded stuff, but I’m not sure where this is going as a larger work so we’ll say Fem!reader to be safe) Summary: Jack comes for dinner, I guess. W/C: 2345 Warnings: none yet! A/N: this one got a little long, oopsies. AO3 Where am I in this series? 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 |

The bed had been so warm and comfortable you hadn't wanted to get out, but the thought of seeing Aaron again made your heart grow three sizes. You'd been texting back and forth for the last couple of days, just small awkward stuff. He likes to text emojis. He's precious. Of course he's precious. 

He comes in as you're serving your first customer of the night—a sobbing thirty-year-old man who can't even order his pie without spluttering in tears. Is it favouritism to get excited by Aaron turning up? Yes. Is it worth it? Yes. 

"Hello," you smile. There's a hundred things you could have called him, but he's too cute and your brain doesn't want to work. 

"Hi," he grins back. "Can I have a coffee, please. Here."

"Yes you can." Aaron splits his bill between the counter and the tip jar. "How was your day,  Aaron?" 

"Boring paperwork. Couldn't concentrate."

Concern furrows your eyebrow. "Is something wrong?"

"Huh? No! I kept thinking about seeing you." There's that sunshine smile again. You might even match it yourself. He points to the cake that's still in the display tin. He's in earlier in the night than usual, so there's a lot more range to choose from. "Is that carrot cake?" 

"Sure is. Do you want some?" 

"Please." 

You serve him a slice and let the coffee machine splutter and fight with you. He stabs his cake with his fork and looks like he has an out of body experience the moment the cream cheese icing hits his tongue. That's a face you want to see again under different circumstances.

"Joe?"

"Me! And Joe's recipe. I sort of mixed it together and prayed."

"Then mark me a religious man." Aaron smiles. You can't held but smile back at him.

"It's a bit early for you to be in," you say. It's not an issue, just means you got the earlier shift. Finishing at 1am instead of 7am. Plus, Aaron looks nice in the daytime. Very nice. The afternoon light suits him.

"Didn't have a case," he shrugs. 

You've googled him since getting his business card. “Supervisory Agent Aaron Hotchner, Section Chief of the BAU”. The fuck did that even mean? BAU was the Behavioural Analysis Unit, which was still mainly a mystery, but you think it’s maybe just an over-glorified way of saying ‘they look inside people’s heads and hope for the best’. He’s got a handful of news reports that you’ve practically memorised. 

Okay, that’s a little obsessive. Don’t admit that to him. 

He wasn’t the ‘untouched by darkness’ that you’d thought of him before, his work face held all the darkness his smile did not. You hoped you never had to see the serious man who stood before the cameras. 

“How’s Rita?” Aaron asks. He’s cut the top off his carrot cake, saving it for later. He looks at it longingly every now and then, then he scoops just a little bit of the cream cheese and lets it rest on his tongue.

“She’s good. Restless. She’s happy for the due date to arrive.” She’d also asked you to be the baby’s godparent. Rather forcefully, actually, it had felt a bit strange. That was the only reason you hadn’t jumped at the opportunity. You’d do anything for Rita, but saying yes in that instant would had felt strange. Almost… wrong, maybe.

Aaron knows you’re thinking about it. He puts his fork down and shifts in his chair, waiting for you to continue. He doesn’t fill the silence between the two of you. You think about telling him, but then Lola’s bustling through the door and grabbing her apron.

“Hot stuff, when can I go for a smoke break?” is the first thing Lola says to you. She pulls chewing gum out of her mouth (yes, pulls. She sticks her fingers in her mouth and pulls it out as far as it will go without snapping) and Aaron moves his cake around his plate a bit. Does he not like it? Don’t be silly, he asked for it. Requested it. Whatever. You put his three cookies into a plastic bag and slide it across the counter to him.

“Lola you only just came in.”

“But I want to know,” she whines like she’s a teenager with an after school job, not a thirty-five-year-old woman who works at the diner full time. “Hey, Rita’s been acting weird, right? Is that a pregnancy thing, or?” Lola rubbed her nose on the back of her wrist and sniffs. An action you’re all too familiar with by now, and of course she was doing illegal substances in the bathroom before she started her shift when there’s a legitimate federal agent in the diner.

 “Oh,” Lola says as she looks at Aaron. She looks at you, raises her eyebrows, and nods like she’s impressed. “I take back telling Rita she was a liar." Even without knowing the context of Rita and Lola's conversation, you know Rita had told Lola how pretty/handsome/gorgeous Aaron is. "I’m going to go clean some tables.”

She grabs the cleaning supplies and heads out into the dining area. The door swings open, banging against one of the booths, and you’re immensely glad Lola doesn’t scream 'watch it’ at them. A curly haired blonde woman (gorgeous, mind you) touches Aaron’s shoulder and he sits up straight, smiling, and your heart plummets a little bit. Just the tiniest amount. 

“Jack insisted we switch over here before I go to parent/teacher interviews.” As if on queue, a well mannered, sandy-haired boy sits next to Aaron and grins too much like Aaron. Aaron’s son. You can put two and two together. Profiler or not.

“How was school?” Aaron asks. Jack shrugs.

“It was school.” He learnt that from his dad, there’s no question. 

“Well, in that case. Jack, this is my friend Y/n. Y/n, this is Jack.” Jack extends a hand to shake in greeting and looks really shy about it. You shake it quickly so he doesn’t feel like a kid who’s been roped into doing adult things. There’s a pile of colouring-in pages Joe’s printed off at the local library beneath a cup of crayons that Jack’s eyeing off. 

You grab a sheet and a crayon, raising an eyebrow in invitation as you turn around to Jack. 

“Yes please,” he says, grin growing across his face. “Thank-you.”

“You’re welcome. Wonderful manners.” Jack grins even bigger and you think he, too, might combust just like his dad. Stardust! That’s the movie you were thinking of. When Yvaine sees Tristan she shines, literally, the star inside of her just can’t be contained. That’s Aaron and Jack, and the way they look when they smile. 

Aaron’s sister-in-law looks at you with a cocked head, like a curious cat. Like she’s waiting to pounce. But… curiously pounce. Like she's sussing you out. She extends a hand in greeting.

“Jess. Aaron’s talked about you.”

There’s no response but to look sheepish. This seems to greatly please Jess, who smiles softly and rubs the back of Aaron’s head affectionately. They have a long history together, it’s too familial to be just a relationship born through marriage. 

“I’ll see you later then, Rockstar,” Jess says.

“Bye,” Aaron and Jack say together. Aaron rests his cheek on his hand, watching you as Lola hands you three orders she’s taken while you’ve been talking to Aaron. Jack leans over and whispers to Aaron about his homework (it’s a whisper that belongs on a stage) as you wrestle with the coffee machine. 

It’s been grinding it’s way down to not working for a while now. Ever since you met Aaron, actually. Joe’s said he’s going to fix it, or get a new one, but everyone’s in a state of non-commital until Rita has her baby.You’ve got no idea why, it’s just the way things are. Good luck, maybe? Or luck in general? 

Somehow you get Aaron talking about Shakespeare. It might have been Jack’s doing, to be completely honest, but one moment you’re trying to make the froth… well, froth… and the next you're listening to Aaron talk animatedly about Othello. Jack's young enough to not think his Dad's passion is embarrassing. 

"Have you watched Othello?" Jack asks, a question that Aaron's neglected to ask you. "I'm not old enough to yet." 

"I haven't seen that one yet, but I've seen Much Ado About Nothing."

"Is that the one with the olive gardens?" Jack asks. Aaron frowns, eyes searching for the answer in that big beautiful minds tonight.

"Yes," he says finally. "That was the one with the olive trees."

Jack giggles. "There was kissing in that movie." 

"Lots of it," Aaron agrees. You're not sure you're talking about the same film, but it's cute to see the two of them interact. 

"With the guy who plays Lockhart in the second Harry Potter movie?" You ask. Jack laughs just like his father. It's all light and mirth. He nods in confirmation. 

"His name is Kenneth," Jack says like he's familiar with him. When Aaron smiles, you know Jack's his whole world.

It’s not long before Aaron realised he’d brought Jack in without asking if he wanted anything. The afternoon rush had died down, leaving you in the space between out-of-work and dinner. You make the most chocolate-y hot chocolate you can for Jack when Aaron says he can have one. Well, Jack says the best bit is the froth, so it’s more child-size-hot-chocolate-in-an-adult-mug-full-of-froth. Jack loves it. He slurps at the chocolate, which leaves a giant frothy mustache over his top lip that won’t go away no matter how much he licks at it.

When he’s done you let him come around to the kitchen to wash his face, because no amount of wet napkins is going to fix that mess. Jack can’t reach the sink, so you fashion a step out of old milk and bread crates. Joe gives him cake batter to taste before realising that he actually has no idea who Jack is. Aaron watches from the kitchen door with a smile on his face. You don’t catch it until Jack jumps off the crates and takes your hand, leading you back out. Aaron’s fingers brush your hand as you pass him. Electricity sparks between the two of you that's completely unavoidable. The two of you recoil involuntarily.

Aaron gives you a small smile of apology. You give exactly the same one back. Lola legitimately gasps like she too felt the electricity between the two of you. Surely that was just something that happened in movies? Or in books? That’s not a real thing, right? But Aaron brushes past you again, as if he’s making sure as well, and it’s there again. Only it’s like your whole arm becomes pins and needles, not just a quick lightning spark.

If it’s like that every time you’re with him, your not sure you could even go beyond lusting after him and giving him coffee and meals every now and then. Aaron drops his gaze, then follows Jack to the front of the counter. 

They stay for dinner (because Jack insists, he wants the nachos) but the rush comes early and there’s really not much time to talk to them, so you almost miss them leaving. Almost. You’re serving the angry couple at table three (are they angry at you, or each other? Who knows, you don’t, but they’re taking it out on you) when Jack taps your hip. 

He’s very patient as you finish the order (somehow you figure out what they want between the curse words) and bend down to him. He hands you a folded piece of paper.

“This is for you,” he says. “I did it.” You’re about to unfold it, but he insists that it belongs in your apron pocket until you can look at it with no rush. That’s a kid who knows what it’s like to have a very busy parent. So you tuck it away safely and mess with his hair, which makes him grin from ear to ear.

“See you later!” Jack yells as he runs to Aaron, who’s waving goodbye with a doggy bag full of Jack’s unfinished dinner.and his keys between his fingers. 

“I’ll see you later,” he mouths as the noise in the diner starts to rise. Without thinking you blow him a kiss, which he catches effortlessly and kisses the fist closed around it before slipping out. 

When you get to the kitchen Lola’s already in the midst of teasing you. 

“You like him,” she says with all the confidence in the world. There’s not point denying her, so you just nod. It’s met by a chorus of ‘ooo’s which, to be honest, you really didn’t need. It made the diner feel far too small.

When everything dies down you remember the paper Jack had given you. You wipe the milk and spaghetti sauce off the counter, then make sure it’s dry, and unfold Jack’s page. It’s the generic colouring page Joe’s printed out, but Jack’s tried to make the generic waitress look like you. Well, you if you had purple hair and green skin. It’s a start, you guess, there’s an apology from Aaron on the back. Makes it worth it.

You move a couple of postcards on the corkboard aside and put Jack’s picture there instead. Joe pretends not to notice, but when Lola goes out the back with one of her customers, Joe comes round the front and presses a finger to the page.

“Good kid,” Joe says. He nods a couple of times then turns to you. “You know he and his dad come as a package, right? You fuck up one, you fuck up both.” Joe’s first wife had three kids that weren’t biologically his. He’s still mad at himself for not taking the kids seriously and only turning up for their mom.

“I know,” you say. 

Joe strokes your cheek as he passes and kisses your forehead. It’s all the praise you need. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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[pulp-diction]

The Pokémon universe has seen a number of renderings over the years, but we've never seen one quite like "Detective Pikachu."

Obviously the movie is based on the game of the same name. And yet, "Detective Pikachu" the film manages to create something wholly unlike any Poké-property we've seen before -- yes, the Pokemon are vividly rendered, but so are many of the other aesthetics. The same care that brings every hair follicle to life on Pikachu's body (so realistic it's easy to forget a time when you might've thought that Pikachu was not a hairy creature) also brings pops of rain-soaked neon, or dynamic countryside that hides dangerous secrets.

It helps propel the movie's "noir but for kids and their Pokémon" plot along: Tim (Justice Smith) and his partner Detective Pikachu, are looking for Tim's police detective father, who went missing around the same time Pikachu lost his memory.

The film is exactly the kind of marriage of silly and serious that you'd expect with a logline like that, with the duo encountering everyone from idealistic tycoon who believes that Pokémon and humans can live together (Bill Nighy), and an unpaid journalism intern who thinks there's more to sniff out in the underbelly of Ryme City (Kathryn Newton).

Winding a seedy mystery within all of this earns "Detective Pikachu" some comparisons to "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?" which also melded cartoon and human characters trying to untangle a web of lies. Though that film is a bit more connected to reality, it's hard to knock "Detective Pikachu" for staying focused on having fun with all its Poké-players.

After all, it's got a wealth of material to pull from, a whole world to build out. And beyond a few flashier call-outs to the greater Pokémon universe, it's fairly entry level, allowing fans and non-fans alike to let the narrative pull them along.

And unlike other movies released this weekend, "Detective Pikachu" is rarely there to goad your emotions along. Just twice does the music really swell and let Tim (Justice Smith) and his partner, Detective Pikachu (Ryan Reynolds) take an emotional beat and cry.

Beyond that it's having fun flexing its players in ways they know best -- whether that's a PG-appropriate version of Reynolds' motor-mouthed act, Newton and her Psyduck being utterly gung-ho even when they're a bit flustered, or letting Nighy put mendacious, Shakespearean spins on words like "Pikachu."

Sure, it's not perfectly tight, nor is the dialogue always inspiring (Tim and Pikachu are always there to explain what we just saw, for better or worse). But the mystery at the core of the film is fun, and has a knowing edge to it about just how ludicrous it would be to take this whole thing too seriously. It's just the right concoction of understanding the stakes without forgetting the laughability of noir around Pikachu as a detective.

Plenty of dramatic reveals are in store, but rather than dumping on what is "predictable" or not (already a boring concept that often takes for granted any fun the film), it's more apt to say that the conspiracy has many moving parts that allow Tim and Pikachu to stay right on top of, like a rolling log.

And ultimately the mystery doesn't matter as much as the friends they made along the way; "Detective Pikachu" is at its most fun when it's got a hit of madcap comedy and a strand of mystery guiding the way, but its adept ability to balance all the things it has going isn't nothing. At the very least, it's charming to watch a Pokémon universe come to life, without letting all the Poké-madness keep it from being a universal watch.

[therowanblackwood]

“Am I cursed?” Because I am (I guess) sort of a professional Witch these days, I get this question from time to time. Because of the ubiquity of “white” (i.e., benevolent) witchcraft—and the efforts of modern Witches to clear the air—you might think that Witch paranoia was a thing of the past. However, my blog’s comments and email inbox tell a different story. Lots of people believe they may be under a curse or enchantment cast by a Witch. And they’d like to get to the bottom of it. I Googled it real quick to check up on the collective internet wisdom. Surprisingly, the answers to “How do I know if someone is doing witchcraft on me?” seem to fall into two categories: Witches aren’t real. Don’t be silly. Oh yes, there’s a great and evil curse upon you. Give me $500 and I’ll fix it. I feel like this topic deserves better. As Witches, we believe certain things are observably true—like, that magick gives us a degree of influence over the world. If you have the power to affect others through magick, then it’s only logical that other people have that power, too. And maybe sometimes they choose to exercise it. Maybe even on you. It’s certainly reasonable to want to know when you’re the subject of a magick spell, especially a negative or coercive one. If you don’t know about it, you can’t counter it. (At least, not specifically.) Pre-warned is pre-armed, as they say. It’s a legitimate question. It’s just not an easy one to answer. There is no psychic litmus test that will give you a result of “magick present/not present.” The best I can do is offer a list of signs that manipulative magick may be at work in your life. The last thing I want to do is incite witch hunts, so I’ll throw in one last word of caution. My answer to the question, “Am I cursed?” is usually “Probably not.” I could go into a lot of boring details about why that is, but it really comes down to the following three counter-hexing principles: Real magick is hard. Your own will is powerful. Nobody really cares enough to curse you (probably). Still, that’s no consolation if you really feel that you’re being peeped at by the evil eye. Here are some tell-tale signs that you may indeed be crossed, jinxed, hexed, spellbound, or bewitched: You have a lot of Witches as friends (or enemies). In certain locations and age groups, there may be dozens. The more magickal people you have in your social circle, the more the probability approaches certainty that someone has, at some time, done some kind of spell involving you. It’s not a big deal. You just accept it, the way you accept that someone’s probably talked trash about you at a party, or masturbated about you. Remember: Just because someone is a Witch (or claims to be) doesn’t mean they have the skill or motivation to influence you in a negative way. (See counter-hexing principles #1 and #3, above.) Also, the Witch who is adept enough to do harmful magick is also usually adept enough to know better. You’re on a string of bad luck that just won’t end. In Hoodoo, it’s referred to as being “crossed.” It’s not just about having a bad day—it’s one bad day after another. No matter what you do, nothing seems to be going your way. Underlying all the frustration is a nagging feeling that someone (or something) is out to get you. Traditional “uncrossing” rituals are designed to shake off the bad juju and get you back on your feet. Bad luck is not, in and of itself, a sign that you’re under a curse. It could just be that Fortuna is pissed at you at the moment. It could be a mundane group of events outside your control that are causing your current misery. It could also be that you’ve been sabotaging yourself—with or without outside help. Signs and synchronicity suggest that a curse is at work. Magickally charged bad luck can be difficult to distinguish from regular bad luck. But sometimes, little things happen that will clue you in. If you pay attention to these omens, you may receive clues about the nature of the spell and the direction it’s coming from. You see, while some cowardly Witch may be able to hex you without your knowledge, nothing is secret to the Universe. One observable fact is that truth, like the bubbles in champagne, always tries to reach the surface. Another observable fact is that Big Mama Universe has a mighty sense of humor about magick. Let’s say you get splashed by a speeding car on a rainy day. That’s just crappy luck. But if you get splashed by a speeding car with a license plate that contains your enemy’s initials, then your dog picks a voodoo-doll chew toy up from the wet curb and hands it to you, then you grab a magazine to dry off your boots and the first page you see has a mummy movie poster that says “CURSE!” in drippy letters…well, I wouldn’t rule it out. Your photos and personal stuff have gone missing. Negative spells often hinge on having access to the spell’s intended target (or their property). A photograph, a piece of jewelry, a bit of hair or clothing or bodily fluids—all of these are classic ingredients in spells both good and bad. But they are even more critical in enemy work, when the spell-caster needs to make absolutely certain their nasty magick sticks to the right target. The Witch may use these items to link a poppet or candle to the target. Alternatively, they may bury or hide spell components at the target’s home or workplace. If you catch someone trying to obtain your personal effects on the sly, then that person is either a klepto, a weird fetishist—or perhaps, a scheming sorcerer. There are areas of the South that are still steeped in Voodoo/Hoodoo. Some people there are reluctant to have their photo taken or leave their hair clippings at the barber shop, for fear that they may fall into the wrong hands. Do you have enemies with hex-casting skills? If your things have gone missing from your office desk—or worse yet, your gym bag—it might be time to get worried. You’re interacting with a person who does witchcraft all the time. Yes, it’s true. Some people use witchcraft every waking moment in order to get their way. Rather than candles and oils and whatnot, they use powerful personal energy—which is a lot more subtle. So subtle, in fact, that they do it right in front of you. The occult term is enthrallment. Non-occultists might describe it as charisma or persuasion. Enthrallers work their magick by either sapping you of your energy so that you feel bad, or infusing you with bursts of their own so that you feel good. (Sometimes both.) They are energy workers of a sort—though “serious” energy workers don’t like to give them that designation. Not all of them are Witches. Many become performers. Many become salespeople. Some enthrallers act like narcissistic or manipulative people, but they can also be quite pleasant. At least, until you realize you’ve been had. I bring them up because interacting with enthrallers can make you feel like you’ve been put under a spell. Psychically sensitive folks may even feel violated—like the enthraller has literally been inside your head or slimed you with their energy. Fortunately, unless the psychic manipulator is a true badass, their power is usually limited to their immediate presence. Once you leave, they will move on to the next target. You’re having thoughts, visions, and emotions that aren’t your own. I have to be soooooo careful with this one—because many of these same experiences are signs of mental illness. If your thoughts or visions are telling you to hurt people or yourself, please put the candles down and get some professional help. However, there are forms of magick (and empathy/telepathy) that can have strange mental effects. Sudden thoughts, unusual urges, intense feelings out of nowhere? If you’re normally a pretty level person, they can be a clue that someone is magickally messing with your head. It helps to take stock of your energy levels and emotions on a regular basis. That way, you’ll know when you’re off your baseline. Negative magick can leave you feeling physically drained and miserable. But so can a bunch of other, more mundane ailments. It’s best to rule out other causes before settling on psychic attack. You sense the presence of someone else’s magick. It’s the most obvious, but probably the most effective way to tell if you’re caught up in an active spell: You just feel it. Magickal energy has its own particular smell and taste. With a bit of experience, you can often tell when a foreign energy is swirling about. It could manifest as a feeling of being watched, or a sudden odor, or a nasty feeling hanging in the air. If you’re psychically skilled, you may even be able to see or feel who’s responsible in your mind’s eye and/or energetic body. Dreaming about a person can be a clue that their energy is tangled up with yours. Of course, that doesn’t mean they’ve cast a spell on you. Dreams can be triggered by anxiety, worry, attraction, or just random thoughts. But they can also be a cue from your psychic mind that someone is intruding on your headspace. There are all different ways that people work invasive or coercive magick. But they inevitably leave energetic snail trails back to their source. If you suspect foul play, try scanning your body for energetic cords and other attachments that shouldn’t be there. You can use divination or scrying to sniff out the origin of the disturbance. If all else fails, try doing a revealing spell and ask for the truth to come to light. Final thoughts on detecting magick As I’ve already pointed out, negative magick is extremely rare in real life. Although it’s not impossible that you’re dealing with a curse or hex, it is unlikely. Before you let fear or anger take over, calmly consider the answers to the following questions: Is there someone with a reason to cast a spell on me? Do they have the occult interest/ability to do so? And, is it actually affecting me? Make sure your assessment is motivated by information (the logical kind and the psychic kind), and not by paranoia or distrust. If you determine that you are being affected by someone else’s magick, you do have options. You have the ability to cut off intrusive energy and reclaim your power. Protection, reversal, and binding magick are all ways that Witches can counter aggressive spells. Each of these types of spells have subtlely different aims and results, so consider carefully what it is you want before retaliating. You can also take comfort in the knowledge that harmful magick brings negative consequences to the sender sooner or later.

[tipsycad147]

Spell detection 101: How to know if someone is using witchcraft on you

by Michelle Gruben

“Am I cursed?” Because I am (I guess) sort of a professional Witch these days, I get this question from time to time.  Because of the ubiquity of “white” (i.e., benevolent) witchcraft—and the efforts of modern Witches to clear the air—you might think that Witch paranoia was a thing of the past.

However, my blog’s comments and email inbox tell a different story. Lots of people believe they may be under a curse or enchantment cast by a Witch. And they’d like to get to the bottom of it.

I Googled it real quick to check up on the collective internet wisdom. Surprisingly, the answers to “How do I know if someone is doing witchcraft on me?” seem to fall into two categories:

Witches aren’t real. Don’t be silly.

Oh yes, there’s a great and evil curse upon you. Give me $500 and I’ll fix it.

I feel like this topic deserves better. As Witches, we believe certain things are observably true—like, that magick gives us a degree of influence over the world. If you have the power to affect others through magick, then it’s only logical that other people have that power, too. And maybe sometimes they choose to exercise it. Maybe even on you.

It’s certainly reasonable to want to know when you’re the subject of a magick spell, especially a negative or coercive one. If you don’t know about it, you can’t counter it. (At least, not specifically.) Pre-warned is pre-armed, as they say.

It’s a legitimate question. It’s just not an easy one to answer. There is no psychic litmus test that will give you a result of “magick present/not present.” The best I can do is offer a list of signs that manipulative magick may be at work in your life.

The last thing I want to do is incite witch hunts, so I’ll throw in one last word of caution.  My answer to the question, “Am I cursed?” is usually “Probably not.” I could go into a lot of boring details about why that is, but it really comes down to the following three counter-hexing principles:

Real magick is hard.

Your own will is powerful.

Nobody really cares enough to curse you (probably).

Still, that’s no consolation if you really feel that you’re being peeped at by the evil eye. Here are some tell-tale signs that you may indeed be crossed, jinxed, hexed, spellbound, or bewitched:

You have a lot of Witches as friends (or enemies).

In certain locations and age groups, there may be dozens. The more magickal people you have in your social circle, the more the probability approaches certainty that someone has, at some time, done some kind of spell involving you. It’s not a big deal. You just accept it, the way you accept that someone’s probably talked trash about you at a party, or masturbated about you.

Remember: Just because someone is a Witch (or claims to be) doesn’t mean they have the skill or motivation to influence you in a negative way. (See counter-hexing principles #1 and #3, above.) Also, the Witch who is adept enough to do harmful magick is also usually adept enough to know better.

You’re on a string of bad luck that just won’t end.

In Hoodoo, it’s referred to as being “crossed.” It’s not just about having a bad day—it’s one bad day after another. No matter what you do, nothing seems to be going your way. Underlying all the frustration is a nagging feeling that someone (or something) is out to get you. Traditional “uncrossing” rituals are designed to shake off the bad juju and get you back on your feet.

Bad luck is not, in and of itself, a sign that you’re under a curse. It could just be that Fortuna is pissed at you at the moment. It could be a mundane group of events outside your control that are causing your current misery. It could also be that you’ve been sabotaging yourself—with or without outside help.

Signs and synchronicity suggest that a curse is at work.

Magickally charged bad luck can be difficult to distinguish from regular bad luck. But sometimes, little things happen that will clue you in. If you pay attention to these omens, you may receive clues about the nature of the spell and the direction it’s coming from.

You see, while some cowardly Witch may be able to hex you without your knowledge, nothing is secret to the Universe. One observable fact is that truth, like the bubbles in champagne, always tries to reach the surface. Another observable fact is that Big Mama Universe has a mighty sense of humor about magick.

Let’s say you get splashed by a speeding car on a rainy day. That’s just crappy luck. But if you get splashed by a speeding car with a license plate that contains your enemy’s initials, then your dog picks a voodoo-doll chew toy up from the wet curb and hands it to you, then you grab a magazine to dry off your boots and the first page you see has a mummy movie poster that says “CURSE!” in drippy letters…well, I wouldn’t rule it out.

Your photos and personal stuff have gone missing.

Negative spells often hinge on having access to the spell’s intended target (or their property). A photograph, a piece of jewelry, a bit of hair or clothing or bodily fluids—all of these are classic ingredients in spells both good and bad. But they are even more critical in enemy work, when the spell-caster needs to make absolutely certain their nasty magick sticks to the right target. The Witch may use these items to link a poppet or candle to the target. Alternatively, they may bury or hide spell components at the target’s home or workplace.

If you catch someone trying to obtain your personal effects on the sly, then that person is either a klepto, a weird fetishist—or perhaps, a scheming sorcerer. There are areas of the South that are still steeped in Voodoo/Hoodoo. Some people there are reluctant to have their photo taken or leave their hair clippings at the barber shop, for fear that they may fall into the wrong hands.

Do you have enemies with hex-casting skills? If your things have gone missing from your office desk—or worse yet, your gym bag—it might be time to get worried.

You’re interacting with a person who does witchcraft all the time.

Yes, it’s true. Some people use witchcraft every waking moment in order to get their way. Rather than candles and oils and whatnot, they use powerful personal energy—which is a lot more subtle. So subtle, in fact, that they do it right in front of you. The occult term is enthrallment. Non-occultists might describe it as charisma or persuasion.

Enthrallers work their magick by either sapping you of your energy so that you feel bad, or infusing you with bursts of their own so that you feel good. (Sometimes both.) They are energy workers of a sort—though “serious” energy workers don’t like to give them that designation. Not all of them are Witches. Many become performers. Many become salespeople. Some enthrallers act like narcissistic or manipulative people, but they can also be quite pleasant. At least, until you realize you’ve been had.

I bring them up because interacting with enthrallers can make you feel like you’ve been put under a spell. Psychically sensitive folks may even feel violated—like the enthraller has literally been inside your head or slimed you with their energy. Fortunately, unless the psychic manipulator is a true badass, their power is usually limited to their immediate presence. Once you leave, they will move on to the next target.

You’re having thoughts, visions, and emotions that aren’t your own.

I have to be soooooo careful with this one—because many of these same experiences are signs of mental illness. If your thoughts or visions are telling you to hurt people or yourself, please put the candles down and get some professional help.

However, there are forms of magick (and empathy/telepathy) that can have strange mental effects. Sudden thoughts, unusual urges, intense feelings out of nowhere? If you’re normally a pretty level person, they can be a clue that someone is magickally messing with your head. It helps to take stock of your energy levels and emotions on a regular basis. That way, you’ll know when you’re off your baseline.

Negative magick can leave you feeling physically drained and miserable. But so can a bunch of other, more mundane ailments. It’s best to rule out other causes before settling on psychic attack.

You sense the presence of someone else’s magick.

It’s the most obvious, but probably the most effective way to tell if you’re caught up in an active spell: You just feel it. Magickal energy has its own particular smell and taste. With a bit of experience, you can often tell when a foreign energy is swirling about. It could manifest as a feeling of being watched, or a sudden odor, or a nasty feeling hanging in the air. If you’re psychically skilled, you may even be able to see or feel who’s responsible in your mind’s eye and/or energetic body.

Dreaming about a person can be a clue that their energy is tangled up with yours. Of course, that doesn’t mean they’ve cast a spell on you. Dreams can be triggered by anxiety, worry, attraction, or just random thoughts. But they can also be a cue from your psychic mind that someone is intruding on your headspace.

There are all different ways that people work invasive or coercive magick. But they inevitably leave energetic snail trails back to their source. If you suspect foul play, try scanning your body for energetic cords and other attachments that shouldn’t be there. You can use divination or scrying to sniff out the origin of the disturbance. If all else fails, try doing a revealing spell and ask for the truth to come to light.

Final thoughts on detecting magick

As I’ve already pointed out, negative magick is extremely rare in real life. Although it’s not impossible that you’re dealing with a curse or hex, it is unlikely.

Before you let fear or anger take over, calmly consider the answers to the following questions: Is there someone with a reason to cast a spell on me? Do they have the occult interest/ability to do so? And, is it actually affecting me? Make sure your assessment is motivated by information (the logical kind and the psychic kind), and not by paranoia or distrust.

If you determine that you are being affected by someone else’s magick, you do have options. You have the ability to cut off intrusive energy and reclaim your power. Protection, reversal, and binding magick are all ways that Witches can counter aggressive spells. Each of these types of spells have subtlely different aims and results, so consider carefully what it is you want before retaliating. You can also take comfort in the knowledge that harmful magick brings negative consequences to the sender sooner or later.

https://www.groveandgrotto.com/blogs/articles/spell-detection-101-how-to-know-if-someone-is-using-witchcraft-on-you

[phallix]

Puppy Play

For a long time, the idea of puppy play held no interest for me whatsoever. I associated puppy play with annoying guys who tended to bark in the middle of play parties whenever they saw each other or who acted in ways that I frankly found annoying. They would talk about head-space and it all seemed like an exaggerated sense of make belief. “Yeah you’re a puppy…woof woof. Well I’m a fucking pirate, Arrrrrr” It didn’t interest me and so I tended to stand at the edges. I knew guys who identified as puppies but I didn’t usually interact with them that way. I recognized that puppy-play seemed like an entry point for some guys into the broader leather community but it often seemed that they had serious interests in the darkly erotic aspects of the community but got subverted into a non-sexual role play that just seemed silly. It was a frustrating process of which I was aware and wary. I saw a lot of guys who thought they were going to be a part of something really fun, sexy, and exciting and who instead found it disappointing. Then things changed. Two things happened to me. The first was a puppy party at IML. While there were plenty of guys crawling around and playing with the dreaded squeaky toys, there was a small cadre of guys playing in a way that was extremely feral, raw, animalistic, and sexual. They interacted in ways that didn’t seem forced or pretend. It was real and it was fucking hot. I remember how my interest in the overall puppy scene began to grow…(.among other things). The second was playing with someone who identified as a puppy that embodied all of that raw animalistic sexuality in a way that seemed so genuine that it totally blew me away. They would react in ways that were not forced. When they got excited their butt wagged because that was the most natural thing for them to do. They begged to have their tail inserted because it was the natural extension of a deeply powerful experience. I saw a vision of what I had been missing. I started to get interested in something that I had thought I would never find interesting. In fact, I kept thinking about it and talking to people and suddenly found that I was no longer at the edges but becoming more and more involved. But, I never found that same energy in the public puppy experience. It happened in small groups but never at an “event”. It was at this point that I began to bump up against the predominant model in the “puppy-community”. For some reason, there was a lot of stuff about how puppy play was not sexual. There was a lot of lip service to the idea that we all get to define what the experience is for ourselves but in truth, the dominant theme was that sexuality was NOT really welcome and only barely tolerated. I’ve heard all the reasons for that. I’ve had the conversations. I have no intention of arguing. BUT I have decided to speak my mind. SO for what it is worth… In my opinion ( your mileage may differ)… FOR ME…..My puppy play is deeply deeply sexual. It is about abandoning rational thought and acting in ways that are primitive and disinhibited. It tends to become very tactile, very olfactory, and very oral. In other words, there is a lot of rubbing, a lot of sniffing, and a lot of licking. While that human part of someone is never completely gone, it is allowed to take a back seat. One of the examples I often think of is when a puppy I was playing with had to pee. I took him outside rather than going into the bathroom. Without thinking about it, I noticed that the puppy lifted his leg to piss. I don’t think it was planned. It was just natural. In the same way, there is a lot of sexual stimulation going on and when that stimulation reaches orgasm, there tends to be a lot of howling or some other animalistic noises. Part of what I find so exciting, is playing with someone who is able to give up some of the rational part of themselves and let a more primitive drive take over. Rather than thinking about how they might like to sniff my crotch, or asking to so do, they just do it. I have to manage that. It becomes playful. I began to play with guys who when they got hard, they would just naturally drop to all fours. In conversations, they would make noises that came out of them so naturally , they didn’t even notice that they had answered the phone with a chuffing noise. When they were really turned on, their tongue would loll out. These weren’t things that were discussed they just happened. But becoming more involved in my own puppy experience, didn’t keep me from observing things in the broader community. It also didn’t stop me from being an opinionated asshole. So let me rant about a few other things for just a second. In my world, I deal in metaphor. I think that metaphor is powerful and often a door into understanding. Puppy play for me is a deeply powerful metaphor. And few things are more powerful metaphors that gear. As a leatherman, my gear is essential to me. It is an expression of important aspects of my self. It MEANS something to me. Puppies tend to get gear obsessed. It is interesting that each will find what works for them. Some find that covering their face frees to them play in ways that if their face were not covered they could not play. Others have told me that when their hands are put in their puppy mitts, things really transition. Almost all associate meaning and power to their collar. To each their own. The puppies I play with tend not to wear mitts but often curl their hands and do not use their fingers. They will “paw” at things that way. I think it is very hot. When a puppy can’t use his paws effectively and I need to lend him a hand so to speak. They usually don’t wear hoods, because the hood interferes with the hyper-orality that is so much a part of our play. Knee pads have become essential after too many episodes of rug burn. But puppy tails simply amaze me. I love playing with puppies that really get into having a tail. First of all, when it fits right, every time they move, the tail wags and when it wags it bumps up against their prostate….hell, what’s not to like. I love inserting a puppy’s tail and I pride myself if taking the time, the preparation, and the lube to make it comfortable. It is the first notch in a ladder of trust. That somebody trusts me enough that they become that vulnerable really turns me on. And when I do it successfully, the positive results are immediate. They move, it feels great, they move more, it feels even better. A perfect system. Which brings me to an observation about “show tails”. You know the ones that attach to a belt? In my mind that is the equivalent of a leather guy going to bar with his gear in a suitcase. I think so-called show tails are an abomination. BUT I also think there is a reason for them. And this is the place where I tend to rant like a mad-man. SO I apologize in advance. The reason show tails exist is that most puppy handlers are idiots. Most handlers have no idea what they are doing. And in part, this is the fault of the guys who have de-sexualized puppy play. Look, it’s really very simple, Sex takes skill. Ya have to know what you are doing to make it work. It is like most of the things in our BDSM world. You gotta learn first. But how hard it is to call some guy “Fluffy” and play fetch? Any dolt can do that. So there are a lot of guys who hold themselves out to be handlers and have no skill. Those are the same ignoramuses who conflate being a puppy with being subservient. They stand around with their buddies and tell the puppy to go get drinks. They hand the pup some cash and give them the order and the puppy wanders off to be surrounded by a bunch of guys who have no idea what is going on and have been drinking. Without fail, some guy grabs the tail and yanks on it. “What’s this?” It is the handler’s job to make sure that never happens. If they did their job, there would be no need for a show tail. When I am playing with a puppy, I am TOTALLY responsible for our play AND for their wellbeing. I have to make sure they are ok, safe, hydrated, comfortable. I have to check that their gear is on right. I have to monitor the scene so carefully that and do it without the benefit of language. All while having a good time. Letting a puppy run loose so that I can socialize says that maybe we need to teach handlers how to handle and stop having events that purport to be about puppy play when it is just about using puppies as an entertainment or a distraction. Frankly, I tend to play with guys who would rather bite your hand that lick it if you haven’t earned their trust and respect. And please note, that trust and respect is EARNED not given freely just because you say you are a handler on Recon. The idea of puppy events taps into stuff I have written about the tail wagging the dog (re: leather contests). I’ll leave that alone for a bit. BUT let me beat one dead horse for just a minute. MY PUPPY PLAY….MINE…that means I get to define it. My puppy play takes place in sacred male space. The amount of trust and the erotic energy are very powerful, but they are very fragile. For me, this stuff is all really important and very meaningful. I am afraid that the puppy community is headed in a direction that I will not be able to follow. That is a shame because I have met some really great guys. Guys I consider my friends. Even some who totally disagree with me. That’s fine. I still like them. Hell, if I only liked people I agree with I would be alone a lot. But I worry. I worry that guys who are drawn to something will not be able to find what they are seeking. They will leave in frustration. And here is what really worries me. If I stay silent, they will not know there are alternatives. I have played with pups who were surprised that a group of us were doing things a very different way than what they saw generally. So at the risk of whatever consequences I guess I thought I had to speak up. So let me tell you why. If you found a home with the non-sexual pups that's great. Good for you. But if you were looking for the hot animal fuckery that I associate with it and you go to some event where all they do is romp around....well then you might just think there is no place for you. You might not know you CAN be a part of that deep dark fantasy that makes your heart race and your dick hard. You might not believe that there are guys who share your wonderfully perverted world view.....BUT THERE ARE!!!

[tipsycad147]

Spell detection 101: How to know if someone is using witchcraft on you

Posted by Michelle Gruben on Mar 19, 2017

“Am I cursed?” Because I am (I guess) sort of a professional Witch these days, I get this question from time to time.  Because of the ubiquity of “white” (i.e., benevolent) witchcraft—and the efforts of modern Witches to clear the air—you might think that Witch paranoia was a thing of the past.

However, my blog’s comments and email inbox tell a different story. Lots of people believe they may be under a curse or enchantment cast by a Witch. And they’d like to get to the bottom of it.

I Googled it real quick to check up on the collective internet wisdom. Surprisingly, the answers to “How do I know if someone is doing witchcraft on me?” seem to fall into two categories:

Witches aren’t real. Don’t be silly.

Oh yes, there’s a great and evil curse upon you. Give me $500 and I’ll fix it.

I feel like this topic deserves better. As Witches, we believe certain things are observably true—like, that magick gives us a degree of influence over the world. If you have the power to affect others through magick, then it’s only logical that other people have that power, too. And maybe sometimes they choose to exercise it. Maybe even on you.

It’s certainly reasonable to want to know when you’re the subject of a magick spell, especially a negative or coercive one. If you don’t know about it, you can’t counter it. (At least, not specifically.) Pre-warned is pre-armed, as they say.

It’s a legitimate question. It’s just not an easy one to answer. There is no psychic litmus test that will give you a result of “magick present/not present.” The best I can do is offer a list of signs that manipulative magick may be at work in your life.

The last thing I want to do is incite witch hunts, so I’ll throw in one last word of caution.  My answer to the question, “Am I cursed?” is usually “Probably not.” I could go into a lot of boring details about why that is, but it really comes down to the following three counter-hexing principles:

Real magick is hard.

Your own will is powerful.

Nobody really cares enough to curse you (probably).

Still, that’s no consolation if you really feel that you’re being peeped at by the evil eye. Here are some tell-tale signs that you may indeed be crossed, jinxed, hexed, spellbound, or bewitched:

You have a lot of Witches as friends (or enemies).

In certain locations and age groups, there may be dozens. The more magickal people you have in your social circle, the more the probability approaches certainty that someone has, at some time, done some kind of spell involving you. It’s not a big deal. You just accept it, the way you accept that someone’s probably talked trash about you at a party, or masturbated about you.

Remember: Just because someone is a Witch (or claims to be) doesn’t mean they have the skill or motivation to influence you in a negative way. (See counter-hexing principles #1 and #3, above.) Also, the Witch who is adept enough to do harmful magick is also usually adept enough to know better.

You’re on a string of bad luck that just won’t end.

In Hoodoo, it’s referred to as being “crossed.” It’s not just about having a bad day—it’s one bad day after another. No matter what you do, nothing seems to be going your way. Underlying all the frustration is a nagging feeling that someone (or something) is out to get you. Traditional “uncrossing” rituals are designed to shake off the bad juju and get you back on your feet.

Bad luck is not, in and of itself, a sign that you’re under a curse. It could just be that Fortuna is pissed at you at the moment. It could be a mundane group of events outside your control that are causing your current misery. It could also be that you’ve been sabotaging yourself—with or without outside help.

Signs and synchronicity suggest that a curse is at work.

Magickally charged bad luck can be difficult to distinguish from regular bad luck. But sometimes, little things happen that will clue you in. If you pay attention to these omens, you may receive clues about the nature of the spell and the direction it’s coming from.

You see, while some cowardly Witch may be able to hex you without your knowledge, nothing is secret to the Universe. One observable fact is that truth, like the bubbles in champagne, always tries to reach the surface. Another observable fact is that Big Mama Universe has a mighty sense of humour about magick.

Let’s say you get splashed by a speeding car on a rainy day. That’s just crappy luck. But if you get splashed by a speeding car with a license plate that contains your enemy’s initials, then your dog picks a voodoo-doll chew toy up from the wet curb and hands it to you, then you grab a magazine to dry off your boots and the first page you see has a mummy movie poster that says “CURSE!” in drippy letters…well, I wouldn’t rule it out.

Your photos and personal stuff have gone missing.

Negative spells often hinge on having access to the spell’s intended target (or their property). A photograph, a piece of jewellery, a bit of hair or clothing or bodily fluids—all of these are classic ingredients in spells both good and bad. But they are even more critical in enemy work, when the spell-caster needs to make absolutely certain their nasty magick sticks to the right target. The Witch may use these items to link a poppet or candle to the target. Alternatively, they may bury or hide spell components at the target’s home or workplace.

If you catch someone trying to obtain your personal effects on the sly, then that person is either a klepto, a weird fetishist—or perhaps, a scheming sorcerer. There are areas of the South that are still steeped in Voodoo/Hoodoo. Some people there are reluctant to have their photo taken or leave their hair clippings at the barber shop, for fear that they may fall into the wrong hands.

Do you have enemies with hex-casting skills? If your things have gone missing from your office desk—or worse yet, your gym bag—it might be time to get worried.

You’re interacting with a person who does witchcraft all the time.

Yes, it’s true. Some people use witchcraft every waking moment in order to get their way. Rather than candles and oils and whatnot, they use powerful personal energy—which is a lot more subtle. So subtle, in fact, that they do it right in front of you. The occult term is enthrallment. Non-occultists might describe it as charisma or persuasion.

Enthrallers work their magick by either sapping you of your energy so that you feel bad, or infusing you with bursts of their own so that you feel good. (Sometimes both.) They are energy workers of a sort—though “serious” energy workers don’t like to give them that designation. Not all of them are Witches. Many become performers. Many become salespeople. Some enthrallers act like narcissistic or manipulative people, but they can also be quite pleasant. At least, until you realise you’ve been had.

I bring them up because interacting with enthrallers can make you feel like you’ve been put under a spell. Psychically sensitive folks may even feel violated—like the enthraller has literally been inside your head or slimed you with their energy. Fortunately, unless the psychic manipulator is a true badass, their power is usually limited to their immediate presence. Once you leave, they will move on to the next target.

You’re having thoughts, visions, and emotions that aren’t your own.

I have to be soooooo careful with this one—because many of these same experiences are signs of mental illness. If your thoughts or visions are telling you to hurt people or yourself, please put the candles down and get some professional help.

However, there are forms of magick (and empathy/telepathy) that can have strange mental effects. Sudden thoughts, unusual urges, intense feelings out of nowhere? If you’re normally a pretty level person, they can be a clue that someone is magickally messing with your head. It helps to take stock of your energy levels and emotions on a regular basis. That way, you’ll know when you’re off your baseline.

Negative magick can leave you feeling physically drained and miserable. But so can a bunch of other, more mundane ailments. It’s best to rule out other causes before settling on psychic attack.

You sense the presence of someone else’s magick.

It’s the most obvious, but probably the most effective way to tell if you’re caught up in an active spell: You just feel it. Magickal energy has its own particular smell and taste. With a bit of experience, you can often tell when a foreign energy is swirling about. It could manifest as a feeling of being watched, or a sudden odor, or a nasty feeling hanging in the air. If you’re psychically skilled, you may even be able to see or feel who’s responsible in your mind’s eye and/or energetic body.

Dreaming about a person can be a clue that their energy is tangled up with yours. Of course, that doesn’t mean they’ve cast a spell on you. Dreams can be triggered by anxiety, worry, attraction, or just random thoughts. But they can also be a cue from your psychic mind that someone is intruding on your headspace.

There are all different ways that people work invasive or coercive magick. But they inevitably leave energetic snail trails back to their source. If you suspect foul play, try scanning your body for energetic cords and other attachments that shouldn’t be there. You can use divination or scrying to sniff out the origin of the disturbance. If all else fails, try doing a revealing spell and ask for the truth to come to light.

Final thoughts on detecting magick

As I’ve already pointed out, negative magick is extremely rare in real life. Although it’s not impossible that you’re dealing with a curse or hex, it is unlikely.

Before you let fear or anger take over, calmly consider the answers to the following questions: Is there someone with a reason to cast a spell on me? Do they have the occult interest/ability to do so? And, is it actually affecting me? Make sure your assessment is motivated by information (the logical kind and the psychic kind), and not by paranoia or distrust.

If you determine that you are being affected by someone else’s magick, you do have options. You have the ability to cut off intrusive energy and reclaim your power. Protection, reversal, and binding magick are all ways that Witches can counter aggressive spells. Each of these types of spells have subtlely different aims and results, so consider carefully what it is you want before retaliating. You can also take comfort in the knowledge that harmful magick brings negative consequences to the sender sooner or later.

https://www.groveandgrotto.com/blogs/articles/spell-detection-101-how-to-know-if-someone-is-using-witchcraft-on-you