#this my dress! which happened to be readily available to reference

[daily-isabeau]

Following the Isa in a suit: Isabeau in a dress? 👀

He would look nice in green I think!

[feather-dancer]

As both options drew I'll be posting the other snippet later on.

This is from the next chapter of Ghosts he left behind which went on hold due to while working on this a friend I've known since I was 14? 15? Vanished February 2021 which given the theme of this fic hit too close to home and led to a severe mental crash for several months. I'm much better now I just want to rewatch Trollhunters before I get going again.

This has not been edited since it's first draft garbage so please bare that in mind. It contains both a reference to the mystery solider painting and the only reason Merlin didn't wear this dressing gown in canon was budget. I had to.

“I lost my brother to a war dictated by men that should have known better and yet in your own all seeing wisdom thought it was perfectly okay to waltz into our lives and condemn my teenage son to repeat the same tragedy? Then just to make things even worse you don't even care enough to keep him safe and as if to somehow spite our lives even more you've taken to stealing from our laundry?!"

“These garments were readily available; I merely chose to make proper use of them.”

To the observer’s eye describing the current state of negotiations as going well would be an insult to the language that had spawned it, indeed the term one-sided slang match seemed more appropriate. In one corner there is the angry voice of one who is glaring while keeping a broom in hand standing close to his position on the sofa while the other is hovering near the breakfast bar with arms folded behind his back offering polite yet firm rebuttals to anything said which only added to the air of arrogance despite his current wear. It did not take centuries of wisdom to know this was not something to be in the middle of and at least here Strickler could remain as silent support or assist if it became absolutely necessary. Somehow the wizard had managed to slip past their notice while they had been in deep conversation about their next plan of action though to the great misfortune of all he was not so lucky to pull the same trick on the return leading to the current standoff.

“Oh and I suppose those slippers happened to invite themselves onto your feet…?”

“My dear, walking around with bare feet is something truly unsightly. They will be duly returned when they are no longer required I can assure you.”

If at all curious yes this was the argument that started as Jim was in the tunnel and we'll see what was actually said before he collided with the painting. For fun!

[wild-aloof-rebel]

did you have any visual inspiration for what baseballverse patrick looks like i.e. any specific photos, outfits, etc?

a lot of it is really just patrick as he is on the show, but i can def give you some specifics. i'll put them under a cut just in case anyone still hasn't read it and doesn't want to be spoiled (and because i'm including pics so it's gonna get long lol)...

the shirt he's wearing when they first meet (A man in dress slacks, his suit jacket already discarded somewhere, the sleeves of his light-colored shirt rolled up to his elbows...) is the one from the "oh i'm gonna get the money" scene at the end of the affair.

he's also in button-ups—though i didn't really have specific ones in mind—when he takes david out for both the wine and paint night (that tempting vee of skin peeking out of the unbuttoned collar of his shirt...) and to the italian restaurant, though he also wears a blazer for the latter (he opens the door to find Patrick there in a midnight blue blazer with tiny raindrops scattered across the shoulders like stars / the stretch of the jacket sleeves around his arms, the small vee between the points of his shirt collar...) so think grad night vibes there.

that kind of look is obviously his go-to for when he wants to dress to impress (it's not specified in the fic, but he'd also prob be wearing a button-up for the dinner after the milb all-star game, with johnny and all the team staff and all.) otherwise though, when things are more casual, it's def a lot more t shirts with either jeans or sweats.

when i originally wrote the patrick day scenes (which was before s6 aired), i was thinking his look was the hike, but without the hoodie and with different shoes. and then dan gave us pretty much exactly that in moira rosé and weirdly also referred to it as it being "patrick's day." just an odd coincidence. but anyway, yeah, basically the moira rosé look (sans hat) for both going on the picnic and watching the game at brebner's park that night.

and the m.v.p. is obviously a source of inspo, too, since it gives us what patrick looks like in baseball pants, lol (though as a catcher, patrick is more likely in full-length pants, not knickers, since that gets to be a lot of stuff happening around your knee/upper calf once you’ve got your pads on. it’s not impossible, but it’s def more common for catchers to wear long pants.)

(thanks to @patrickbluer for having all these reference pics readily available)

outside of what's pulled from the show, in the morning-after scene that starts ch 8, he puts on the worn, old University of Louisville tee and the boxer briefs. that would be the style of shirt below. the boxer briefs would just be black, and then of course it's later specified that he's also wearing mismatched socks, one burgundy and one aqua.

for the post game presser (Patrick is there, freshly showered and cozy in his team hoodie), he's in a standard issue blue jays hoodie with a pair of jeans and sneakers.

as for actually on the baseball field, the bears' team colors are basically the san diego padres' colors, so think that sort of look for the uniforms (though not the current pinstripe-y iteration).

and then the blue jays obviously just look like the blue jays.

and last but not least, my main real-life mlb player inspiration for patrick will always be dodgers catcher will smith, who just fully has Big Patrick Energy, plus a similar body type, so he's the model for any and all things on the field. for example, patrick hitting that home run in the alds and getting a gatorade shower after basically looks like this (though sebastien is not a submarine pitcher like rogers is here)...

[thewonkywitchescauldron]

Magickal Energy of Plants

I am a HUGE fan of herbs, whether it’s growing them myself in my witchy herb garden and harvesting to use within teas, tinctures, beauty products and my spellwork or having a dried selection or essential oil form in my witchy stash to use at any time I need these wonderful beings within my path.

I use essential oils within magickal dressing and anointing oils, within magickal sprays, oil diffusers, holistically whether it’s topically to help aid an ailment or inhaling the oil for mental and emotional support. However these do need some training and much research before using them in such ways as these little bottles of oils are extremely concentrated extracts of the plants themselves and without proper training and research these can cause more harm then good.

Dried & Fresh herbs are much safer to use for all, but of course again research is needed before using herbs for specific ailments concerning the human body as they can cause problems as well if used incorrectly.

However using herbs within witchcraft is safe and doesn’t need to be considered too much unless when handling you are sensitive and of course if you're working with particular poisonous herbs, so still air on the side of caution.

Now the careful chat is out the way let’s talk herbal history. As we all know the plant kingdom came into existence on our Earth millions of years before the existence and evolution of human beings. Saying that, it’s fair to say that herbs are the oldest magickal tools and ingredients in existence. Known for millennia to have beneficial properties for both the physical and spiritual well-being, many different species of plants were incorporated into the practices of healers, shamans and other medicine men and women of the old days within villages and tribes - this is where, as we know it, the origin of herbal magick. You still see to this day in Chinese, Ayurvedic and Native American medicines being used from the knowledge of their ancestors centuries ago. In these traditions there is still a good amount of chanting, prayers and spellwork adding to the curative effects of the plants themselves.

Back before medicine was separated from magick, physical healing was often accompanied by ritual and prayer, so that a patient might be treated with an herbal decoction, as well as a smudging ritual and an incantation to the spirits for a quick recovery. Today, the simple daily ritual of enjoying a cup of herbal tea can have emotional and spiritual effects as well as nutritional benefits. This combination of healing and magickal properties makes herbs incredibly powerful components to use within your magickal practice or your daily life for that matter.

The healers of old would pass this information down through their lineage or to people they trained to become the next healers. This was all done verbally so you can imagine the concentration and memory they had to possess to keep track of every plant they worked, what it looked like, where it grew, how it grew, antidotes to them if a reaction occurred, what reactions may occur, along with their correspondences if working spiritually, this was all a trial and error for them as they did not possess the equipment we do today to tell how a plant may react to situations and know the dosages for medicinal use or magickal.The Egyptians used plants in the majority of their magick, they didn’t only use the plants for healing but also for their powers of protection, strength, love etc. The Egyptian practitioner knew the metaphysical properties of many plants and knew how to blend them together within spellwork and rituals.

The Greeks and Romans both used medicinal herbs regularly. Hippocrates, the father of modern medicine lived during these times and he’s work is fll of known plants and their uses for medicinal purposes. Other names such as Galen and Dioscorides complied 500 plants into a reference text which we have Medieval Monks to thank for reproducing these texts for future use.With all this happening we did still have the wise woman or the wife at home using folk medicine to help aid any ailments that came. They used plants from their own gardens or woodlands nearby as well as their own kitchens and used them everyday to help aid illnesses like colds and also help heal bruises. These simple acts blended beautifully with folk magick, this is where the first herb witches were born.

From the 15th to the 17th Centuries herbal aids were popping up all over the place which also included astrological elements.

Nicholas Culpeper an English botanist, herbalist, physician and astrologer wrote a book called ‘The English Physician’ which is full of pharmaceutical and herbal knowledge, as well as Astrological Judgement of Diseases from the Decumbiture of the Sick which is one of the most detailed works on medical astrology in Early Modern Europe. Within he’s work was The doctrine of Signatures which states that herbs resembling various parts of the body can be used by herbalists to treat ailments of those body parts. This method is still widely used today. For Example: A Walnut is the shape of the brain, so therefore helps with brain health. Ginger Root resembles the stomach, this in turn helps aid in stomach sickness. Nature always has a remedy for an ailment, you just ned to know where to look.

Herbs in Magick

As magickal practices with plants grew over the centuries, so did the approach of use from witch to witch. They were added herbs to flames or candles to increase their power as well as creating bundles for burning or mixing together for a specific goal. Others used the moon and phases of the moon to gather particular herbs for the best results.To hide their recipes, codes were put in place so the ‘muggle’ so to speak wouldn’t recognise the ingredients used by the witch. Eye of Newt is a great example which would be a common flower or plant used that only the witch who wrote it would understand. Historians aren’t sure why this was done, but the general consensus is that it was done for protection of their personal power. We don’t see much of this anymore however some practitioners will use the Theban Alphabet (witches alphabet) to hide information from prying eyes.

Today this use of herbs within witchcraft is exceedingly widespread and so many herbs are now so readily available there is no need to go out and forage. However it is a fun way of doing it as well as really getting that connection to the earth and the plants themselves. You can also of course grow plants within your own garden or in the home. This way they are readily available to you as and when you need them. Growing and harvesting your own herbs keeps you in touch with the powers of the Earth - not to mention the Sun, the rain, and the wind, as well as the role played by insects and other animal life in sustaining the cycle of life and death in all of its forms.Gardening and growing your own herbs and plants allows you to charge these wonderful beings with your own energy.

Herbs are also probably the most versatile when it comes to hands-on magic. You can use them to create your own magickal crafts, such as spell jars, dream pillows, poppets, sachets and other charms. Some people like to create their own incense and oils with herbs, which adds even more magickal power to their work. Herbs are also used in all kinds of ways whether we’re talking about magical teas, baked goods or other foods.

Why not add this knowledge to medicinal remedies in your witchy first aid kit as well, tinctures, salves, creams etc. Working with herbs, plants, trees, berries etc can really be so beneficial in so many ways. The Green Witch knows this.

Aristotle, the famous Greek philosopher of ancient times, believed that plants have “psyches,” a word normally used to describe the human quality of soul, or spirit. Many Witches today would agree. In fact, even scientists are starting to realize that plants actually have what we might define as consciousness.

Plants both communicate and cooperate with each other in the wild, even among different species. In a forest setting, trees, shrubs, and other plants will exchange information with each other through an underground network of roots and fungi.

This natural “internet” allows plants to exchange nutrients with each other, helping each other make up for any shortages at various points in the growing season - much like you might “borrow” a few eggs from a neighbour and return the favour later on with some extra butter! Plants are also able to warn each other about nearby predators. For example, if one leaf is bitten by an insect, a plant will release chemicals that both repel the insect and prompt its plant neighbours to release their own chemicals to do the same.

These discoveries serve as wonderful illustrations of the inherent intelligence of Mother Earth. Whether working with a plant’s roots, seeds, stems, leaves, flowers, or berries or even the bark of a tree. Witches tap into these magical energies when incorporating herbs into their practice.

The Four Elements within Plants

In terms of magickal symbolism, plants embody the power of the four classical Elements working together to create and sustain life. They begin as seeds in the soil of the Earth, where the minerals needed to sustain their life are found. They interact with the Fire of sunlight, which makes the process of converting carbon dioxide into oxygen possible - a process that directly affects the quality of the air.

Air then fosters more plant life in the form of wind, which both stimulates the growth of stems and leaves, and scatters seeds in order to continue the cycle. And of course, all plants need Water to live.

But they also play a crucial role in the regulation of the Earth’s water cycles by purifying water, and helping to move it from the soil to the atmosphere. Indeed, there is perhaps no better illustration for how the elements of Earth, Air, Fire and Water come together than in the magickal existence of plants.

So where should a beginner witch start with their herb cupboard?

Here are a few firm favourites that I like to say are a must in any witches stash which are easily accessible.

Basil is a firm winner for the green witch. So easy to obtain. Basil covers Abundance, Prosperity & Wealth, Love, Happiness, Mental Power and Confidence.

Bay Leaf is another easy to obtain herb to use within your craft. These wonderful leaves are used for Psychic Power, Divination, Purification, Success, Money, Strength, Protection and is widely used for Wish Magick.

Chamomile is a beautiful little flower to work with, its gentle, calming and a firm favourite amongst witches. Chamomile helps with Money, luck, love, reversing hexes, happiness, meditation, sleep and purification.

Cinnamon adds some lovely aroma and boosts magickal potency but also helps with Spiritual and Psychic Abilities, Creativity, Divination, Luck, Protection and Success.

Clove is one of my favourites for boosting spells and adding a little potency to my workings but it’s also used for Cleansing, Protection, Banishing, Prosperity, Courage and Divination.

Dandelion is the dreaded weed that everyone wants to get rid of in their gardens. But is it really? This misunderstood so-called ‘weed’ is full of life. I love seeing these pop up in my garden, they are full of goodness and shouldn't be looked down upon in disgust. Magickally they can be used for Divination, wishes, transformation, calling spirits, sun energy (yellow flower), moon energy (puff ball).

Lavender is such a wonderful plant to work with. I cannot stress this enough.Lavender is used for Psychic Power & Awareness, Love, Divination, Happiness, Healing, Peace & Sleep, Meditation, Purification and of course Protection. A great plant to grow by your front door for protection.

Then there is the Witches Protection Herb of Rosemary. One of my absolute favourites. Grow this by your front door for some herbal witchy protection. It is also used for Purification, Courage, Confidence, Blessings, Mental Power & Remembrance, Strength and Wisdom.

You can always tell when a witch is present in a household when there is Lavender and Rosemary growing. Have a look when you're out and about, I am sure you will notice quite a few houses with these wonderful plants outside.

Sage being a firm favourite across many cultures which is used for Purification, Prosperity, Clairvoyance, Divination, Banishing, Inspiration, Wisdom and Protection. It’s usually the main herb used in most smudging sticks.

Just having these herbs in your witchy stash will cover an array of magickal needs you may desire. However if you’re like me this isn’t enough, I love to work with herbs and oils so much, I need a whole array of herbs to work with within my craft.

If you’d like to learn more about using herbs within your craft then please do join me at Kallima Spiritual Centre in my Green Witches Craft Workshop on Sunday 29th August 2021 Or my Magickal Witches Incense and Oils Workshop on Sunday 1st August. To book your space please visit www.kallima.co.uk

Stay Magickal & Blessed Be WillowMoon The Wonky Witch

[quentinblack]

Smoke and Mirrors

Chapter 5: Andromeda II - Wotcher! (link to full story on FF.net)

Featuring: Andromeda Black and Ted Tonks

Word Count: 3.5K words

Warnings: References to Abortion and Drugs

The foul stench of warm beer engulfed Andromeda as she made her way into the dingy lit pub. It was awfully humid at the best of times, but in the July heat it was unbearable. The Leaky Cauldron was more or less empty, save for a few middle-aged wizards who she expected scarcely left the place. The barkeep nodded in acknowledgement at her.

“What can I get ya?” he asked, as he smiled Andromeda noticed that more than a few of his teeth were missing.

“Oh. Sorry. I am just meeting a friend-

“JUST MEETING A FRIEND?!”

Ted’s booming voice gave her a shock. She hadn’t noticed him at all when she’d walked in. Andromeda absent-mindedly reached to sort out her hair, but then she stopped herself when she noticed what she was doing.

“Sorry Quincy, won’t be stopping for a drink today,” Ted said to the landlord. “Make sure you save some of that Weizenbier though. I’ll be back in with Dirk next week no doubt!”

“Look forward to seeing you, Ted. Can’t promise I’ll still have any left tho’, popular stuff that, them Bavarian goblins sure know how to brew a beer!”

“That they do,” Ted quipped, as he reached out for Andromeda’s hand.

“Come on, ‘Dromeda, not got all day,” he said as he guided her towards the exit that faced into the muggle street.

“I am still not sure that I approve of that nickname,” Andromeda noted to him.

“Well I’m not sure that I approve of that purple cloak you’ve got on!” he cracked back at her. “You can’t go prancing around Southend in that in the dead of summer!”

Andromeda’s heart stopped.

“But you said…you promised that you would bring me a muggle dress to wear, Ted!”

She couldn’t believe it. She was going to look like an absolute idiot. The muggles would all be staring at her.

“Oh bugger! I did, didn’t I?” Ted said as a very serious and guilty look swamped his face.

Andromeda was crestfallen. It was the first time she was going to meet Ted’s parents and she was so very desperate to make a good first impression.

“I will look like such a fool, Ted.”

“You would indeed… it’s just as well I didn’t forget to bring you a dress then, isn’t it?” he chortled, before laughing loudly at her.

Andromeda felt her blood boiling. She hit him playfully on the arm over his denim jacket.  

“Ted Tonks! You are such a... such a…

“Devilishly good looking quick-witted chap?” he quipped, before grabbing her gently by the waist as she went to hit him again. She saw his green eyes smiling at her, before he closed them and kissed her softly on the lips like he’d done on many occasions over the last few months.

“I was going to say scoundrel,” she said at the end of their brief embrace.

“Scoundrel’s good too,” Ted replied with a grin on his face, before he began crossing the road.

“Where are you… that sign over there says the nearest train station is that way. I thought you said that we were going to get there the muggle way?” Andromeda asked, pointing in the complete opposite way to where Ted had begun walking.

Ted smirked.

“We are getting there the muggle way. No trains though!” he said, as he continued to stroll down the street, before stopping abruptly in-front of a red car. He slapped his hand on the bonnet. “What’d you reckon then, Drom? Nice motor, ain’t it?”

Andromeda felt a lump in her throat. “You. You cannot mean that… that

“Ford Cortina Mark II. Finest piece of totty to ever come out ah’ Dagenham. Brand new. Or so me old man said. Surprise present for me 17th birthday. I told him not to of course. Soon enough be able to apparate everywhere anyway, but he insisted on getting me a car. Could hardly turn him down could I?”

Ted reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a pair of keys, then put them into the door on the left hand side and opened it, indicating for her to get in.

“Come on, ‘Dromeda. I told Mum and Dad we’d be there at one!”

“But Ted. Travelling by train is one thing, but in a… in a car?”

“You’re not scared are ya?!” he asked incredulously. She was. She was very scared indeed.

She had read all about the muggle contraptions which were widely considered death-traps with wheels. The Daily Prophet was always reporting on new stories of witches and wizards narrowly avoiding getting run over and such forth. Muggles were awful at driving them, far worse than even the clumsiest of broom riders or carpet flyers – and there was a flying carpet crash or incident at least once a fortnight. In some circles there were even murmurs that the Ministry should put an outright ban on them.  

“You’re welcome to get the train if you want, love. Good luck getting there without me though!”

Andromeda huffed and puffed, but eventually relented and got in the passenger side. The inside of the car was one of the most confusing things she had ever encountered. There must have been almost a dozen different nobbles in the car, with numerous symbols and numbers that made absolutely no sense to her whatsoever.

Ted got in on the driver’s side and after a brief look at a map he revved the engine, thus beginning her first of many forays in muggle vehicles.

 ~ ~ ~ 

Andromeda was starting to regret her decision not to just get changed in the back of Ted’s car – he had promised to get out and not to look and it wasn’t that she didn’t trust him, but she felt embarrassed getting undressed in the back seat of a car.

The smell of fried meat and pancakes wafted in from the Little Chef restaurant and flooded the humid cubicle. It was one of those moments where you questioned everything that had happened in your life to lead up to that moment. She was getting changed into a loud muggle dress in a dingy toilet cubicle in a muggle service station, which was a weird sort of complex of petrol stations, toilets and restaurants which were strategically stationed at various parts of the muggle motorways.

It seemed quite sad that such was the struggle of transportation for muggles - that whole businesses operated around them having to stop for food or toilet breaks in the middle of travelling somewhere. You didn’t need to stop for a toilet break when getting a port key or using the Floo network – that’s for sure!

Andromeda opened the door after squeezing into the dress and stared at herself in the mirror by the sinks. It was almost like an out of body experience. She was certain that the person looking back at her was herself, but at the same time she knew that it simply couldn’t be. The muggle dress that Ted had picked out for her to wear made her look, well, like a muggle.

The dress, which Ted had quipped was “Slytherin green” was in-fact a much brighter green than Salazar’s favoured dark emerald. It was a very bright green, like the zest of a lime, with a bright white trim around the collar and the bottom of the sleeves – it almost made her feel like a key-lime pie. It was a far brighter shade of fabric than Andromeda would ever willingly wear, but perhaps what was the most disconcerting was how short a cut the dress was. It fell a few inches above her knee, which, especially given her lack of tights, by her Mother’s strict standards was nothing short of scandalous.

She stared into the mirror expecting, or maybe just hoping that eventually she would feel a bit better about herself, when suddenly a stranger tapped her on the shoulder.

“Oh my god I love your dress, hun! You look rocking, girl! Where did you get it?” said the muggle woman, who Andromeda guessed was roughly her own age, if not a few years older. She had fair skin, with even fairer hair and was wearing the wackiest dress Andromeda had ever seen. It was purple, but it was also orange and red and yellow – it was enough to give you a headache just looking at it.

“Sorry I err… it was a present, from a friend, you see,” Andromeda said nervously, wondering what her Mother would think if she knew she was talking to not just a muggle-born wizard, but a proper full-on muggle girl.  

“Ah, well you tell that friend they have great taste! Say, sorry if I’m wrong, but you look fairly liberal with a dress that short. Here, take a flyer!”

Andromeda took the leaflet, mumbled a slight thanks and looked down and it as the stranger scurried away.

OUR BODY – OUR CHOICE!    

On the 27th October our elected politicians will make a decision on whether WE have the right to legal abortion.

We’re marching in London on SUNDAY JULY 30TH

Will you be there? Remember – WE SPOKE out about the right to contraception and THEY HAD to listen!

Make sure YOUR VOICE IS HEARD!

Andromeda really wasn’t sure on what the general consensus of contraception and abortions was in muggle quarters.

Contraception was easy enough – it was a simple spell that was readily available and easy to learn for any teenage wizard worth his salt. It had been around for centuries and whilst it was a little controversial – the vast majority of the pureblood men and politicians who opposed it were all likely using it and cheating on their wives anyway.

Abortion though, well, it was fair to say that certainly was a bit of a taboo subject in the Wizarding world, especially among pureblood families.

It was quite difficult for a lot of pure-bloods to get pregnant in the first place these days, which her mother put down to inbreeding – and in years gone by she had never missed an opportunity to make snide remarks about her sister-in-law, their Aunt Walburga, who had married her cousin, Uncle Orion.

In the more recent history however, her Mother liked to keep a low profile at Black family gatherings. It was one thing to have married your cousin, but it was another thing altogether to have the shame of your firstborn daughter having an abortion at 16.

It was never publicly revealed which Slytherin boy had impregnated her sister, but Andromeda certainly had a few candidates in mind. It was probably Yaxley – that was certainly the most popular rumour, but there was no guarantee that it wasn’t Lucius or even Thorfinn Rowle.

Andromeda even suspected that such was Bellatix’s promiscuity that perhaps even she herself did not know who it had been. But what she had known was fury like nothing she had seen before. Their mother had been incredulous – and their father, well, Andromeda had never before seen him so disgusted at someone who wasn’t a muggle or a blood traitor.

“Wow! Look at you! Barely even recognized you and what’s that, have you grown legs? Consider me impressed,” said Ted, as he smirked. He hid it well, but Andromeda did not fail to notice his eyes lingering on her legs for longer than a momentary glance.

“I shall take that as a compliment,” Andromeda said, biting her lip as she got back into the car.

“Imagine what your family would say if they could see you right now! Where did you tell them you were going today?” Ted asked as he drank from his bottle of Tizer.

“I told Mother I was meeting a friend, not a lie by any means. I told Cissy where I was really going and who I was really meeting though of course.”

“You’re gonna be in the right shit if you ever fall out with her! The stuff she’s got on you…”

“Why would we ever fall out? She is my little sister! We tell each other everything Ted, we always have done. You know what Bellatrix is like. Cissy and I always had to stick together! I am not sure that she entirely approves of our err… courting… but she would never tell Mother, Father or Bellatrix about it. Besides, like I said, she tells me everything too. I know all about her little love affair with Fabian Prewett.”

“Well, if you’re sure you can trust her,” Ted said nonchalantly as he turned on the car radio and flickered around with it a bit.

A slow, brooding guitar melody got under way, before the thundering sound of crashing upbeat drums kicked in.

“Well that’s ironic. Fitting song for us, I reckon,” Ted remarked.

I SEE A RED DOOR AND I WANT IT PAINTED BLACK

NO COLOURS ANYMORE I WANT THEM TO TURN BLACK

I SEE THE GIRLS WALK BY DRESSED IN THEIR SUMMER CLOTHES

I HAVE TO TURN MY HEAD UNTIL MY DARKNESS GOES

“Cracking band, The Stones,” he said, strumming one hand on the dashboard. “Got nicked on drugs charges the other week too, helluva story that. Imagine that. Laying in ya’ cell and Keith Richards and Mick bloody Jagger walk in. Christ.”

“Drugs charges?” Andromeda asked. “I do not understand.”

“Drugs are illegal substances. You can get arrested for buying or selling them on. Not too sure I can think of a wizarding equivalent.”

“What do these drugs do exactly if they are illegal?”

“Well, some of them are a bit like alcohol I s’pose. Bring you up, take you down. You know liquid luck, right?”

“Well, I have read about it, yes.”

“Yeah, exactly, read about it. Incredibly rare. Incredibly expensive stuff. Even a posh young witch like you’s nevva come by any…”

Andromeda flushed slightly at being called a “posh” witch.

“Right so with these drugs though, you can get a similar experience to Liquid Luck for what the average man earns in a few hours work. A lot of people just do them casually for a bit of fun now and then, but some people get proper addicted to some of them. End up ruining their lives over ‘em.”

“Oh. That sounds awful,” sighed Andromeda.    

“Yeah,” agreed Ted. “But the old bill only went and busted Keith’s gaff didn’t they? They turned up at the house and found everyone high as a kite! Caught Jagger with a bit of speed, not that bad really. Charged Keith for letting people smoke cannabis in his house, what a load of nonsense. Harmless stuff that is” he said, shaking his head and looking annoyed, then he started laughing. “That’s not the best bit though! You know how the plod reckon they know they were all high? Well, they reckon that Jagger’s missus was wearing nothing but a fur rug when they turned up. A fur rug, ha-ha can you imagine them walking in and finding that?”

“That does sound like quite the shock. That poor girl,”

“They’ve got to be careful though, they have. Newspaper reckons that one of the other guys there, not in the band, just some random toff, well they reckon this bloke had a load of heroin on him. That’s proper dodgy stuff that is.”

“It is?” Andromeda asked curiously. “What is it?”

“Proper nasty stuff. One of the most addictive drugs out there. You ever see a homeless person off their rocker, they’re probably on smack. Ruins lives that stuff does. You get someone hooked on that – they’ll do just about anything for you to get another hit of it.”

~ ~ ~ 

Southend High Street was in many ways much like Diagon Alley. There was a vast array of smells, sounds and sights to ensnare one’s senses, with an endless stream of adults and children alike bustling around all of the shops. Whilst it was alike in that sort of sense – it was also in just as many ways completely different, it was almost like being on another planet, such was the contrast.

“There ya go!” Ted said, as he thrust a strange, yellow ice cream which had what looked almost like a little brown stick pointing out of the middle into her hand.

“Thank you, but err, what is it may I ask?” she enquired.

“That is the finest ice cream you’ll get in the country, love. Lemon ice. It’s sort of like a mixture between ice cream and sorbet. Rossi’s finest! With a chocolate flake, Cadbury’s of course! No idea why they call it a 99 though, they’re only a half crown each. Could buy like 8 of them for a pound.”

Andromeda took a slight lick, then a nibble and she did have to admit it was very nice indeed, although in the summer heat she found it was melting rather rapidly.

“I will never understand muggle money,” she sighed.

“Probably for the best anyway. Rumour is they’re getting rid of half crowns soon anyway! Mental if you ask me,” he snorted indignantly.

“Right well,” he pondered whilst looking out into the crowd of people ahead of them, whilst intermittently slurping big chunks of his own lemon ice. “Dad said they’d meet us outside Keddies at 1 o clock. Now by my watch that should be just about…

“Wotcher!”

Andromeda jumped slightly as Ted’s father popped out from out of nowhere and slapped his hand on Ted’s shoulder. He was slightly shorter than his son, as well as slightly rounder, but there was certainly a strong resemblance there. At a guess she would have said he was about 40.

“Alright, Dad!” Ted hollered, as he embraced his father warmly, being careful not to spill any of his ice cream on his father’s shirt. Andromeda had now spotted a slightly younger and slightly slender looking women, with dark brown hair standing alongside Ted’s father, who she assumed was Ted’s mother.

“Mum, Dad, meet Andromeda…”

“Wotcher,” his Dad said to Andromeda, as he pulled out his big hand and gave hers a firm shake. Andomeda offered a faint hello in reply. “Robert Tonks. But everyone calls me Bobby. This is my wife, Agata…”

“It is pleasure to meet you, Andromeda,” she said, in a vaguely Eastern European accent that Andromeda could not quite pick out.

“Teddy has told us so much about you. You are even more beautiful than he said you were.”

Andromeda flushed slightly at the thought of him telling his parents that he thought she was beautiful. She had to think fast to deflect away from it.

“Teddy?” Andromeda asked sarcastically at Ted. She had never heard of him being used by that name before. He blushed slightly. Ted’s father ushered them to start walking north and they continued their conversation as they trekked through the high-street.  

“I call him Teddy ever since he was little boy. He was Mummy’s little teddy bear,” Agata teased gently. Ted shot her a hideous look filled with embarrassment.  

“Oh don’t you worry, Andromeda. I’m sure there’s plenty more he’s kept quiet from you. We’ll fill you in on all of the secrets!” Robert said, winking once at Andromeda and then at Ted, who shot him a look that was halfway between anger and fear. “I hope that ice cream’s all you’ve eaten, Ted. Corr. Me and your mother taking you out for lunch with your missus and you’re on the ice creams already! What are ya like ehh, son?”

“You know what they say, Dad. Like father, like son!” Ted shot back.

“You calling your old man fat?” Robert scoffed incredulously.

“I’m not callin’ you skinny!” Ted joked.

“Bloody cheek! ‘Ere Andromeda he’s only showing off cause you’re here. Bet your parents don’t let you talk back to them like that, ehh?” Robert said, sneering at his son.

“Well… err no. Not quite,” she replied.

Ted and his father seemed to be exchanging in good natured banter, not uncommon to see between fellow pureblood students, but the idea of a parent and son or daughter talking to each other like that was a very alien concept to her. The Black family were all about respect, well, when Bellatrix wasn’t involved she supposed.

“Do you like seafood, Andromeda?” Agata asked her.

“Yes, I do quite like fish I suppose,” Andromeda replied politely.

“Well that is perfect. We take you to best seafood restaurant in all of Southend,” Ted’s mother said proudly, as they finally reached the end of the high-street and caught a glimpse of the sea-front. The tide was in and the crisp, blue waves were shining in the distance.

[script-a-world]

I really want to create new foods and recipes for one of my worlds, but I have no idea how I would go about doing research for something like that. Do you guys have any resources or advice that might help? To be more specific for this world, most ingredients are incredibly low quality (but they are in abundance) and any imported ingredients are only used for the rich. I was thinking their food would use a lot of seasoning to mask the quality, but I'm not too sure. Thank you!

Feral: We could actually do with a few more specifics to answer this question as fully as you would probably like, but I’ll do the best I can.

First, I’m not sure whether you want to create recipes using real world ingredients that would in fact be cookable to release on your blog as some kind of companion for your audience or you want to conceptualize some recipes to be able to describe taste, texture, etc. If it’s the first option, creating recipes from scratch is pretty difficult. You might want to consider taking some cooking classes to learn techniques, reading cook books for a lesson in combining ingredients, and doing a lot test cooking to nail down the flavor profiles. If you don’t want to go completely chef-y, you could also take recipes and then tweak them by substituting an ingredient or using a slightly different technique (baking instead of broiling, etc). This would also be helpful in the second case. If by "low quality" you mean "low cost," try looking at food preparation that developed in poorer, underprivileged, or minority communities, like American immigrant cuisine and soul food (the original styles, not the bougie, hipster, “elevated” styles).

For example, understanding how immigrant cuisine differs from motherland cuisine can be particularly helpful in determining how your world’s “rich” food can be adapted into “poor” food. In America we often think of corned beef and cabbage as being a traditional Irish food, but in reality, no one in Ireland really eats corned beef and cabbage - it’s a traditional Irish-American food because poor Irish immigrants could not afford the lamb they would have eaten at home (which was more readily available in say rural Ireland than in New York City and therefore at an affordable cost), and they often could not source any bacon or cured pork products because the butchers who would sell to them were often the Jewish immigrant butchers. So, the cheapest cut of cured meat they could get was corned beef and replaced the traditional proteins they would have used at home.

Second, I’m working off the assumption that your world has the same ingredients as we do, but it’s unclear. When you mention creating new foods, that could mean food preparation or it could mean edible plants and animals. If it’s the latter, then the easiest way to do it would be crossing real world things.

So, for example, everyone’s favorite vegetable on your world may be a cross between a cucumber and a lemon (the flesh is cucumber like but grows in segments in a thick skin that wouldn’t be eaten straight but could be zested, and the flavor is like a very watered down citrus). This also gives you the ability to create recipes by using the two ingredients you crossed.

Also, I’m assuming that you’re using actual food rather than powders and extracts (very common in scifi settings where "real" food is incredibly scarce), which I don’t have too many ideas on how to create recipes that way. Firefly has a pretty good method of just obliquely referring to “protein powders in every color” and showing cans of things but only really showing food prepared and being consumed when it is in fact real food provided to the crew as payment.

Finally, seasoning is a good way to hide low quality ingredients, whether it’s a cheap cut of meat or slightly wilted vegetables. Especially sauces. Especially, especially cream sauces (providing that milk of some kind is one of the ingredients generally available). Sauces make spices go further. Also, keep in mind preservation techniques (salting, smoking, drying, pickling); in the real world what has often made something the “cheap” version is that it is preserved and not fresh (with the common exception of salted foods when salt is an expensive import). But those preservation techniques also infuse additional flavors into the food.

And speaking of the real world - have you ever heard that England conquered most of it in search of spices and then decided it wasn’t going to use any of them? Spices were the purview of the very very wealthy for a very long time. The common folk did not have much access to anything they couldn’t grow in their own backyard. So, the working class dishes we commonly associate with England are not particularly spicy. As you’re deciding how the poor disguise the low quality of their food, whether it's less costly trying to appear more costly or slightly less fresh than one would prefer to eat or whatever, keep in mind what they are able to grow in the soil and climate they have (spices are typically tropical while herbs are more often temperate).

A helpful guide in food experimenting:

Cook Smart: How to Maximize Flavor Series

Part 6: Guide to Adding Flavor with Aromatics

Brainstormed: Low quality how? Like, the bakers put sawdust put in bread to save flour low quality? Our teeth are worn down by forty years old because we live in a desert and the sand gets into our food no matter what we do and grinds our molars to nubs? We only get the worst cuts of meat because it’s all we can afford or the best stuff has to be sacrificed or tithed? Salt is expensive because we don’t live near the sea or any salt deposits so trading for it is pricey? There’s been plenty of cheats, circumstances, and shortcuts throughout history that may decrease what we would call the quality of food, and all of those examples really did happen.

Your idea of quality may be a hoity-toity five star restaurant, or an enormous home-cooked fresh meal, or the tastiest dish with all the seasonings on it. Instead of describing the food as low quality, think about what your people would consider high quality. What do they love? What flavors are common, and what’s rarer and therefore richer? How available is plant-based food, meaning are there herbs and fruit trees in everyone’s garden or is agriculture and import the only way of obtaining them? How available is animal-based food, meaning do these people live as herdsfolk and eat a whole sheep every week including the organs or do fishing boats bring in dozens of kinds of seafood or is the entire population practically vegetarian until traders arrive with preserved meats?

Think about where your people are situated geographically to figure out the resources available to them, and their neighboring countries for trade. Also think about how developed your people are. This website is a timeline of food throughout history, and may help you pin down some barebones basics.

Tex: Both Feral and Brainstormed offer excellent advice, and I’ll be reiterating most of that in my own opinion.

Cooking techniques are cumulative skills that reflect a culture’s technological progression. We started with a plain old fire, so cooking food with that meant techniques like spitroasting - with the invention of pottery, we could put things in containers over, on, and even under said fire, which would bring us “new” techniques like broiling, boiling (comestibles in a liquid), roasting, sautéing, searing, and blanching (comestibles scalded in boiling water and then removed into an ice/cold water bath).

These cumulative skills are also exponential, in that most of these adapted techniques can be combined with other skills. Take, for example, a stew. The base ingredients - meats, vegetables, grains - can be cooked with direct heat (e.g. grilling over a fire), then added to a cooking container (e.g. pots of different compositions) with a fat (e.g. oil, butter) to further cook the ingredients until it’s a desired texture (e.g. “spoon tender”).

This would be a “complete” meal by itself, of course - but it’s a cook’s decision to continue on to a stew because… well, because they think it tastes good, and there could be social/cultural reasons to continue expending effort into their food. Adding a liquid - it could be water/milk, but also a composite liquid (more cooking!) such as a broth - and simmering (low indirect heat over an extended period of time) would turn this dish into a stew.

Stews (and soups, the less dense predecessor) are popular in a great deal of cultures for a variety of reasons. For one, it’s relatively easy to make - Medieval European pottage could be tended over a fire throughout the day, portions taken and the dish stretched with minimal fuss. For two, such dishes are filling, with minimal concentration on the type or number of ingredients - the basic recipe is usually water + grain(s) + vegetable(s), and can be dressed up with whatever extra ingredients are on hand. Vegetables are resource-cheap foods, as they can be grown in family/shared gardens, and grains provide the lion’s share of carbohydrates (glucose, necessary for cell function; see: cellular respiration) as well as other things like protein and fats that vegetables are usually unable to provide in significant quantities.

Soup is, in itself, preceded by gruel. Originally, soup was nothing more than something to dip your bread (or other grain-based, dry food) into, and expanded into more than just a glorified sauce. Gruels are liquid + grain, and even simpler than soups or stews. They’re very easy to make, and often invented when a culture experiences their transition to a sedentary society (marked by the shift from hunting/gathering to agriculture). Breads of some sort usually accompany this because someone will figure out indirect heating (our first baking!).

Bread-beers (Ancient History), as a side note, frequently accompany breads and gruels in terms of cooking technique epochs. The Ancient Egyptians had one, Eastern Europe another (Kvass). This is a cousin, sort of, to gruels and breads in terms of technique, and utilizes the introduction of fermentation (another skill! Possibly discovered by accident via “oh this spoiled food didn’t kill me, neat”) from ingredients such as yeast. Alcohol that doesn’t start from a solid base such as bread is the refined version of this technique.

So far, everything I’ve mentioned is made from staple foods. It is the application of technique that creates such a wide variety. There is some degree of social hierarchy when it comes to what techniques are picked by a cook, if only because some of the more refined (a term I use as a concentration of technique, not an indication of quality) ones are costly in terms of time and sometimes also available tools (e.g. it’s simpler to make a bread-beer than vodka, especially if you don’t have a distillation set-up).

Seasoning is… a thorny topic. Most ingredients that get called “seasoning” - especially in the modern, North American sense - are just plants used in lower ratios than others in a dish. Take basil, for example. When it’s used in low proportions, it’s a seasoning (e.g. tomato sauce with basil). When used in high proportions, it’s an ingredient (e.g. pesto).

Now, there’s significant overlap in which plants are called “seasonings” and which are called “herbs”. This would be because plants designated as herbs are frequently prized in cookery as adding aromatic or savoury elements to a dish - too much can be overpowering (e.g. rosemary in small amounts can be delicious, but in large amounts can be too bitter to enjoy), so they’re often relegated as a component towards flavour profiles. Their physical quantity available to a culture does not necessarily designate “high” or “low” quality, merely the ratio that is culturally-accepted in recipes. (E.g. Italy uses basil in many dishes, but does that make either the dishes or the basil low quality? No.)

Herbs, as another side note, are frequently also used in medicine - hence herbal medicine. The medicinal plants wiki is less biased than the herbal medicine one, and offers some greater anthropological context.

Quality in terms of food is… usually more the ratio of preferred to not preferred qualities. In meat, this would mean things like fat, tendons, and gristle. Food, or rather ingredient, quality is a benchmark of how much time needs to be invested in preparing a dish. It takes significantly less time to cook bread when the grains are already hulled (and oftentimes polished), than if you had to go out to the field and do it yourself. Higher quality = higher convenience.

(Despite what Apicius might claim, spoiled food is not actually edible, and is different than purposefully fermented or cultured foods.)

Higher-quality ingredients means time saved, and that time could be allocated toward more complex cooking techniques. This isn’t always true in practice, since something like a cut of meat is better for one type of dish as opposed to another for practicality’s sake (i.e. if you’ve trimmed your meat so much it’s cubed, you’re not going to get a steak out of it). There’s some debate as to the idea of ingredient quantity vs technique complexity, where touted “high quality” foods (e.g. Sachertorte) use few ingredients, and “low quality” foods have many ingredients - usually seasonings, to mask the subpar flavour of something like a cut of meat.

Like Feral said, sauces are a great carrier for flavour, as well as helping to stretch the usable lifespan of an ingredient. A cut of meat ordinarily good for a steak that’s close to expiration might not be a good steak, but it could make for a decent stew or sausage, both of which could have sauces added to them to increase the complexity of the flavour profile. The food timeline which Brainstormed mentioned also has a timeline on sauces, which I think might interest you.

You mention “all the imported food is for the rich”, and I’m curious about that. Feral gave the example of the British upper-class restricting usage of some spices to the wealthier - and thus upper - classes of their society; is that what you’re referencing? What spices are you using as a base for your world, can they be domesticated? (For that matter, do greenhouses and the accompanying opportunistic entrepreneurs also exist? Or just a general opportunistic individual.)

The economic context of spices can’t be readily dismissed - there’s a weighing of amount of resources against amount of diplomatic tensions, so even if there’s an abundant amount of a given product, the providing nation could well make a money-based rude gesture in the direction of their client and increase the prices to artificially restrict supply. (Take tea, for example. Many, many economic wars have been fought over that [Abstract].)

The fluctuations of class-availability can include a factor of a nation’s influence on the global stage, and they could demand a good at a lower price and in large enough quantities to satisfy - at least temporarily - multiple social classes. This often comes at the cost of quality (here, in terms of purity of ingredients) - you can see this with tea, black pepper, olive oil, and many other class-oriented comestible goods (1, 2, 3, 4, 5). I will stress that quality grades aren’t precisely the same for single-source foods and multi-source foods (e.g. sirloin steak vs curry powder), because a drop in single-source quality is more noticeable than multi-source quality due to fewer things to hide an ingredient’s quality behind.

Foods can still be heavily seasoned on both ends of the class spectrum, but there would be differences in local vs foreign (domesticated vs imported), and whether it’s a specialty dish (e.g. foods made for holidays, see: stollen) because infrequently-made dishes on a cultural basis are more likely to have fewer differences in ingredient quality and technique complexity.

There are also some dishes that have artificial class restrictions, because the upper classes have a habit of refusing to eat dishes from the lower classes as a means of social division. This is especially apparent in something like bread (1, 2), but fluctuations of technique complexity and ingredient quality availability can mean that the classifications of bread types can shift (1).

Further Reading

(PDF) Evolution – Culinary Culture – Cooking Technology by Thomas A. Vilgis

History of Cooking by All That Cooking

Feral (again): Modern History has a four part series on food in Medieval England broken down by social class with commentary on how it compares to food today, which may elucidate some of what we’ve been talking about in regards to the culturally variable meaning of “quality” in food.

[cobaltcaster]

Creating a Magickal Atmosphere

Within this post is a comprehensive check list of creating the right atmosphere

[[ Click Here for Part 1. Preparing for Your Spell ]]

Here are the individual links if you’d like to take it step by step. 

Magickal Enchantments [[ Food, Clothing, Music ]]

Magickal Tools [[ Candles ]]

Incense and Fragrances

Crystals and Gemstones

Element Water

Additional Magickal Tools

Personal Altars

If you’re ready for a medium read then let us begin!

⚪9⚪

Magickal Enchantments

Food and Beverage

Three simple words: Keep it light! A spell on a full stomach is not recommended. A heavy meal can leave you sleepy or uncomfortable. Avoid meat the day of your spell, if you can. Stick with fruits and vegetables as much as possible. Fish ----- baked, but not fried or in a heavy sauce----- is a good option. Wait at least two hours after eating to begin your spell.

Try to avoid caffeinated or carbonated beverages; distilled water is an excellent choice because the impurities have been removed. A cup of caffeine-free herbal tea is soothing and relaxing. Try a blend of chamomile and passionflower. Although some of the spells include type of wine or fruit juice during the actual spell, do not take it to extremes.

Clothing As with food and drink, here, too, three simple words apply: natural, loose, and clean. One hundred percent cotton is a wise choice. A loose white gauze garment is nonrestricting and gives you a sense of cleanliness and purity. Some individuals enjoy taking the time to find certain color garments for special spells. The same colors listed in the candle color chart ( click here ) can be use for clothing as well.

If you do not have a cotton garment, choose something as close as possible, like a cotton blend. Comfort is important; Tight jeans and belts do not allow your body to relax. However, wear jeans if they are the most comfortable thing you own ----- and most jeans are 100 percent cotton. If you are in a private place, you may decide to just wear a robe, towel, or oversized t-shirt. You may even opt for nudity. The choice is yours.

Before you get dressed, make every ever to take a bath or shower. Start fresh and clean. Think as you are showering or bathing that you are washing any negative energy off your body. A bath is an excellent idea, especially if you use music and candlelight.

If you're doing a group spell, bathe or shower before leaving the house or before the group arrives. If you can't shower, at least wash your hands and face. If you can wash your feet, that's even better. If water is not available, shake your hands and visualized negativity being removed.

Music

Music has the ability to create a sense of peace ----- providing it's the right music.

By virtue of the fact you are reading this book, I feel safe in saying you most likely are a seeker of peace and well-being. And all likelihood, you already have in your possession music that soothes you. Slow classical music or New Age music seems to be the most popular. Drumming and chanting recordings are also something to consider. Nature tapes offering gentle background music can be found in most department or music stores.

After purchasing any new tape or CD, listen to the entire recording befor e using it for spell work. The first two selections may be ideal, but if song number three goes up thirty decibels and a wolf starts howling, it could send you crashing down from your altered state.

If you have the time, visit your local music or New Age store. Most provide headsets and demonstration tapes that give you the opportunity to listen before you buy. The recording you choose should be long enough to last your entire spell.

Music that suddenly stops in the middle of a ceremony will also break the mood. If you have no choice and you must turn a tape over, at the very least have your sound system close to you so you do not have to leave your spell area. Music is the sound of the soul: If you can include it in your rituals, all the better.

⚪10⚪

Magickal Tools

Any tangible item used for ritual can be considered a magickal tool as long as it means something special to you. The creative part of our brain works in symbols, so it makes sense to use symbols as a way to conduct creative magick. You probably already have magickal tools and may not even recognize them. It may be your favorite picture that makes you "feel good" upon merely looking at it, that special coin that a relative gave you when you were a child, or a favorite pen you've had for years.

Candles

Candles bring light into our lives ----- both literally and symbolically. They chase away the darkness and allowed new projects, thoughts, and relationships to emerge. Lighting candles before a spell can create very powerful energy.

Candles also represent the three levels in which we exist. The wax corresponds to our physical body, the wick to our mind, and the flame to our soul or spirit.

Candles come in a myriad of colors, shapes, and sizes. Some are scented, some unscented. For our purposes, shape and scent ( or lack thereof ) are unimportant. Do give some consideration to the size of your candle. If you deem your spell will take an hour, don't light a candle that burns for only thirty minutes.

Color is a significant part of what candle burning is all about. Different colors represent different vibrations. As the candle burns, the vibration of that color is red. Refer to the color chart to clarify which color best suits your needs. You may use just one candle or a combination.

If you don't have any idea color available, use white. When burning a white candle, pay attention to the smoke. When it starts to smoke, negative energy is being cleansed from that area. When the smoke subsides, the energy in that area is cleanse and clear.

Take caution in purchasing a white candle that is too inexpensive. Inexpensive white candles smoke too readily and can confuse you. However, I would also not advise going to the extreme and looking for top-of-the-line candles. Use common sense and buy moderately. When working with candles, always use caution and do not leave them unattended.

Candle Color Interpretation

WHITE Purity, power, newness, spells, healing, peace, and psychic skills. White will intensify the effect of any color candle it is used with.  

BLACK Removal of negative energy; not a color of evil or negativity. Release and banish.

BLUE Peace, tranquility, protection, fidelity, astral projection.

BROWN Protection for the household; telepathy, stability.

SILVER Neutralizer of negative energy or forces.

GREEN Prosperity, money, success; counteracts jealousy, ambition.

ORANGE Provides additional energy needed for work or other endeavors; promotes order, control over the self.

PINK Love, friendship, romance, affection, giving.

PURPLE Intuition, psychic pursuits, power and independence, wisdom.

RED Fertility, physical strength, sexual passion, courage.

YELLOW Well-being, self-esteem, attraction, glamour, action.  

As mentioned earlier, this chart can be used as a guide for making clothing color choices.

In my experience, people have either love incense or they have an aversion to it.

⚪11⚪

Incense and Fragrance

Incense also comes in different sizes, shapes, and forms. Some types of incense are already labeled with names reflecting the effects they hope to achieve: There is stress-relieving incense, energy incense, love incense, and so on.

Some people prefer to burn potpourri or oils. One of the purposes of incense in these particular rituals is to bring you into an altered state of consciousness in the most peaceful way possible. If the smell of sage or sandalwood calms you, use it. But if your sinuses say no, give them respect.

Don't get caught up in what others have decided is the best aroma for you. For example, studies have shown citrus fragrances promote energy, and the smell of lilac can calm us. But don't force yourself to inhale a scent if you don't care for simply because the label states "incense for romance." Always buy what you enjoy.

Experimenting with new aromas is also fun. Most incense is inexpensive and sometimes sold by the stick. One thing to be careful of: If you are going to do a spell inside or in a small area, try your new purchase out prior to its actual use. Otherwise, you may be subject to a disagreeable smell for hours, if not days. Incense can take a while to dissipate and may linger in the air for a long period of time.

Here are some recommended sense and herbs you may want to try that correspond to a certain magickal work. Remember: These are only suggestions and not a must.

👤 Health Bay, Carnation, Cedar, Eucalyptus, Juniper, Lavender, Lemon Balm, Myrrh, Pine, Sage, Sandalwood, Thyme 💞 Love Apple, Musk, Rose, Ambergris, Basil, Cinnamon, Chamomile, Dragon's Blood, Jasmine, Lemongrass, Patchouli, Peppermint 📠 Career \ Job Vanilla, Allspice, Cloves, Nutmeg, Pine, Wisteria, Heliotrope, Spruce, Sage, Mint, Honeysuckle, Cedar, Bayberry 🌹 Women's Issues Musk, Orange, Hyacinth, Myrrh, Pine, Rose 🐯 Men's Issues Musk, Cedar, Jasmine 🌅 Spirituality Frankincense, Heliotrope, Jasmine, Sweetgrass, Gardenia, Pine, Sage, Violet, Sandalwood, Rose

⚪12⚪

Crystals and Gemstones

Crystals bring life to our quartz watches. They receive and transmit radio waves. Without quartz crystals, the computer age would never have happened: They are what make up integrated circuits and electronic chips.

The power of crystals go far beyond the products we have derived from them. They are important tools in magick, having the ability to focus and direct energy to a specific intention. Some say they have healing powers, mentally, physically, and spiritually.

Many other stones also have special energy that can assist in your spells. For a quick reference, I’ve listed a few below. But this is a huge area of exploration. If you want to know more, your local bookstore or library will certainly contain numerous books on the subject.

Gem Stone Qualities

A special note about quartz crystals: These stones are available in nature stores, gem shops, and most New Age gift stores in rough or polished form. You need not spend more than a few dollars on your crystals. Start with something small, and go to a larger size if you feel it's necessary. If you are unsure of which is the best stone to intensify your spells, use a clear quartz crystal. Clear quartz crystal stimulates healing, balances the elements to fulfill us and make us whole. Aids psychic development. Amethyst a very powerful spell stone. Psychics and healers have used its curative properties for years. Helpful in dispelling anger and anxiety, aids in feeling less scattered. Carnelian often called the stone of good luck. Said to purify the blood, stimulate sexual emotions, and aid in sexual function. Lapis lazuli draws love to us. It is also reputed to be effective in healing headaches, high blood pressure, depression, insomnia, and other such ailments. Malachite increases energy, is connected to change and creativeness. The Egyptians wore crushed malachite as eye shadow to guard against the evil eye. Moonstone is said to be a stone of magic. It increases psychic abilities and is used widely for spell rituals. Astral projection is accelerated when using a moonstone. Rose quartz also known as the love stone. A stone and that deals with the energy of all the emotions. Turquoise builds strength, provides protection. It is a sacred stone to the Native Americans. It is a protective stone for horses and their riders. In Arabia it is a stone of meditation. It has equality of absorbing negative energy. When purchasing, carefully touch the crystals at the store. A stone chooses you, you don't choose it. It would just “feel good” to you, having something the others don't possess. Use your gut feeling ----- which is your intuition talking to you.

Charging Your Crystal

Once you find your crystal, it needs to be "cleared, charged, and programmed." Cleanse it of a past owner’s energy and \ or the energy that has been placed on it by individuals examining it by washing it in cold water or letting it sit in a bowl of water.

Next, use the Moon to charge the crystal. Place it overnight in view of one of the phases listed below:

New Moon a crystal charged in this phase specifically offers energy that supports new beginnings, confidence, hope, and specifically anything of increase. Full Moon a crystal charged in this phase brings power to support anything you want to achieve. This is actually the best all-around phase to utilize.

Once you have cleared and charged your crystal the last step is to program it. Hold it in your hand, and focus on the vibrational energy you are looking for to accomplish your goal. Visualize your final goal, but not the way you think you're going to get there.

For example: if you want to lose twenty pounds, see yourself on the scale twenty pounds thinner. Don't try to analyze the way it will come about. This is best left to your higher power to solve.

If you choose, you can program any of your other gemstones as well.

⚪13⚪

Element Water

Throughout the spells you will see the use of what I refer to as element water. Element water is basically water that has been charged to help you do magick during a thunderstorm.

It represents fire, earth, air, and water, a forceful mix of elements at their highest potency. Lightning represents fire, which corresponds to power, energy, magick, and lust. Thunder represents air, which corresponds to spirituality, health, and knowledge. The strength of the storm represents earth, which corresponds to nature, being grounded, wisdom, and all things material. The rain itself represents water, which corresponds to emotions, reflection, love, creativity, and purification.

How to Make Element Water

Basically you are collecting rainwater with intention. First you will need a container to collect the water. I have used glass, plastic, clay pottery, and almost any type of container one can use, and I have seen no difference. You may feel a natural material is better or something you feel special has more impact. If these are your thoughts, then seek a special container. I personally use two or three chalices.

The important thing is that the container is new or extremely cleaned, having been sterilized in a dishwasher or by boiling if is made of glass. If the container is new, still clean it to remove energies from other people who may have handled it. Because thunderstorms are not all that common, I recommend obtaining as much water as possible so you will always have some on hand.

If you know that a storm is approaching, take your container and place it in a spot where it will collect water. Some people always leave a container outside just in case, and others only place one out when they are almost certain storm is near.

After the storm and your water has been collected, you should invoke a "hand blessing." Place both hands above the container with your palms facing down and say, "Bless this water. May it empower my intentions."

Now, transfer your element water into a practical container for later use if you are not going to use it immediately. A glass or plastic jug or bottle with a lid is a good choice.

The water is not limited to use only during rituals. It can also be used to bless something. Feel free to separate your water into smaller bottles for traveling or even to give a small bottle to a friend. It is a perfect gift for someone who is like-minded because it comes from nature and you have put your personal energy into it with good thoughts and well-wishes.

Around the holidays, I take element water and put it in tiny plastic containers with little labels that read, “Element Water.” I then tie ribbons around the necks of the containers and give them to special friends in case they want to bless something. I use element water to bless my car, computer, office, home, and the cat next door!

Special Notes

Element water will only be powerful when rain, lightning, and thunder are all present. An average rain will not do.

Do not use water that flows from a gutter! It may seem to be a very easy solution, especially if you want a large amount quickly. However, the fact is the rainwater being channeled through the gutter is not as pure as water coming directly from the sky because it has picked up debris.

Do not be concerned about pollution in the air when gathering water. Your blessing over the water purifies it.

Do not drink the water, as it is not meant for your inner body.

If you are not in an area where you are able to collect water, ask a friend to do it for you. However, you must conduct the “hand blessing” once it is in your possession.

Be cautious in thunderstorms and do not go out when lightning is about. For safety reasons, wait till the storm is over to bring your collected water inside.

⚪14⚪

Additional Magickal Tools

Other magickal tools mentioned in spells will include the following. Feel free to substitute what is available or what works for you.

Wand or knife: Sword, athame, letter opener, or any type of wand or long crystal. Any pointed object that extends as a pointer will work. One can purchase decorative wands displaying gemstones and crystals in New Age gift stores, fantasy stores, or through Internet Web sites. A double-edged knife is also available through the same sources. Fire burning container: Iron pot, mini-chiminera ( small Mexican fireplace ), ashtray, metal trash can, cauldron. Anything that can contain a piece of paper being burned within a safe vessel. Special drinking glass: Any container that can hold wine or grape juice: wine glass, cup, bowl, chalice, or favorite goblet. Optional tools:

Flowers and fruit

Religious statues or holy cards

Tarot cards or Runes ( or other methods for telling future events; psychic forms divination )

Pendulum ( Click here for information on making decisions using a pendulum )

Pentacle or pentagram symbol ( The pentacle is a five pointed star with lines connecting with a circle encompassing it. A pentagram is the same five point star but has no circle. This symbol represents the elements earth, air, fire, water, and what is sometimes known as the fifth element, spirit. A pentacle or pentagram can also represent the human body with legs and arms outstretched. This symbol is often used in rituals as a form of protection while the ritual is underway. The star should always be in an upright position. The reverse is considered to be negative.)

[[ Image Source ]]

Cross ----- any kind ( The universal symbol of a cross represents the bringing together of multiple dualities into a single whole. It can represent human form with extended arms, as well as crossroads in your life. Crosses have numerous religious and spiritual meanings.)

Bells ( A bell can be rung to invoke universal powers and note the beginning of a ritual. Some people use bells as a form of protection to keep evil away. )

Who knows what contains magic and love for each individual? But I do know if you have such items, you should hold them dear and use them to assist you.

⚪15⚪

Personal Altars

To have a personal altar is by no means a requirements for doing spell work, but it is an excellent place in which to keep your magical tools and to worship whomever you choose. Use it not only as a storage for these special items but also has a place to pray, meditate, and to receive answers from your higher self.

An altar can be any area that is flat. It can be a separate small table or any action on your dresser. The top of a large sound speaker could be used; a bookshelf or two cement block with a piece of wood laid across them would do. Once again, you get to be creative.

You may not want to have a permanent altar but prefer to set up a temporary one just for your spell use. Your altar can typically would display items such as candles, incense, wands, knives, gemstones, statues, chalices, element or holy water, and anything else you would use as a special component that had spiritual and enchanting properties. I do not feel there is any special way to set up an altar. Moving things around until it looks and feels right to you.

An outside altar is also a lovely thing to create if possible. It can be built near a favorite tree using stones and bricks. You may construct a special table outside made of wood. To make it easier, use a tree stump or a rock that is fairly level.

When fashioning an altar, try to stay away from the use of too much metal. Natural materials are always the best. However, if your only choice is an altar containing a lot of metal, tried to cover it. Use a natural fabric or put a piece of wood over it. Try to keep things natural.

As for the direction to face your altar, there are many schools of thought. Some suggest facing north because it is the most grounded direction. Others will recommend facing the altar east because it is the direction the Sun and Moon rise. Each direction has a special meaning and place. Therefore, I feel you should put it anywhere in which it is practical.

I have seen rolling altars, where people have made altars on the top of units that have wheels so they can roll through a room to face the direction they feel it needs to face for a particular spell or meditation. A rolling altar can also be kept out of the way in a closet if you are pressed for space.

Altars are extremely personal, as well as very interesting, and there is no right or wrong way in which to set up this area of sacred items.

[jade4813]

Temptation, Chapter 1

Title: Temptation

Rating: NC-17

Synopsis: Iris West is a famous supermodel who has been getting a string of death threats. Barry Allen is the bodyguard hired to protect her. A Westallen AU. Gift for @andie1223​ in appreciation of her grand prize-winning contribution to the 2019 Westallen Sock Drive!

Chapters: 1/?

Barry glanced at the clock as he followed the receptionist through the door. His first impression of the office was sleek lines and modern furniture, but small personal touches still made it seem warm and inviting. In silence, he assessed its occupant. She stood and scooted around the desk to offer him a hand, her eyes flicking towards the clock even as she greeted him. Then, after sparing few seconds on perfunctory small talk, she invited him to take a seat as she resumed her position behind her desk. When she folded her hands on its surface, she met his eyes and he had no doubt that he had her full attention.

Prior to the meeting, Barry had done his research on Linda Park. Fresh out of college, she’d become an unpaid intern at a talent management company, working with aspiring models and B-list actresses. From that inauspicious beginning, she had built something of an empire; the staff she employed at the agency that bore her name managed everyone from models to movie stars to even the occasional popular podcaster. In the meantime, she’d established a reputation for being something of a workaholic, with an almost superhuman ability to spot potential in unlikely places. She was also said to be smart, focused, tenacious, with a sense of humor that veered on the sardonic. More than one person described her as having a strategic mind that could put a general to shame.

In the first thirty seconds of meeting her, he had absolutely no doubt everything that was said about her was true. Which meant there was no way to beat around the bush. “So. How can I help you, Miss Park?”

She smiled in appreciation at his forthright question, but her face grew serious as she explained, “I have a client who’s in need of your services. I’d rather not divulge her identity until you’ve agreed to take her case,” she paused long enough for him to give a quick nod of understanding, then continued, “but I think she’s in danger. There have been…letters.”

“Threatening?”

She gave a firm nod. “And escalating.”

“Are the police involved?”

“They are, but in the meantime, I want my client to be safe.”

“Of course,” he acknowledged. “Well, I’d be happy to do an assessment. I have several people who are perfect for this kind of job –”

She shook her head, cutting him off. “Ah, no. That won’t work, I’m afraid. I specifically want you and only you.”

Barry lifted his eyebrows at her in mild surprise. “My staff are all well-qualified, I assure you.”

“Oh, I’m sure,” she agreed readily, with a quick wave of her hand. “But I’m afraid I’m quite insistent on this point. You were specifically recommended to me. I looked into you, and...well, to be frank, I trust you. Of course, I’m sure the rest of your staff are equally as discreet, but –” She broke off, and for the first time, he saw a flash of indecision on her face. Her mask of detached efficiency slipped, and he saw real fear in her eyes. “This person…my client…she’s not just a client. She’s a friend. And between you and me, I’m…well, I’m scared for her.”

He didn’t reply right away, taking a moment to consider her words. As it happened, he had just finished a job so he was available to take on a client, but he was always careful not to rush into a situation before knowing the lay of the land. “When you say you specifically want me and only me, I take it you expect this to be a one-person job.”

“That would be ideal,” she agreed. “We don’t want this to get out to the press, and the more people get involved, the more attention it will draw.”

“I understand. But I have a firm policy. I don’t agree to take on a client if I don’t think that I’m the best qualified to keep them safe. It isn’t fair to them. I will do everything within reason to respect your wishes. That said, if I review the situation and determine that additional protection is necessary, I will call in more members of my team.” When she hesitated, he parroted her words with a slight smile. “I’m afraid I’m quite insistent on that point.”

After another few seconds of thought, she gave a quick jerk of the head in assent. “So, do we have an agreement?”

It was his time to pause in thought. There were still so many questions about the nature of the threat, but Linda was playing things close to the vest. It was unlikely she’d give him more details until she had retained his services. “We do,” he finally agreed. Linda visibly relaxed, leaning back in her chair. “Well, I’ll need to see the letters, of course,” he began.

She was way ahead of him, reaching into her desk drawer to pull out a large manila envelope. At a glance, Barry could see it contained enough letters to cause concern. Though he was tempted to chastise Linda for waiting so long to bring in a professional, he bit back the words and focused on the problem at hand, continuing, “And I’ll need to meet with her, get some more information. Discuss current security arrangements…”

She grimaced, straightening. “Ah. Right. About that.” She threw him a sheepish smile. “That’s going to be a little…complicated.”

“Complicated?”

“The thing is, yours isn’t the first personal security firm I’ve retained for this matter. My client is – well, I suppose you could say she’s reluctant to cooperate.”

He frowned. “By reluctant, you mean –”

“She’s fired the rest of them, actually. Well, I guess to be more accurate, I should say she fired the first four and, when I put my foot down and said I would be responsible for the hiring and firing from then on, made it hard enough for the others to do their jobs that they quit in frustration.”

Barry’s alarm grew. “You mean to tell me that she’s been receiving threats against her life and she’s not taking them seriously?”

He could see Linda’s concern as she shook her head. “No. Well, not entirely, I guess. She has been cooperating with the police. She also upgraded the security system at her house, and she’s been doing everything possible to mix up her routine a little more. Not taking the same routes to get around at the same times of day as usual; that sort of thing. But she doesn’t really want a bodyguard, you understand. She’s been really insistent on that point, actually. I normally try to respect my clients’ wishes whenever possible, you understand, but when you look at those letters…well, she may think her increased security is enough, but I’m not willing to take that chance.

“So if you’re still sure you’re willing to take this case, then your first job is going to be convincing her to cooperate.” As though afraid he would balk at this new challenge, she leaned forward and threw him a desperate look. “I hope this doesn’t change your mind about agreeing to help, Mr. Allen. I know she’s being stubborn, but she really does need your help. If you can’t get her to agree to accept your protection…” Her voice trailed off, as though the alternative was too terrible to contemplate.

“I was referred to you because I was told you’re very good with…difficult clients. She’s not difficult in the usual sense – she’s wonderful, really. I swear. But she can be stubborn, and she certainly is more than proving that now. I came to you, Mr. Allen, because I’m hoping you can get through to her. I’m hoping you can save her life.”

Barry looked down at the folder in his hands and pulled out some of the contents, wanting to get a sense of the seriousness of the threat. A series of photos lay at the top of the stack. They were of a woman, her face partly obscured by large sunglasses as she attended to some errands. There were six in total, but it wasn’t the number that caused him the most concern. In each of the photos, the woman was wearing the same clothes, so they were likely taken on the same day. But each were taken at close range – almost intimately close. While such photographs could easily be taken at a distance with a high-quality camera, Barry had been in the protection business long enough to know that someone with the level of obsession implied by the stack of documents in his hand had progressed beyond the stage of being willing to adore from afar. They’d have wanted to get close enough to touch. The photos were to make sure she knew that they had gotten that close without her even being aware of it – that they could get to her at any time they wanted. And there was nothing she could do about it.

The woman in the pictures was in very real, possibly very imminent, danger. Barry wasn’t sure he would be able to convince her to listen to him, but he had to try. Linda’s concerns weren’t exaggerated; her very life might depend on it.

“I’ll do what I can. You have my word. But I need to get started immediately. Where is she now?”

Barry walked through the front doors to the address Linda had given him. She had called ahead, so he was allowed through with little trouble. When he walked into the large photo studio, he saw it had been set as lavish living room. A woman was dressed in black lingerie and strappy high heels, a silk scarf draped between her fingers. He recognized her from the magazines and the threatening photos in the file. Supermodel Iris West. As Barry stepped closer to the photographer, she threw him an assessing look, her smile sultry.

“All right, you can take a break. I want to check a couple things,” the photographer called out, and Iris rose slowly to her feet.

To Barry’s surprise, she approached. “You’re an odd one, showing up in a suit. You must be new. Sent over by the agency?” she asked.

A little surprised Linda had told Iris he was coming, given what she’d said about her reluctance to work with a bodyguard, he nodded. “I am,” he answered, keeping his eyes locked on her face. He recognized her from her photos, of course, but she was even more beautiful in person. Dressed in nothing but lingerie, she was irresistible. Shoving his hands in the pockets of his suit jacket, he reminded himself to remain professional. “If you have a few moments, we should talk.”

“I have a better idea. Might as well cut to the chase.” She paused, flashing a smile. “At least you’re cute.”

“What do you –” he began, but before he could say anything else, she leapt into his arms. Acting on instinct, he wrapped his arms around her, bracing a palm against the small of her back as she wrapped her legs around his hips. Locking her ankles behind him, she grabbed his tie in her fist and pulled him in for a searing kiss.

[helencake35-blog]

how does anime work?

I think it is important and interesting to find out the fundamental aspects of the environment that we most have a passion for, and one of the most critical questions is: how is cartoons built? For me, specifically recently, this became a using up question and I ended right up doing some detailed analysis. For the sake involving other anime followers together with the same question, My partner and i thought about sharing my own benefits. So if you want the bullets in order to fire again the subsequent time you receive ensnared upward in a debate with regards to the merits of anime, or you want some sort of new way to watch cartoons, I hope this article is useful to you. In often the last year roughly, my personal growing interest in this kind of side of points seriously opened my eyes to the skill, art, passion, and splendor found within Japanese animation. This great article will focus on anime-TV manufacturing, but the same general process can be applied to videos in addition to OVUM. That claimed, there can be numerous variations between studios and even individual musicals or plays. The approach of doing an anime is difficult, with quite a few steps and development. This specific graphic from the AIC English website is the good image image involving what I will certainly focus on: The cartoons generation course of action. Preproduction: This process will depend on which promotes an concept in addition to who supports this, they can be animation companies, coupled with sponsors, although quite a few animes are manga arrangement or mild novels, throughout which case in advance writing costs (including costs). proven on television stations). This production corporation (eg Aniplex) gathers personnel, sponsors, and even looks at adverts together with merchandise. While numerous persons describe the galleries because cheap, only about half the budget is often this anime studio, the sleep is handed down by exhibits and other giving companies. Streaming costs are surprisingly high, according to this ghost blogger of roughly 50 million yen for an evening schedule in 5-7 discussions for a good 52-episode line. You can certainly see why anime is usually an expensive company. For instance, Whole Metal Alchemist, which will acquired a space in Saturday on 6: 00 p. n., had a good total budget of five hundred million yen (before more costs). When the core staff is arranged, these people meet and plan his or her anime, work on collection make up (how the cartoons will play in each tv show as well as throughout the series), and select bigger employees, such as character or maybe mecha designers.. One connected with the most crucial employees is the director. In order to fully grasp the role involving film fans, you can consider of them for the reason that film fans of a movie, yet instead of dealing together with the celebrities, they deal with the computer animators that make the characters inside the movie. Their participation is frequently attending conferences and producing decisions to manage the particular anime's schedule, budget, and even level of quality. After the 1st panoramic sessions, models will be created (character, mechón, fancy dress costumes, etc. ). Types will be obviously an important factor within developing a good cartoons. Character designers are requested with simplifying manga / example of this designs to turn out to be suitable for animation or maybe, in the case of the original anime, for you to create a fresh character placed based with director / manufacturer information. Character creative designers generally keep on to advise animation film fans on toon fixes, which must be made for you to stay near their character models (in which circumstance they are normally credited as animation movie director intended for the series). Once typically the tale and drawings can be attracted, the first episode is managed. production: The first step is in order to write down thier script for this episode. Following the synopsis and plans for your episodes, this entire sets can be prepared, both by a single person with regard to the entire series, or perhaps by means of several different writers based on the outlines of the script's normal examiner (staff credit: composition in the Serie). The examples are usually analyzed by means of this movie director, the suppliers, in addition to possibly because of the author of the original get the job done before it is completed (after 3 or maybe 4 drawings, often). The episode movie director, supervised by the CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, takes this backbone on the instance and has in order to plan exactly how it will really look on tv screen. Even though the home has the last word and participates in production gatherings, the particular episode director features the many involvement inside the development of often the tv show. This stage will be expressed as a storyboard (a visual scenario), plus the storyboard marks typically the beginning of actual animation manufacturing. https://www1.gogo-anime.ac/ to draw: Often the script is created by often the director, which means that an event is really that director's perception. But generally, especially around the television anime, separate storyboarders are used to be able to attract them. This can be because the pieces of software usually take around 3 2 or 3 weeks to make a normal duration television anime tv show. Art work meetings and creation appointments are held together with the instance director, collection director, yet others about this specific episode. The circumstances happen to be drawn on A-4 papers (in general) plus incorporate most of the vital obstructions of a anime: lower numbers, movie star activities, digital camera movements, such while zoom or even pan, normal gardening to organic (taken in the stage) together with the span of each one photography (or cut). ) throughout terms of seconds and even glasses (which we will explain later). Because this number of drawings readily available for an episode is frequently determined for the sake regarding budget management, the particular number of frames can be also carefully considered from the storyboard. The cases are usually more or less drawn and are seriously the key to deciding how an cartoons will play. The clippings send to the single picture through the camera, in addition to a good average television cartoons event will generally consist of all around 300 discounts. More cutbacks don't necessarily mean a better quality event, although will generally indicate considerably more work for the home / writer. Illustrations involving storyboards from To Aru Kagaku no Railgun. Anime stories have 5 copy. From left to best: the cut number, the style, the action, the discussion, and ultimately the runtime (in time and frames). Types are drawn nearly since they are managed by different designers in the future production step. factors: Not as much well known is the particular set up process, which grades quick imaginative production. Within simple terms, model enhancement refers to the location with the cylinders to turn out to be used in the slice and the background approach that is required, offering typically the ultimate model of what the final photos can look like. Discounts happen to be made exactly the same size while the computer animation paper and include cell phone location facts, accurate points of digital camera movement, and other options. In relationship with often the director and maybe the manufacturers, the lead animators draw models (or occasionally employees are credited especially with design drawings), and the photos are named where typically the figures / characters will certainly be positioned and the way a cut will stick to... to be framed. The basic structure of the qualifications art (for example, a new shrub here, a good mountain there) is drawn, plus the factors in this storyboard are indicated within the design to support express the cut. Sometimes various stages of often the script could be expressed inside a single drawing, providing it's not too complicated. The pv cells are shaded around hot colors, the backdrops can be dark in nice colors. Once approved by simply the director, these themes are copied and switched in to the record department (receiving originals) plus key animators. The art work director and assistants work towards painting the background works based on the model's rough images, whilst the rest of the production process remains at the same time. Right now the shape of every trim is decided: the roles of the characters, the setup, what they may do and how the photograph will be captured (camera angle, zoom and even panorama). Although one associated with the most expressive plus vital parts of the production continues to be: animation.

[skygirl5]

Idk if you do prompts or anything but I love your soulmates au and I was wondering if you be willing to write a little one shot on soulmates in which you can only have a child with your soulmate and either Kate or castle really wants one - don’t worry if you feel you don’t want to write anything, I just thought you write the soulmates au so wonderfully 😊

Well, Anon, I don’t normally take prompts, but i am a total sucker for soulmate AU’s. Enjoy!

“Ah, Rick!” Kate Beckett let out a groan as shockwaves ofpleasure coursed through her body. She dropped her head back further onto thepillow and shut her eyes as a perfectly sated smile crossed her face. God they were good at that.

Above her, her companion panted. She could feel his bodytrembling as he surrendered as well and lowered his weight gently—but notcrushingly—on top of her. Still partly balanced on his knees and forearms, hedropped his forehead so it rested on her chin. He remained there, breathingheavily for several more moments, before he kissed her throat and lifted hishead. “Shit…how does that keep getting better?”

Kate let out a deep chuckle and opened her eyes. Her smiledwidened in the reflection of her partner’s dopey grin. “No idea, but I’m notcomplaining.” After being platonic (well, platonic with deep-seated sexualtension) partners for two years, they began dating six months earlier. She hadexpected their intense passion to die down after a few weeks, maybe two months at most, as it had withother relationships, but theirs hadn’t dwindled an ounce—not that she wascomplaining. It was rather…phenomenal.

He hummed happily and arched forward to place two quickkisses on her lips.

Kate huffed out with slight disappointment when he shiftedhis hips backwards and broke their connection. “We need to not go so longwithout doing that again,” she said, referring to the prior eleven-and-a-halfdays during which he was on a mini press tour for his books. He hadn’t releaseda new one, but with the rising popularity of the Nikki Heat series, some of hisolder works were being republished with new cover art and he’d visited a dozenbookstores across the country in celebration.

He grinned, pushed himself up, and sat back on his heels.“Then, perhaps next time you should come with…”

“What’s wrong?” she asked when his voice drifted off and hisbrow crinkled. She pushed herself up on her elbows to see that in his hand hecradled the protective sheath he’d removed from himself, but this did notexplain why he suddenly appeared very concerned.

“The condom tore,” he explained and then looked heavenwardand cursed under his breath. “I didn’t realize, Kate—I’m sorry.”

Not really bothered by the event, Kate pushed herself upinto a full sitting position. She reached out, snagged two tissues from the boxon the nightstand and then pressed him into his palm so he could clean up.“It’s okay. We’re both clean, right?” she said rhetorically, as they had bothbeen tested at the onset of their physical relationship.

“Yeah.”

“So…I mean, we probably don’t even have to use them anymore,right?” She and Castle were in a committed relationship and she trusted himcompletely. There was no need for them to use protection against sexually transmittedinfections when neither of them would be intimate with anyone else.

“But…then you could get pregnant.”

Kate’s gut-reaction was to laugh at Castle’s practicallyabsurd comment. Then, she spotted the hurt flash across his eyes and her heartsank down into her chest. “Wha…you’re serious?!”

Clearly miffed, he wadded up the used condom in the tissuesand pushed himself off the mattress with the most post-sex energy she’d seenfrom him to date. He tossed the wad into the bathroom trashcan and then crossedback through the bedroom to get his boxers.

“Castle?” she prompted when he said nothing and continued toavoid his gaze.

He shot her a look as he pulled up his shorts. “Yeah, I wasserious, but clearly you’re not.”

“Wha—why? I mean, how—I don’t…” She stammered out, not surehow to process his statement. For over a hundred years—far longer than eitherof them had been alive—the only couples that could naturally conceive childrenwere those with perfect DNA matchups. Soulmates, as they were referred tocolloquially. Both male and female condoms were readily available due to thecontinued exitance of STIs. And, true, they did prevent pregnancy on thefractional chance that two people who matched became intimate, but the hormonalbirth control women two centuries earlier used had become as antiquated astransport by horse and cart; it simply wasn’t needed.

If Castle believed they needed to use condoms to preventpregnancy, that meant he believed them to be soulmates, and, in that moment,Kate was too shocked to process such a concept.

“Just forget about it,” he muttered as he pulled his blackt-shirt over his head once more.

“No.” She stood off the bed, found her own undergarments,and began to dress. “No, we’re not going to forget about it because you’reclearly upset.”

“I’m fine.”

“Rick.”

He froze with his jeans pulled on, but not fastened, andshot a look at her. “I’d just like to know why you find the thought of us beingsoulmates so damned funny.”

“Wha—no. No, I wasn’t laughing at the fact that we could besoulmates; I didn’t even think about that. I…I thought you were making a joke.”

His expression dropped and he looked a little nauseated.“Why would I joke about that?”

“Well—I don’t know. You joke about a lot of things and…Whoeven finds their soulmate anyway?” she threw out as a way to deflect, to tryand process why he was so riled up about this situation. She certainly couldnot name anyone off the top of her head who had found their soulmate. Sure,there were articles on the news every now and then; puff pieces at the end of abroadcast about a soulmate wedding, but other than that? The notion seemedalmost as unfathomable as fairytales.

“My mother did.”

A small gasp escaped Kate’s lips as that moment was thefirst she heard of such a fact. Castle’s parents were soulmates? But…they weren’t together…his father—he never talkedabout him… that—that made even less sense!

“Castle-”

“No, forget it; just forget it.” He shook his head and thenwalked out the door of the bedroom towards the kitchen.

Kate remained a half-dressed statute for several moremoments as she tried to process all the information she had just gained. Onething was absolutely for certain: she could not and would not forget it. It wasrare that her partner shied away from emotion, but that was certainly not amoment she would allow him to do so. They couldn’t let this thing hang betweenthem unsettled; that wouldn’t be healthy, and as she had promised herself to bein a health, open, relationship with the man she cared more about than anyoneelse in the world, they had to figure it out—together.

Castle pulled a water bottle out of the refrigerator, tooktwo gulps, placed the bottle on the kitchen counter, and his hands on eitherside of it. Staring down into the bottle neck he shook his head and let out ahuff of breath, annoyed more at himself than at her. Stupid—he was stupid.

How did he think Kate Beckett, queen of protecting herheart, would react to being called out as his soulmate? He didn’t think, whichwas slightly excusable given their post-coital state, but it didn’t make himless stupid. They had been in a good place—a really, really good place—and nowhe risked messing it up, for what? A whim?

Deep down, he knew it was more. He believed he was right.And if he was right then technicallythe broken condom could result in a pregnancy. Even if she was at the rightpoint in her cycle, it would still be unlikely, but he felt it was only fair tobring it up lest she be blind sighted and then later irritated with him for notvoicing his concerns. Still, that was decidedly not the moment he would havewanted to broach the subject of them potentially being soulmates if he’d hadthe choice.

“Castle.”

He looked up to see her exiting the bedroom wearing not thebusiness suit she’d arrived in, but the cotton pants and shirt she must havehad in her overnight bag. If she was dressed like that she didn’t intent tosprint out of his apartment, so he took that as a positive sign. Reachingbehind him, he grabbed another bottle of water from the fridge, and slid itacross the counter in her direction. She thanked him softly, took a sip, andthen walked over so she stood about two feet from him.

“You never said anything about your parents being soulmatesbefore. I mean…your father—you never talk about him.”

“Because I don’t know him; I’ve never met him.”

“I…don’t understand.”

A mirthless laugh escaped his lips when her brow wrinkled. Ofcourse she wouldn’t; he barely did and it was his own life. “I…I don’t talkabout it much—mostly because of Mother. It’s a touchy subject for her, forobvious reasons.”

The crease on her brow deepened. “But…what happened? I mean,you said he wasn’t a part of your life, but you’ve never met him? Did he die?”

“I don’t know; I don’t even know his name.”

Kate’s jaw dropped open, but no sound escape.

Leaning his hip against the counter, Castle folded his armsover his chest to explain. “My parents had a one-night affair. That’s it—justone night. The way Mother tells it: they met, danced, fell in love, and in themorning he was gone. She never knew his name, his job, if he was a New Yorkeror just visiting…”

“God.” Kate breathed out. “But they…they were soulmates?!That’s…unbelievable.”

He grumbled. “Trust me: I know. I would find it nearlyimpossible to believe as well, except—I’m here; I exist.”

She stepped up and placed her hand on his bicep. “Oh,Castle…”

He could almost hear the apology forming in her throat, butthankfully she never uttered it aloud. He didn’t want anyone to be sorry forhim. Yes, it was sad to never know the identity of his father, a true rarity ina world where most children were born via lab procedures, but he always knewhis mother received the far worse end of their deal.

They stood in silence for several moments before Castlelocked eyes with his companion and saw concern reflecting back from the swirlsof chocolate brown flecked with gold. His heart swelled and he was forced toswallow to keep the emotions inside his chest from bubbling over. God, she wasincredible and he knew—he knew—but healso knew her, and what it would take to convince her as well—if he even could,but, god, he had to try.

“Twelve percent—did you know that’s the national average?Only twelve percent of soulmates find each other. It’s so low…I understand whyso many don’t bother looking; don’t even think about it. But I always believedI’d find her.”

He stepped away from Kate and began pacing the kitchen,thinking back to those days when he was a young boy and he finally began tofully conceptualize how he came to be, and how rare that truly as.  “The way my parents found each other…it meantsomething; it was fate and I believed that same fate would shine down on me. Ididn’t know when; I didn’t know how, but I deep down I had to believe it wouldhappen because it felt right. I dated. I fell in and out of lust, in and out oflove. Thirty-some years and it never happened, until I met you.”

He stopped pacing and looked directly at her. She waswatching him closely, but he could see a slight glassiness forming at the edgesof her eyes, so he stepped in front of her and spoke softly. “I know we startedthis thing as causal, let’s just see how it goes. We’re exclusive but notreally defining anything; we’re easing in. I respect that, because I respectyou, but Kate…I’m in love with you. I have been for a while. Maybe even sincewe met.

“I always wondered what it would feel like, how I wouldknow. I thought when I met her—you—that I’d realize it right away, but Ididn’t. I was too distracted with my infatuation I suppose, but then one day I walkedinto the twelfth carrying our coffees, you smiled at me from across the room,and it just hit me. We hadn’t even kissed yet but…the attraction I had foryou—it was like gravity. I couldn’t think about anyone else; I didn’t want to.Being with you made me find pieces of myself I didn’t know I had. I wanted tobe the best possible man—the kind of man that deserved a woman as incredible asyou.”

She remained silent. In fact, he wasn’t sure she was evenbreathing, but he couldn’t stop himself until he got it all out.

“After we kissed and made love for the first time—it onlymade me believe that all the more, but I kept it in. I was so nervous that I’dpush you too hard, knowing how you liked to keep yourself at arm’s length. Ireigned myself in, kept on a casual façade for you, but every morning I woke upbeside you was like renewed hope. The way I feel for you…it can be described inonly one way. And, you know, maybe I’m wrong. Maybe I want it so much that I’mseeing things that aren’t there, but Kate…I don’t think I’m wrong.”

“Oh Castle,” she sighed as a few tears dripped out of hereyes. She tried to hide them, and quickly reached for a napkin to dab at hercheeks. Once she turned to face him again, she didn’t hesitate; she simply roseup on her toes, slid her arms around his neck, and gave him a strong hug.

He lowered his chin, kissed her shoulder, and held on aslong as she let him. When she pulled back with one of her Detective KateBeckett expressions, he sadly concluded, “You think I’m insane, don’t you?”

“I always did so this isn’t really a change.”

He grunted. “Thanks.”

She smiled and reached out for his hand. “Castle, I… I’m notentirely sure what to say.”

He shook his head and moved to walk away, returning to thecausal evening he’d expected to have with her. “You don’t have to say anything Beckett;I know this isn’t how you expected the evening to go. We can just-”

“No, please.” She followed him around the kitchen islandbefore he could walk away and end their conversation. “I don’t want to leave itlike this. I… you’re so important to me, Castle. So much more than just apartner. You’re my very best friend and I couldn’t imagine my life without youin it. I never thought about soulmates, not really, because, as you said, theodds are so long I just never allowed myself to think about it—especially sinceI’m not the most emotionally open person, but you know… what you said aboutgravity—I feel it too.”

He felt his heart begin to take flight at the soft smilegrowing on her face.

“When we first met, I was determined not to like you.Stubborn and headstrong, I refused to want it, but my heart…I just kept gettingdrawn back in. I’d try to pull away, but I couldn’t—I couldn’t. Then, I finally gave in and this is the happiest I’veever been. It’s hard for me to give in without facts, and evidence, but Ipromise you I’m open to the idea.”

He shut his eyes briefly, saying a silent thank you to theworld that had allowed him to find such an incredible woman, then he opened hiseyes, stepped up to her, and kissed her soundly. “I’ll take that,” he said,knowing for certain that whatever next came their way, they would face ittogether.

“Oh my god, seriously, Ryan? What are you eating over there?Garbage?!” Kate groaned as she used one hand to cover her mouth and the otherto smooth across her belly. Beneath it, her stomach flipped and she felt a dryheave creeping dangerously up the back of her throat. The smell wafting fromher coworker’s desk a few feet away was horrific and overpowering.

He turned towards her appearing slightly offended. “It’sjust some leftover-”

“No, stop; don’t tell me.” She shut her eyes and breathed inthrough her mouth to lessen the odds of vomiting from the pungent odor.

“Sorry Beckett,” he said in his wounded-puppy-dog tone.

She huffed and dug around in her desk until she found apeppermint candy leftover from a takeout bag. She popped it in her mouth,sucked, and shut her eyes. At least now all she could smell was the candy.Looking back towards Ryan she called out, “Sorry; I’m just not feeling welltoday.”

He nodded in acknowledgment and then turned back to hislunch. Before Kate could get back to her paperwork, she heard, “Not feelingwell still?”

Turning around she saw her partner approaching with a bagthat contained two sandwiches. She’d put in her request for turkey before he’dleft, but she was unsure what his choice would be. Silently, she prayed itwasn’t tuna or egg salad. “’m fine, Castle,” she mumbled, but of course herpartner and boyfriend didn’t accept such an answer.

He sat in the chair beside her desk and leaned in so hecould speak in a low voice. “Kate, if you’re still not felling well-”

“I’m fine,” she snipped. “I was just overpowered by thestench of Ryan’s garbage food.”

Castle glanced briefly towards the other detective’s deskand then back to her. “But this has been off and on for a week—your sensitivestomach. I think you might need to consider going to a doctor.”

She huffed, lowered her chin to her chest, and bit down onher bottom lip—hard. She would not cry in the precinct; she would not cry in the precinct. Unfortunatelyas of late the word “doctor” entering her mind was a catalyst for waterworks,particularly since she had a strong suspicion of what a medical professionalwould diagnose her with.

“I know, but I would like to live in denial a little whilelonger.”

“Denial? Over what?”

She turned towards him, took in a deep breath, and pushed itout slow. There was no sense in hiding her suspicions from him any longer; itwas inevitable. “I think I’m pregnant.”

“WHAT!”

The word exploded out of his mouth with such force it drewthe attention of everyone in the bullpen. She reached out, swatted his arms,and scolded, “Castle!”

Ducking his head, he stammered out, “Oh, Kate—oh, god—areyou sure? What? I mean how? Why? What?”

She couldn’t help but crack a smile at his amused reaction.“My period is over two weeks late and then with this nausea. I just…” Theyhad only had unprotected sex that one time almost a month earlier, but from theinternet research she had done, it seemed once was all it took.

“Oh…oh, Kate.”

She groaned as his eyes grew glassy and his hand closedaround her forearm. “Castle please…please don’t cry in the precinct; you’regoing to make me cry.”

Quickly, he sat back, cleared his throat, and pulled anapkin out of their sandwich bag to dab beneath one eye. “I—I’m sorry I’m just—I’mjust so happy!”

She smiled at him. Though shock was her overwhelming emotionat that moment, happy was definitely there along with terrified. Still, knowingthe man she was about to form a family with, and how incredible he was, shesomehow knew it would all be alright. “Yes…it would appear you were rightabout us being soulmates.”

“That’s not why I’m happy. Obviously, that’s wonderful but…ababy. A family. I love you.”

“I love you, too,” she returned easily. Thought it had takenher a few days to process his heartfelt speech, Kate did eventually admit tobeing in love with her partner and knowing that he would be the man she spenther life with. Ideally, she would have wanted them to date a little longerbefore getting engaged and married a little while after that before they begantheir family, but she supposed she couldn’t be too upset, particularly when hewas getting the near-miracle scenario he’d always hoped for.

“Oh—Beckett…oh my god I can’t…I can’t just sit here!” Hestood up and then leaned over her to talk. “I—I’m going to go buy us parentingbooks, and baby name books and oh! What about—you know what? I’ll just geteverything.” He brushed a kiss over the top of her head, grabbed his sandwichfrom the bag, and then began to back his way down the hall. “Don’t worryBeckett; this is going to be amazing!”

She sat at her desk for a moment, both chuckling and shakingher head over his enthusiasm, when a wave coursed through her. That time, itwasn’t nausea, but love—love and appreciation for the wonderful man she calledher partner

Pushing herself away from her desk, she jogged towards theelevator and caught him just before he stepped into the car. “Castle—hang on!”

He whipped around and rose his brow as she approached. “Didyou need me to get you something else? Crackers? You know–I’ll just go buy afew boxes of crackers just in ca-”

“No, no I’m fine I just…” She lowered her voice and leanedinto him as she spoke. “I’m glad that we’re soulmates.”

An ear-to-ear grin crossed his face. He dipped his head,kissed her, and then looped one arm around her waist. “Me too Beckett; you haveno idea. We’re going to be extraordinary.”

Thanks for reading!