Elminx's Banishing Potion (Non-alcoholic and Boozy Versions)
This Banishing Potion uses the magical properties of Banishment and Protection that are often attributed to Black Pepper. It is best used as an adjunct to more intensive banishing spells that include black pepper as an ingredient- call it a way to apply your magic inside your body where it can do the fastest work. It can be used to banish the influence of a person on your life or to banish a particular habit that you wish to be rid of. The proof is in the magic, so to speak. Please add your own intent as is appropriate to your path where appropriate.
Black pepper (Piper nigrum) has a long history of being used as a protective and banishing herb that, if the stories are to be believed, has been used for this purpose since the Middle Ages. Although I have not found concrete evidence as to WHY black pepper is associated with these properties, I assume it's due to its fiery Martian nature.
You can increase the Martian aspects of this spell by performing this on a Tuesday or during the Hour of Mars.
The spell begins by crafting a Black Pepper infused simple syrup.
Black Pepper Syrup
1-2 tbs. Crushed Black Pepper or Whole Peppercorns
1/2 Cup Sugar
1/2 Cup of Water
Mortar and Pestle (optional)
Because the main component of this spell is Black Pepper, I highly suggest that you grind your own peppercorns in a mortar and pestle if you are able. This is a great time to add some intention to this working - focus on what you are looking to banish from your life and really think about crushing it like you are crushing the peppercorns. Make that thing smaller and smaller as the peppercorns get smaller and smaller.
Once crushed, you can turn your crushed black pepper into simple syrup by combining it with the sugar and water on the stove on medium-low heat until the sugar is dissolved into the water. You can attempt to strain out the pepper bits if you wish, but I personally keep them in the syrup.
Simple Syrup keeps in the fridge in an airtight container for 1-2 months.
Black Pepper Banishing Old Fashioned
2 oz. aged liquor* (I used Johnny Walker Red Label)
1/4 oz. Black Pepper Simple Syrup
1-3 dashes of Angustora Bitters (optional to taste)
1-3 berries or cherries**
Rocks glass, Muddler
Here we are following the traditional method for making an old fashioned. Add your fruit, the syrup, and the bitters into the bottom of a rocks glass and muddle them together - this is the primary place where you are adding your intention into the making of this drink. As mentioned above, I like to think about crushing whatever I am looking to banish from my life at this time. Add in your liquor, ice, and stir to combine. You can also use the stirring to confirm your intention - I like to be very clear here and state out loud EXACTLY what I am looking to remove from my life.
Drink and enjoy.
Bonus tip: When you pee later, imagine the thing that you are trying to banish leaving your body and being flushed down the toilet for a bit of extra oomph to this spell.
Banishing Black Pepper Iced Tea
2-4 oz. unflavored black tea, steeped and cooled***
1/4 oz. Black pepper syrup, or 2 taste
1-3 berries or cherries*
Tea glass, cocktail muddler
Here we are following the traditional method for making an old fashioned. Add your fruit, the syrup, and the bitters into the bottom of a rocks glass and muddle them together - this is the primary place where you are adding your intention into the making of this drink. As mentioned above, I like to think about crushing whatever I am looking to banish from my life at this time. Add in your tea, ice, and stir to combine. You can also use the stirring to confirm your intention - I like to be very clear here and state out loud EXACTLY what I am looking to remove from my life.
Drink and enjoy.
Bonus tip: When you pee later, imagine the thing that you are trying to banish leaving your body and being flushed down the toilet for a bit of extra oomph to this spell
*Any aged liquor will work for this spell. I've tried it with Aged Rum, Gold tequila, Rye, Bourbon, and Scotch. The smokey notes of the Red Label are a really nice compliment to the spicy of the black pepper but use what you would normally drink.
** Use Blackberry or Raspberry for the extra benefit of their protective properties to this potion, or cocktail cherries as suit your needs
***Any quality black tea will work for this working.
Tasha is such a fun character. She's one of the minifigures from the Dungeons and Dragons CMF series.
Unfortunately, I didn't get the DnD minifigures in time while they were still available, so I had to acquire some of them later. Fortunately, they can be found on the FireStar Toys online shop.
Her hut is actually the bottom floor of the LEGO Medieval Blacksmith set.
He rushed out of the dungeon, weaving spells about him to find where the elf had gone. Stepping aside for a moment he shapeshifted into the form of a great werewolf anf began to follow the scent of the wounded elf. He ignored the wary looks of the followers as he passed, intent on finding him.
Eventually the scent led him to his own lab. The fool! Sauron thought as he heard Maedhros struggling against his cage in the other room. Now he is mine… I suppose I could take him back to the dungeons and try to keep hiding it, but it could be more risky than it's worth. I was given permission to do what I wanted with him though, so perhaps I could have some fun. He grinned at the thought, pondering all of the options he had at his fingertips in the lab. But he wanted to surprise Maedhros with his punishment this time. He knew that Morgoth would find at as entertaining as he had done, and they were aware that so long as he was alive he would retain his use. Besides, he thought, everything I made has a reversal potion too.
He searched through his shelves of potions and pulled out a few that he thought would be most entertaining. The first was deep red and labelled "Love," it was designed to make an elf fall in love like their fea had bonded. The next was soft pink and was labelled "Female," it was one of his greater sucesses and could change the sex of an elf extremely quickly. The next three could make an elf the size of a mouse, give the elf the features of a wolf, and reduce their intelligence with hilarious results! Maedhros deserved a punishment after that display, but which to choose?
*credit for the artwork goes to the artists who worked on Rise of the tmnt, these are my copies of screenshots (with the exception of the background in the first picture and Leo's mermaid tail, I drew that myself)
Bit of worldbuilding thing, books from irl do exist here but the movies don’t that does lead to the prospect of people like jk rowling existing but like…she dead by now, just for some comedic justice, died during a thunderstorm that soon died down and the sun appeared, forming a rainbow over her not yet disintegrated body, which may or may not be out of spite
Previous
Um, I didn’t feel like making a ‘part 2’ to this just for his pov so like, im just gonna merge it below. And because I’m too lazy to make a coherent plot, some of this comes before you ‘woke up’ in your dream
You got patched up
tried to leave the room,
ended up not being to because of your(as I’ve decided) lore-accurate wings and instead broke the window and yeeted yourself out
Fell on top of an awaiting Max.
Null was like, “Oh yeah I can fix thos- You going to the meeting?
You shrugged painfully because….I feel like making you suffer
Bit of conversation before Conner suggested to go fishing
All three of you stood and stared at him until he realized his word choice and where they were
Cue you asking Null why he was in the Overworld
Null, very discreetly of course, looks at Max, like a simp and you snickered elegantly
He blinked at you pointedly while you smiled innocently before relenting and revealing a potion of healing in his hand.
You took it, thanked him, chugged it, and passed out immediately
Max sighed, grabbed an ankle and dragged you to his set-up of two beds and a chest.
Conner took out his own bed and plopped it down
The sun was only like midway between Noon and Sunset but there wasn’t enough time left in the day to do much
Max shuffled around in your hotbar but couldn’t find a bed so he groaned in mock annoyance before whipping out some wool and planks to make a bed
He plopped it next to your limp form before flopping onto his own bed
Null wiggled his fingers and you lifted off the ground before floating to your bed(surprisingly this will come back later as a plot point)
Okay, you’re in a bed, conked out right? Poof, you’re dreaming, this is in fact a state of semi-reality of what happens here happens irl, freddy kruger style except instead of a crusty dream demon, he’s replaced by a man who looks delicious in a tux, @miatw16 has proved that
Where were you? Oh that’s right, chilling on your dream bed while said man(no longer in his dazzling fit😒) is glaring at you like you spawned the ghast and made it hit you.
.
.
.
You shoved his hand off you and sat up, judgement etched on your face, “Can’t leave me alone, ey?”
“No.” His facial expression didn’t change.
“Oh..” You faltered. Awkwardness filled the space between you and you took the time to examine the room. It was a black room with not much else beside the bed you were situated on and the chair he was hovering over.
“Turn over.” Confusion flickered across your face before you turned on your stomach stiffly. You turned your head to the side to face him but he shook his head and you turned it the other way, facing the wall.
You closed your eyes, trusting him as you exposed your back. You waited for a bit before you felt a heavy weight on your back. You tried to look over your shoulder but a warm hand pushed it back and you realized he was straddling your waist.
Feeling the weight shift forward, a voice in your ear rasped, “Trust me.”
Goosebumps rippled down your back and up your arms as you brought your arms up and buried your head in them. Your back stretched uncomfortably with the movement and he pressed a hand against your upper spine.
A rough wet thing touched your feather and you grimaced as it rubbed harshly against your secondaries. A warm hand came behind and pressed against the rag, gently helping to wipe off the dried blood.
A weird sensation of a feather falling off nicked at you and several more came off.
A few seconds of silence passed and Herobrine shifted around, seemingly restless. It took a moment but then you realized what he was doing. Your eyes snapped open and you tried to push yourself up but damn, he…really didn’t want that.
“Stop moving.”
“I’m tired, I can’t do this anymore.” you sighed.
“Just let me do this for you.”
You had a feeling he wasn’t talking about this, or at least, not just about this.
You freed your arm and flung an ender pearl to the side, disappearing from under him and upright against the wall. He didn’t move with your disappearance and just sat back on heels, letting out a tired sigh before turning his head to look at you.
You met his gaze, returning his exhausted look with one of your own and understanding passed.
The absurdity of the situation wasn’t lost on you and you let out a dry chuckle, smiling weakly as your hand gestured to the space between you, “Look at this, could you have ever imagined this to happen.”
He looked back at the wall in front of him before turning around to face you completely. “Imagine what to happen?” His voice came out after a beat of silence.
You collected your thoughts for a moment as he stood up and stretched, his arms raising above his head and his shirt lifted up briefly. The sight of his stomach stopped your thought process and goosebumps prickled up your arms and over your scalp.
His eyes caught your look and his arms hesitated coming down, confusion evident on his face. Your fingers twitched as impulses rose but you squashed them and opened your mouth, “This, us, whatever we are, this weird dance we do.”
He took a step forward, “Do you wanna finish the dance?”
“I didn’t want to start it chère.”
You regretted the words as soon as they came out of your mouth but you stood your ground. Herobrine’s face dropped as did his shoulders and he stood up straighter.
He took a few slow steps toward you until you could stretch your arm out and touch the collar of his shirt.
“I-”
He opened his mouth, hesitating to say something before you interrupted him and asked, “Wanna hang out?”
He blinked a few times and his eyebrows furrowed.
You held out your left hand and he grasped it, squeezing tightly. You pulled a potion of healing from your inventory and stared at it, mentally calculating the probability of it working.
Juliette said it wouldn’t be able to heal the extensive damage but…what if you added a ghast tear to it?
That makes a paste of regeneration but that just helps regenerate your health and energy when applied to the wound. If you gave it the guideline of the healing potion, it should target regenerating your damaged wing..right?
Your eyes slid to his and you smiled wide, “Heyyy, how much of a favor would you be willing to do?”
He didn’t miss a beat and pulled your captured hand down, allowing him to lean a little closer, “Whatever you want.”
You felt the familiar sensation of goosebumps rippling across your neck. You shook it off and chimed, “Great,”
You swung the bottle toward him and asked, “Do you have any leftover regeneration paste?”
He nodded after a second and you trudged on, “Can you heat this up?”
“How hot?”
“Um….mountain of stone in the sun hot?” You pursed your lips and shrugged, not too concerned on the details.
His other hand came up and cupped the bulbed bottom. The bottle neck grew warm as the air around it heated up and you stared at it. He stopped soon enough and you uncorked it, letting go of his hand to walk back to the bed.
You grabbed the rag left on the floor and dumped the bottle over it, the liquid quickly absorbing into the rough fabric and smoothening it out.
You heard footsteps but didn’t turn around, instead slipping the bottle back in your inventory and shuffling onto the bed with your knees.
The thought of figuring out how to twist yourself enough to reach under your wing briefly crossed your mind before a warm finger poked your neck and trailed down.
You almost turned your head to look but forced yourself to stay still, breathing in and out as you reminded yourself to relax.
The digit made its way to the bandaging before growing warmer until it grew too warm and slid through the wraps, singeing the material and causing it to fall away.
Herobrine didn’t waste any time and grabbed the rag from your hand, pressing it to your hips. You sucked in air through your teeth at the stinging pain and unwelcome heat. He continued his ministrations, curling inwards to cover every inflamed wound. They began to close up quickly as he traveled from the severe burns to the small blisters and back up again.
Soon he finished and the wet fabric left your skin. You flipped your arm and hesitated to touch the healed area, your fingers ghosting over it before your hand was pushed away and another tapped your coracoid.
You got the hint and stretched your wing out. Realizing how long you must have been spaced out for hit you as a hot and slimy thing coated your feathers. He had already mixed the paste and liquid together and slathered it on you.
You closed your eyes and started to bring up your hand to bite down.
“Don’t.”
You groaned and tucked your right wing in, leaning to fall over onto your right shoulder. You hit the bed with a soft thud and closed your eyes again, ready to fall asleep.
You pulled your wings back in and fell asleep, your mind fading into distant fuzz.
You totally didn’t notice Herobrine staring at you like you betrayed him by letting go of his hand, did you?
Or..maybe you did.
.
.
.
I need this man to have a crashout
Edit: didn't like how this one turned out, probably gonna edit it later
lrb: one of the voice coaches i had, a cis woman, would essentially bully me every time my voice would fry, even when i told her that's just what mine does sometimes. she didn't believe me. every remedy she subjected me to either didn't work or was so unsustainable in speech so as to be actually painful. the alternative was to get needled by her again and again and AGAIN, so i put up with it until i canceled lessons.
her single minded insistence on "fixing" this one part of me (something that isn't even masculine per se!! women use vocal fry in their speech all the time!!) put me off from working on my voice for years. i would start, i would feel good about it, i would hear vocal fry - and if that didn't immediately murder my enthusiasm, then overcorrecting and causing pain or sounding less natural than before definitely would.
if you want to voice train, getting a coach was expensive but has made a big difference for me. but for the love of god don't work with a cis person they WILL NOT get it. ideally you work with someone who's TMA, but realistically anyone with a good track record working with transfems, who can understand why dysphoria might make finishing a lesson or practicing solo difficult and who knows how to affirm you. check reviews, don't be afraid to ask any prospects difficult questions about their approach or their experience working with transfem clients.
You walk into the apothecary, easing the heavy door shut behind you. The little bell above the door still rings, but quietly. There is no one at the counter or browsing the shelves. You're looking for…a potion? a poison? a curse? a cure? But there's no one here to mix one up for you…
I've been wanting to get into writing more interactive fiction, and I always have a lot of fun writing potion descriptions when I do my little potion paintings, so here's my first attempt at a solo rpg! You meddle with a poor apothecary's wares and come up with your own eldritch combinations to suit your own puckish purposes. This is a hack of @no-road-home's Alone Among the Stars (https://noroadhome.itch.io/alone-among-the-stars); available for free/pay what you want here as both a digital version and one formatted to print and fold as a minizine:
