julicta

[julicta]

Julieta had no judgment towards her daughter for wanting anything. Luisa, for being so strong, had also been unsure and timid in ways Julieta had only found out about later than she should have. Julieta would hope Luisa didn't mind uncertainty when it came to speaking with her mother, but she knew that old habits, however much they tried to mend, would not be fixed by a small handful of family disasters.

"Well, then we can do that," Julieta says, a calm and pleasant smile on her face. "I think it's a great idea."

Julieta is already turning to follow Luisa, thinking. "I'm thinking we do lemon and lime, some mango for some salsa, and maybe some pineapple," Julieta says thoughtfully. When they stopped by the lemons, Julieta actually had to stop with the question. How... did she know? At this point it was a matter of muscle memory more than anything.

In her hands, she observes the feeling of a lemon she's picked up. What is it that she looks for? Kitchen witchery had increased her frequency of selecting produce, but did not affect her skill.

"It's, with lemons, in the skin." She holds it gently, rubs her thumb against the surface. "This one wouldn't be the best because you can feel this softness here. That spot might be bruised under the surface." Julieta sets it down, picks up another one. The same process ensues, and then she offers it to Luisa. "Try this. Run your thumb along it and feel for any bubbles or roughness. For the most part, smooth skin is a good sigh. The skin should also be just barely pliable. I've always been taught that that's on the verge of ripeness. If you roll it lightly in your hand and it softens..." Julieta does so to another lemon, "then it should be ready to juice and zest."

She smiles, hands another to Luisa. "What do you think of this one?"

@lift-lats-luisa

starting something new || luisa & julieta

[julicta]

It wasn't that Julieta had meant to bump into Shang. First, she'd never sabotage a good meal on purpose. Second, she'd never try to cause Shang any harm. It was just, well, she was still an easily scared person. She was still the sort that startled easily at the sound or sight of a physical or verbal conflict.

It's when there's a quick scuffle and then a bark down the street that Julieta turned in the perfect way to run into Shang.

"Oh, I'm so so sorry," she says, leaning over for a brief second to help before realizing she's probably not exactly helping. It's put a damper on Shang's night, she's sure.

But as to what does she think she's doing? Well, she'd have been affronted (mildly) if not for the fact she knew what missing a good meal could do to a person.

"I think I'm just still jumpy," she says, smiling apologetically, turning back to see if the argument had follow... It seemed to be getting further away. "And at night, too. I'm so sorry. Can I replace them? Can I get you something?"

@a-man-named-shang

A Piece of Home | Open

[julicta]

It's fine, Jeremy says. It's fine in the way that no one is at fault, Julieta would agree, but wasn't exactly fine in the way that these were two bright young people who were studying for their exams and didn't have all the resources at their disposal. Julieta could liken it to a recipe in a way. Knowing building blocks without a full picture...

She gives Jeremy a pleasant smile. Though, it did seem like he didn't exactly know what it is that he wanted. That was fine! He said he liked most things, save Gooseberries, and now Julieta had somewhat of a not-exact idea of what to make Jeremy. The same thing to make any unprepared for the question but equally deserving person who stepped into her kitchen!

Julieta started pulling out cartons of fruit (cw possible trypophobia on image [fruit with seeds]), some of which should probably not be able to be acquired -- the mechanics of which are left to Jeremy's imagination and reasoning -- and a cutting board and knife.

"Do you like fruit a good deal, Jeremy? Do you tend to cook? Usually I find people who are more aware of food and seasons make very good cooks."

@jere-me--oh-my

extended welcomes - jere & juli

[julicta]

Sometimes, people found themselves in Casita completely unexpected to them. People who were invited there for lunch or dinner, people who had come with Pepa after social dance, friends showing up to offer them food and end up chatting and leaving with fresh fruit or loaves of bread.

Somehow, people find themselves in Casita for some reason or another that they did not anticipate.

Selene Winters was somewhat of that sort, having stopped by Chapter Three, somewhat homesick. The best was to temporarily cure homesickness was... well... a home. And Julieta had one that she was welcome and willing to open to Selene.

"It's only my third or fourth time making it," Julieta says, pulling a pot off the stove. Sliced carrots and cut chicken lay nearby. Chopped celery stocks, discarded ends at that, litter the counters. She ladles a bit of soup into a bowl for taste testing, for Selene's approval or suggestions. "If it needs salt or anything at all, you just let me know."

@wintersselene

comforts from home - selene & juli

[julicta]

comforts from home - selene & juli

[julicta]

Maybe tacos. Julieta smiles, though her laugh is more in her breath than an audible sound or actual motion. She does shake her head and inspect more produce, though, thinking on it.

"Do you really want tacos?" Julieta asks, turning to her middle daughter with a raised brow. Julieta had realized over time that she wasn't the best at tone, at figuring out sincerity from jesting. It was easier, now, to--- calibrate? herself to it. Simply asking made it easier.

Talking with each other, asking questions, being honest... those things helped.

Julieta looks back at the vegetables on display, from section to section and then says, "if you say yes, I think we'll have to turn around and look at the citrus again."

@lift-lats-luisa

starting something new || luisa & julieta

[julicta]

"It's no trouble at all," Julieta is already saying, ushering Jeremy inside. He's a friend of Mirabel's and a bright young man! He deserved a cool smoothie on a hot day. "Now, I believe Mirabel was telling me she had notes of yours?"

All of those subjects that Mirabel and her friends seemed so intense, or at least in-depth. Julieta didn't think of herself as that intelligent -- in a scholarly sense -- but she did have at least some sense.

Some of that sense was: University finals are difficult, and Julieta could brighten up Jeremy's day with a smoothie or juice! And, unlike so long ago when she had presented options to Tony, she would tell Jeremy if she was going to give him magic.

"She'll be back soon, don't worry. I know those notes are probably important for your exams coming up." And very quickly, the conversation changes to: "Now, what fruits would you like? Any particular flavors? You need a break, you kids study so hard."

@jere-me--oh-my

extended welcomes - jere & juli

[julicta]

It was nice to have her kitchen again. It was nice to host again! Julieta was so excited to be able to spend time with people in her home and make them food and talk to them! She didn't realize how much she missed it.

It's how they end up in situations like this, with Julieta standing in the door way, asking Jeremy Johnson inside with the biggest smile that one could not -- should not -- say no to.

"I'm so sorry, Mirabel isn't home yet. Why don't I make you a smoothie while you wait?"

Say no to Julieta Madrigal, Jeremy Johnson. The universe is waiting.

@jere-me--oh-my

extended welcomes - jere & juli

[julicta]

extended welcomes - jere & juli

[julicta]

The Moon Market lights hummed with a familiar electricity. The lights overhead were Julieta's version of summer cicadas, proof that everything was on some sort of cosmic schedule and that the order of everything was in good hands.

When they had lived at the Tipton, the hum of the Moon Market lights had felt off. The shade and shape of life had looked different. Everything had felt not quite right, with a basket on her arm instead of a shopping cart full of food that she could cook in her own kitchen.

Now, though, things had mended. Things were better. They had started spending more time together as a family. Her and Agustín going on walks, her and Alma speaking more openly. And her asking Luisa if she'd like to go to the store together.

It was nice to spend time with Luisa outside of the home. Luisa kept busy much like Julieta did, though it seemed that the house's collapse and reconstruction had brought them much more peace.

"Can you think of anything you'd like for dinner soon?" Julieta asks her daughter, passing by the fresh fruits and vegetables, stopping to examine them once, twice over. "I think I'm falling into another schedule, Luisa. I should do something novel, perhaps, for a meal?"

@lift-lats-luisa

starting something new || luisa & julieta

[julicta]

starting something new || luisa & julieta

[julicta]

Mmm, Nick did have a point, though Julieta didn't think it was that impressive. She didn't think of herself as that impressive, though she was working on it. Still, Nick's encouragement was nice.

"I think I've got other places just as valuable, but when some time clears up to me..." Julieta says, thoughtfully, "I think it would be nice. I've met lovely people from all over the world... and I'd love to learn a bit about the way -- the syntax and structure and influence -- of how they think."

Julieta thinks of French and Portuguese and Ukranian and these sorts of letters she could make out but couldn't quite understand. She thinks of Mads' Turkish treats and Jess's Brazilian cooking and wonders where the lines of language and culture blurred -- the directions of recipes or the understanding of ingredients. How much nurturing could a language offer?

But there she is, bringing everything back to cooking...

"Oh, goodness, that's right. That's what we were talking about. I'm not sure, I think I would have to go back to my endless to-be-read pile to see if I can fill some spaces with books I already own."

@wilde-fun

Book Bingo 2025 || Nick & Juli

[julicta]

Encantober 2024 - Coffee ⚕☼

[julicta]

Had Julieta thought about reading and books in such a way? Yes, she'd just said books were a way to have a conversation with herself, but a conversation with an author? And translators? It was an interesting notion, one Julieta might have been dismissing for years because she'd maybe assumed there was a disconnect. Something unreachable between herself and a specific sort of storyteller.

What this conversation was, a little, was validating.

Julieta did feel, sometimes, inadequate as an English reader. Modern language had gotten easier to her, and some amount of the classics. French, mostly. And Italian. Those were easier to her than the English canon at times.

"I only know Spanish and English," Julieta admitted after a moment. "I've thought about others, but I feel a bit old for it. Still, I'd love to read some books in their original languages. I don't distrust translators, but perhaps I'm a bit like you. Sometimes I do argue with the English translator in my mind for passages I know are different in their sentiment."

@wilde-fun

Book Bingo 2025 || Nick & Juli

[julicta]

@davidhatter

Ah, the bit about explaining. This is the problem, Julieta found, with not talking about... things... so openly with her family. Things, this vague term that encompasses so many issues that she just can't bring herself to voice aloud.

The fading and flickering and fickle nature of her magic. The way it seems her gift would pull away from her, forcing her to chase it in every fold of dough or churn of batter. Her magic slipping from her finger tips, desperate to be caught, her desperate to catch it.

Julieta never fit in with the kitchen witches in Swynlake. There weren't many, granted, but Julieta felt she didn't have as much in common with the little old ladies who spoke of kitchen folk remedies in the corner of Hatters, remarking on tea mixes and the flavors of herbs. She'd sat with them a few times, waved over. They talked of their nieces and nephew who might have moved away, and of the different feeling of magic in their bones. It has been so long since they'd been without it, magic in meals was their second nature.

Meanwhile, Julieta was losing touch with that feeling day by day. Was her doubt manifesting? Self-realization, self-actualization? Or was it more. She didn't fit in with those sweet older ladies because they seemed to be at peace, and Julieta -- try as she might to hide it -- felt far from it. As if when magicless, her heart remembered the roiling seas in Avaloran storms, hammering harder than waves beat against the shores.

"I mean," Julieta says, softer than she means and softer than she wants to, "that my magic feels as if it's fading. Not as effective. I don't feel it the same way. When you use magic, for instance, how do you feel it. In your body, or surrounding you?"

Now that she's started, she finds it hard to stop.

"I can't feel it at all sometimes lately. Or it's faint, like a whisper that I can't quite attune to. Have you ever felt this way? Is there something you do to reconnect to your magic, or your kitchen, or whatever it is that you feel when you cast?"

Tea and Honey and All Those Other Ingredients || Hatter & Juli

[julicta]

See, when Julieta had explained this previously, friends of hers had said a DNF -- a did not finish -- was nothing to be ashamed of. Why continue reading a book that she didn't like?

To Julieta, even if she didn't understand the book, she might still have something to say. And if not that, something to hear about. Conversations about books she didn't understand, but meant something to a friend, could be a look into who they were, even if the book revealed nothing more of Julieta was.

Besides someone who didn't care for that book, she supposes.

"I like that, Nick," Julieta says. "I've read books in English for as long as I can remember because there was something interesting to me about how the same thing -- almost the same words -- could mean entirely different sentiments. I like reading as a conversation, even amongst versions of the same book."

She shakes her head.

"Of course, that's not what you're talking about. I just mean... I think I've always thought of them as a way to converse with myself. What I thought about things and how I grew my opinions across language."

@wilde-fun

Book Bingo 2025 || Nick & Juli

[julicta]

Julieta gives a small smile, not able to fully look Pepa in the eye. She agreed. The Tipton's beds had a luxurious quality in them, but they were clearly beds for guests. They weren't the same as the ones in Casita, that seemed to ease tension simply by falling into them.

"I understand what you mean," Julieta says. "It can be the best quality ever, but it still wouldn't be the same as being home."

Julieta crawls onto the King Sized bed, noting how different it felt from when she'd go to Pepa's room. The blankets were different. Julieta tried not to think of the quilts she'd lost, ones she'd hand-patterned on the floor of Casita in the early days of living in Swynlake. She tries not to think about the fact that the height marks on the wall were not to be recovered.

Try as she might to not think, those were the memories that surge forward in her mind.

"Oh, is Felix working late?" Julieta asks, realizing she hadn't seen him. "How is he handling everything, Pepa?"

@letitrain-letitsnow-letitgo

idle recollections || pepa & juli