#also watched the magnet form two parter

[new-haven-psych-ward]

waiting for my siblings to finish watching fourze :/

no further comments, i'm just impatient

[popculturebuffet]

Ducktales 87 Review: A Whale of A Bad Time (Catch as Cash Can Part 2)

A SEA MONSTER ATE MY ICE CREAM! Yup come with me under the cut as I cover one of the most infamous moments of all Ducktales.. and the absolutely bonkers episode attached involving robot ice cream trucks, giant robotic whales, Optimus Prime as a navy admiral, and semen.. er seaman Donald Duck!  All of this and more commissioned by @weirdkev27​ is waiting under the ocean and under the cut! Come aboard!

So yeah....

And not the adventure time or regular show or what have you kind of intetionally weird I mean all the elements just sort of conjeal into a mess of poor decisions in and out of universes, robotic whales and the most insane scheme to get a noble peace prize of all time. If that and the intro didn’t hook you I don’t know what will, let’s do this. 

PREVIOUSLY ON DUCKTALES:

Okay maybe not THAT previously... guess I gotta do this myself. *Grumble grumble* : Last time we met a steoyptical-ish foreign leader give Scrooge and Glomgold a deadline to literally weigh their fortunes in his country at ten days, with Glomgold’s sending the Beagle Boys after Scrooge in an attempt to cheat.. and springing from jail in a giant blimp shaped like a cow because your guess is as good as mine. Scrooge naturally won and here we are. As said last time, these episodes were still basically written as done in ones, able to be digested on their own, just with the overall framework of the four parter, in this case Scrooge and Glomgold’s contest, tieing it together. So with that out of the way. 

We open as Duckburg is hit with a heatwave. 

No that’s Heat Wave.. and besides he works out of central city, not Duckberg silly.. wherever those images come from.. me I guess? I dunno. Point is the boys are sweaty and uncomfortable, just like me 90 percent of the time, and decide to cool off by visiting Scrooge’s new ice cream factory for free samples. We’re only about a minute, and a recap about the contest on the news, in and already the characters this episode are acting kind of dumb.. get used to it. One of Scrooge’s primary, most consistent, most iron clad character traits is he does NOT give away something for nothing. Even for Charity he’ll often try and pench pennies and how much he donates, and in older harsher comics like Carl Barks famous “A Christmas For Shacktown” good luck getting him to donate any money to anyone else AT ALL. If he DOES give someone a gift, it’s usually with an alterior motive or some sort of scheme brewing, with Donald or the Nephews or all four rightly questioning him. The idea any factory of any product of his would give out samples unless he got something out of doint so or that they wouldn’t be tiny or use flavors that don’t sell or some cost cutting measure like that is nuts and while it’s not out of the boys characters to be stupid it is a bit for them to just blindly think he’d be okay with this.  Their soon distracted by other matters once they arrive though as the Guard won’t let them in despite being Huey, Dewey and Louie as much like bill and ted their a package deal, and yes they do a team pose and yes.. it’s actually pretty adorable. Again nepotism has never been a trait of scrooges either boys, why would he start now? They try flagging down one of his ice cream  trucks but they totally ignore him. and seem to be driving automatically... they also look human which... yeah. Just.. yeah. The boys are naturally suspicious and plan to ask scrooge at Dinner. This fails because Scrooge isn’t coming and Beakly refuses to let them disturb him on his orders.. and refused to let Webby eat till everyone’s at the table. I’ll come back to Beakly in a second, and there will be blood dumpster. 

The boys sleep that night, but are woken up by the ice cream trucks and wondering why the hell their running at night... which yeah is weird and was a bad part of the plan. We’ll get to why that plan’s a bit totally fucked in a second though as the boys assume someone is doing something shady with scrooge’s company and pull a Marty McFly, attaching their skateboards to a bumper and then hopping onto one of the trucks. And given that Magica, the Beagle Boys and Flintheart have all gone up at scrooge several times at this point judging by the episode guides, not to mention all the one off thieves, scumbags, con artists and warlords they’ve fought, you honestly can’t blame them for being super suspicious. 

Their suspcions of this being some kind of elaborate theft are semeingly confirmed when instead of , and this is really the flavor they use “Bubble Gum Pistachio Fudge” they find Scrooge’s money. And let’s just take a sec to .. unpack that flavor as none of those go together. I mean in a three scoop cone or bowl maybe, but in the same ice cream your just throwing shit together at that point. And the flavor isn’t outlandish enough to really be a good joke.

 I’ts just three flavors jammed together that don’t belong. It’s not like the, ironically in the same year, 87 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle’s love for weird pizza toppings. That.. actually comes off as a joke. It didn’t always land in the episodes i’d seen but I get what their going for. Thanks to this infographic I know they put ALL of this on pizza at some point, omitting actual pizza toppings for obvious reasons: Granola, Licorice, Fudge, Marshmallows, Clams, Peanut Butter, Avacado (Which didn’t sound bad in theory but once I thought about it I winced), Pickles, Asparagus, Butterscotch, Onions (Yes I know this is an actual regular pizza topping but no just.. no.. everyone hones in on anchovies, which i’ve never had but no.. onions are the real scourge of the pizza world), Toast, Tea (okay that one actually shocked me), Clam Sauce, Chocolate Sprinkles, Jelly Beans, Yogurt, Coconut, Strawberries, Oatmeal, Grape Jelly, Gucamole, Tuna, Popcorn, Sardines, Whipped Cream, Bannans and Goulash. The point i’m making is it’s not hard to come up with even a weak wacky flavor of something and it was  a weird line to just utterly botch but they somehow did it. Also that the Teenage Mutant Turtles have serious issues to address. I mean onions, really? onions? Guys you can do better... onions are a next mutation topping!

One Tangent Later, the boys and the trucks arrive at the docks where they see the money filled ice cream trucks loading onto a boat and a shadowy mystery man. Who could it be? My money is on

But my money is always on Crab People. It’s likely why i’m poor. But the boys chuck a bag of cash at him, then Louie... prepares to break his legs with a crowbar?

Seriously the truck was automated and they came straight form home. he had to have brought that with him. Whelp at least Louie has a unique character trait: He likes to make people bleed. I don’t know if that’s necessarily a GOOD thing for a 8-10 year old to want to do but it’s better than nothing. Before Louie can get up to a bit of the ultra violence, Huey finds out it’s Scrooge who explains himself: Naturally the sudden new Ice Cream Factory he built in days right next to the bin is a front, and the trucks are his own, a stealthy way to outfox glomgold. While the news said he was transporting the loot by air, he’s doing it by sea stealthily to prevent glomgold from attacking it. Which given he hasn’t a giant cow Zepplin, fair enough. 

The rest of this though is ludicrously overcomplicated: First off it’s not REMOTELY stealthy to build a giant fake factory next to your bin, days before you transport your cash, something so obvious i’m suprised Glomgold dind’t just come to the factory himself and set some explosives. Second while Robot Drivers isn’t a bad idea, Glomgold has many spies with many eyes, it’s a BIG gamble to both have active trucks around, especially at night carrying large sums of cash. I mean what if the police stopped them? Sure Scrooge could get his money back legally, but Flintheart might get to it first or bribe some cops first. Or some dirty cops might take it for themselves. It’s also WEIRDLY costly for someone as spiendthrift as Scrooge, I mean while he owns the land for the factory he had to buy a ton of trucks, pay for gyro’s, i’m assuming Gyro’s at least, material to make the robots, and pay for the guard to keep people out as well as presumibly either well paid workers or more robots inside to get the money into the trucks. It’s just hilariously overcomplicated and while not an intentional joke clearly got a laugh out of me as it just makes no logical sense for scrooge’s character and he’s done similar ideas for far less money in the comics. It’s a carl barks style “hide the money bin’s cash” plot, funnled through bloodshot eyes of someone having done a small mountain of cocaine to get this script done on time and I love it for that. The boys applaud their uncle for his wacky scheme while a mysteroius periscope watches them from a distance. 

The Next Morning Beakly is still awful as despite everyone being there, she now refuses to let Webby eat till everyone’s settled. And NOW we can talk about 87 Beakly. I don’t like her. She’s had one or two moments in the episodes I watched, but outside of that she’s a bland character who mostly fusses over the boys and webby, worries things are too dangerous, or is there for a weak joke. She’s just not all that intresting, and while i’ll grant the 87 Ducktales cast isn’t the deepest set of characters and the boys can be annoying depending on the episode.. their at least INTRESTING. The boys are clever, rambunctions and curious, Webby has all of that and an underlying swetness that while cloying at times is mostly just really endearing, Launchpad is a klutz and a crash magnet but means well and keeps trying and genuinely is a good scoutleader and person, and Scrooge despite his rough edges is a hardscrabbled adventuerer. The rest of the main cast here at least has a drive and character to them that makes the stories work when their at their best. Beakly is just kinda.. there. Why I also go into this is because 87 Webby gets a lot of shit.. and she really dosen’t deserve it. Yes she’s clearly a studio executives idea of what a little girl should like and that’s bad. And yes she got kidnapped a bunch.. but so did everyone else. But she makes up for that by being the heart of the team, offering love and empathy to all of them, easily bonding with varous animals and people they meet, and genuinely offering a naive but optimistic worldview that nicely contrasts with scrooge and the boys understandable cyncism. And she CAN handle herself more often than not. Wheras frank and co basically took almost everything about beakly and started over with Webby they simply tweaked her for the times: Made her about the same age if not older than the triplets so their equals, took away the triplet’s outdated and utterly loathsome sexisim, and added badassery and intellegence to her already admirable emotional skills and naive optimism, along with some boundless energy on top.They took a decent character and made her an amazing one.  With Beakly.. they took a dodering, easily frightned old lady whose overly proper and stuffy and turned her into a taciturn, snarky, badass former secret agent whose the sanest person in the mansion and when she IS wrong, will not only admit it but usually had some good reason for it. She also goes from being mostly deferent to scrooge to one of his few equals, to the point that the “87 Cent Solution!” lampshades the fact that if they’d called her the episode would’ve been over, as she’s , outside of a few exceptions the one person he listens to. She’s a throughly likeable, throughly complex character and one i’m glad their doing more with this season while I really hope I don’t see the original her more than I have to.  Okay with that rant done for this and any future retro ducktales reviews, we can get to the reason your all here and Kev comissioned me to do all 4 of these episodes: You’ve seen it on youtube, you’ve seen it in “Let’s get Dangerous”, you’ve seen it in dreams, ladies, gentleman and others, A. SEA. MONSTER. ATE. MY. ICE. CREAM. 

As the family sits for pancakes, Wippleman, Scrooge’s accountant and what I can only assume is this universe’s version of WWE manager Harvey Wippleman, comes in and has some bad news for Scrooge: A Sea Monster of some kind sunk one of his ships.. but the good news it was only Ice Cream. Knowing what it really was Scrooge goes absolute APE shit and procedes to hop around the table going absolutely insane, destroying everyone’s breakfast, with poor webby bemoaning she’ll never get to eat, Beakly remarking “it must’ve been some ice cream’ which isnt’ a bad line, Huey explaning what’s up with the weirdly delivered “It was half his fort-une!” and the boys finally restraining Scrooge with an impromptu tablecloth straightjacket, which calms him down and he hops off to get his money back. Wether you’ve seen the scene for yourself and ESPECIALLY if somehow you haven’t, it’s right here if you want to take another look. 

This scene is not only the most remembered part of the special, and easily the most beloved, it’s one of the best scenes in all of Ducktales 87 and easily one of the funniest across duck canon. Everything just clicks: The concept, the animation showing off just how manic scrooge is, how he never does the same move twice, how rather than looping it Alan Young very clearly said the word a bunch of times each time with a different more manic and uniquely hilarious delivery, Beakly’s deadpan reaction, and the boys vain attempts to restrain him before finally succeeding. Everything about this works and in an otherwise just really off center episode, this sparkling gem of a scene stands out. I waited till now to talk about Alan Young’s scrooge and honestly the man defined the roll for a reason: he can do a dramatic or emotional delivery just as effortlessly as a comic bit like this, and plays the character with the sternness and stubbornness expected. He got the character perfectly and it’s unsurprising Frank and Matt wanted him to reprise the roll and he only didn’t because he sadly passed on, though I will say David Tenant is a perfect replacement. Though even HE couldn’t do the Sea Monster Ate My Ice Cream bit as well as Alan, as his felt a bit more stilted and was clearly looped, but really I don’t think anyone could top him at this. It’s his shining moment as the character and he earned it square. 

So getting back to the ten car pileup that is the rest of this episode, the boys and Scrooge head under the sea, doot doot doot, to find his ship. But while under water they instead find the navy who’ve quarantined the ship.. yet aren’t wearing face masks inside their little suits. How odd. Guess the giant glass dome and giant ocean of water between them and the ship helps but still, you can’t be too careful.  Point is both sides are being kind of douchey: The Naval Guards, rather than direct Scrooge to their superior to PROVE it’s his vessel and ask questions to him directly since their aircraft carrier soon turns out not to be far from here just tell him he can’t pass and Scrooge is as bill gerent as you’d expect. I’m not saying people aren’t this dumb in real life, just google any video of a karen of any gender throwing a giant tantrum in a store over masks, i’m just saying i’td be nice to move the plot along without unnecessary cul de sacs.  The boys however naturally have a way around this and sneak in with scrooge on the underside of a sea turtle. It’s a genuinely clever tactic. They find the ship with a large bite out of it.. and the Navy then swoop in to take them in. 

On the ship Scrooge continues to not help his case and pulls a classic old white guy and demands to see their superior. Or white person in particular really. Point is he throws a strop on their way to what could easily be a trip to the brig with his behavior and possible criminal charges, while the boys muse that this is Donald’s ship. For the uninitiated, the in-series reason Donald left the boys for this series was he was called back to the Navy, and thus left the boys with Scrooge. Out of series it was an executive mandate: As Tad Stones, future creator of Darkwing Duck and story editor for Ducktales 87, explained, and I found out about this via looper, Disney was nervous about having one of their biggest characters overexposed by having him as part of 65 episode tv show. This was combined with the fact they were worried Donald’s voice would make stories confusing.  I also believe, if with no proof there was at third reason: Tony Anselmo had just started as Donald Duck, taking over from the late great Clarence Nash at Nash’s request after Nash died in 85, and they likely feared putting Tony through such a ringer this soon might sour audiences on him before audiences had gotten used to the new voice actor. So with all this Donald was kept to the occasional guest roll, though I will say while there have been complaints about Donald’s voice on this show I have no issue with it. It’s not as good as the reboot.. but the reboot also comes after Tony’s been playing the roll for over 30 years and is just as iconic as his predecessor in the roll at this point versus two years after his mentor died and he picked up his sword.. or squawky duck voice in this case. 

Scrooge is escorted to Admiral Grimitz, the head of this aircraft carrier whose showed up in other Donald episodes, specifically his segment of the Treasure of the Golden Suns series opener. He’s the gruff but mostly fair head of the ship and is voiced by, of all the va’s possible, Peter “Optimus Prime” Cullen, using a voice that is DIFFRENT but not by much. It’s hard not to be distracted by it. The Admiral waves scrooge off from his entirely justified fear the Army stole his money, but refuses to give any details since i’ts classified. Scrooge angrily.. decides to do the next shipment anyway and tells them to stay out of it instead of calling the president like he threatened to get some answers. Or threaten to pull funding for his military contracts. I know Scrooge never would, but they don’t know that. It’s just.. odd to see scrooge give up and it would’ve made more sense if the Admiral threatened legal action first or something that would get him to back off.  The Admiral then brings in Donald, and gives him the truth: Their own scientist, Dr. Bluebottle, stole an experimental sub shaped like a whale and stole the money for reasons they don’t know. So since he can go undercover easily, he sends Donald to go with scrooge and slaps a transmitter on him so they can track him. Donald also does some slapstick. That’s my boy. And yes it was a very nice surprise to see him again since i’d forgot he was in this episode. Especially since aside from “The Trickining!” he hasn’t been in any episodes since Ducktales came back. Justifably though as none of those NEEDED him and the show’s massively improved from it’s “donald might as not well exist” days of season 1, I just miss him is all and it’s nice to see some form of him again.  And this is where the episode kinda lost me, as this scheme, while not really out of the bounds of the reality, just.. feels like it overcomplicates the plot for the sake of padding. I mean I buy the Government going iwth a far more complex plan to cover their own asses.. but it would’ve made more sense from a plot standpoint to have it go this way: The Admiral is honest with Scrooge, tells him about bluebottle.. and threatens him into helping them by pointing out he broke into a federal quarantine and defined naval orders and could be brought up on charges, and if he tired telling anyone about Bluebottle could likewise be tried for leaking federal secrets. That way instead of using an unknowing scrooge as bait he goes into the situation KNOWING he’s probably going to get captured and while grumbly about it uses it to his advantage. Donald could still plausibly be sent along as naval lisaon/as a seemingly nice act/to have the bug to track the sub. Instead it just feels like they added an extra uncessary step to things to pad the episode more. I mean if you needed to do that just add more of the sea monster or give launchpad a cameo. He’s been missing for days at this point. 

So Scrooge and family, which naturally includes Webby and Beakly even if I don’t like classic bleakly she’s still family, head out with the second half of his fortune which makes next to no sense when he has days left in the concept and you know, half is missing, but whatever. Naturally the obvious happens and we meet the famous Sea Monster.. which actually looks neat.. it’s drawn like your standard cartoony killer whale but has bits of indents much like a sub would to show it’s not entirely a beast. It’s a nice bit of design work. The whale eats the cash and Donald and Scrooge but the navy pick up the boys, webby and beakly.  Donald let’s things slip on the sub, while back at the carrier the good Admiral explains the rest and my other issues with the plot aside this scene is a good bit of exploition as it explains some obvious questions away cleverly, something this plot could’ve used more of frankly but it’s refreshing to get at least a little: The reason they don’t just attack the sub en masse, besides it being you know incredibly valuable is that it’s made to be torpedo resistant, it’s sonar resitant so they can’t track it easily, and it’s faster than any ship. After all it was made to be a super weapon, so naturally the carriers standard barrage of navy vehicles can’t match it. However again to the episodes credit the tracker is actually vitally important, as it allows them to see the ship and where it is, so they can attack.. though right now their holding off on it since a crewman and a civilian are on board but if it comes down to it they’ll have no choice. I also gotta admit..t his concept is pretty cool. Kind of ridiculous? Sure but a super sub shaped like a whale that can still bite like one and outrun and outlast any other sea vehicle? It’s undoubtly awesome and a point in this episodes favor.  But now we get to most gloriously insane and convoluted part of the episode.. yes NOW we do. Donald and Scrooge naturally sneak around the ship, and find Dr. Bluebottle at his controls, talking to Flintheart on a video monitor. Turns out, to no one’s surprised, Flintheart subcontracted out his plans to Bluebottle and in exchange for keeping the money under the ocean till the contest, Glomgold is going to make sure he gets the Nobel Prize, and covers on all the magazines.  Okay at first I genuinely thought this plan made no sense.. until I realized it does, but ONLY for Glomgold. Bluebottle comes off as the smartest moron that’s ever lived for agreeing to any of this. But I have to give Glommy this the plan works out great for him: He convinces an already Rogue scientist to steal scrooge’s money, which prevents Scrooge from finding out what’s going on as he, correctly, guessed the government would cover this up because of course they did. He then correctly figured either the government would work with scrooge to trap bluebottle or they’d just use scrooge as bait anyway without a formal agreement, thus netting him scrooge’s entire fortune. He knows bluebottle won’t take it up because he gave bluebottle a bribe specifically for him and the only thing he wants, and even if he does take the money, Glomgold has more and Bluebottle could still remotely blow up the sub or something. And if he can’t the Navy would have to hold the sub, and money included , as evidence for the trial. And even if Bluebottle DOES rat him out, Glomgold could easily bury the evidence. The only way glomgold gets caught is if Bluebottle recorded their video chats or if scrooge saw them talking.. which he did, but given the two are direct competitors his testimony is dubious at best as is donald’s. So basically Flintheart almost certainly wins no matter what, and Bluebottle takes the fall no matter what. It does make Bluebottle comeff as a massive moron for not thinking of this, but props to glomgold.  Also yeah.. it’s clear to me at this point that if he hasn’t said it somewhere Frank clearly did the same thing he did with Gyro here with Flintheart: Take one accidental trait from the original (Glomgold’s penchant for overly complicated schemes and Gyro’s tendency to make robots that go rogue.) and make it a part of their personality instead of just a coincidence and turn it up to 11 for hilarity.. which worked in both cases. I genuinely thought this Flintheart was saner but no he’s just less interesting.  So Bluebottle gets an intruder alert.. and turns around to find Scrooge and Donald. Who rather than just whap the guy on the head while his back is turned, just stood there to confront him directly. 

Look this review is running long and is behind, I don’t have more time to marvel over how plot conveniently stupid they are being right now. A fight ensues with blue bottles inventions till Donald threatens to pull a big lever. I’ts thankfully not the self destruct lever like Donald thinks or Bluebottle’s equivlent of the blow up the engine button because he’s clearly just that smart, but a lever to dump all the gold.. which isn’t a terrible idea for once as if the ship gets stalled it can float up, as we’ll naturally see as there was no way they weren’t going to pull this chekov’s lever at some point. Scrooge stops him, Bluebottle uses gadgets to tie both up and finds out about the bug , as that’s why the miltary have been able to attack him which happened but I didn’t get to becuse of all the stupid. Bluebottle snuffs it out and then fully assaults the aircraft carrier, and things look grim. But Scrooge and Donald aren’t put down that easily and escape and scrooge pulls a donald and just starts breaking shit and breaks the sub.  Now with the sub plumiting, and Bluebottle bragging that only he can fix it as the sub will just keep sinking into the ocean’s depths.. and that only it’s design has kept compression from crushing them to death. But Scrooge has another solution and a suprisingly, and badassingly self sacrifical one: He dumps the money into the marinara trench, nice pun, and thus the whale floats up, Bluebottle is arrested, and Glomgold... still wins for now as Scrooge still has to get his fortune out, but Scrooge figures Gyro can help with that. We get an everybody laughs ending and we’re out. 

Final Thoughts: This one is a mess. While it has a great moment here or there, Donald and Tony as him are fantastic as they are now, and of course A Sea Monster Ate My Ice Cream! is an utterly classic scene and an utter joy to watch. The attached episode is just a mess structurally, if still a fun watch. Yes despite my bitching about it the sheer slapped together nature of it means it’s fun to pick apart and make fun of, so it’s not unwatchable. I’ve seen worse episodes of this very show, and worse episodes of tv. But as an old friend would say.

Not a terrible sit, but it easily could’ve been better. I’m also getting tired of scrooge being enitrely usless and just throwing up his hands at times. Stop that he’s better than that. With this one THANKFULLY AND FINALLY out of the way, next up is Aqua Ducks....... 

Oh god. Well if you want to see the next one follow me. If there’s an episode of any animated show you’d like to see me cover classic ducktales, modern ducktales, disney in general, etc, etc, just send me a PM and you can comission a review. 5 bucks for one episode, 15 for a movie and 5 bucks off one episode when you order three or more like say a multiparter like this. Until then say safe, check your house for Busey’s and hopefully we’ll meet again. 

[nightlynightwing]

a night of rest

word count: 1,772 ship: f.jord/anya notes: this takes place at the end of this past week’s episode. it’s technically a two-parter, but the second half is… a bit more spicy. we’ll see if people want it lmao. also, there’s a scene mentioned thats based on this drawing that i plan on also writing out eventually. also, this is Mostly Canon, but it might change later into the campaign, so (shrugs)

Beau and Jester were having their conversation in the stairway as they made their way to their room. Their voices, though they spoke in “whispers”, were loud enough to carry all the way down to the main floor. Anya could hear Caduceus’s basey voice reply, followed by Caleb calling up the stairs, also in response. The girls expressed their annoyance, and everyone in the Nein couldn’t help but laugh.

Anya stood up from her chair, smoothing out her cloak. She took in the sight around her, watching as Caleb pulled out a small flask, and Anya could already guess what was going to go down. She made her way to the stairs that would lead to her room on the XorHouse’s second floor. “Ah, you headin’ up?” 

Anya almost bumped into Caduceus as he made his way back to answer a summons from Caleb. He gave her a smile, one of those he would give that made Anya feel safe.

“Yeah, I probably should,” she nodded in thanks as Caduceus sidestepped to let her up into the stairs. “G’night, Fairy Floss.”

Caduceus returned her sentiment as she ascended, her aching body crying out for the sweet embrace of her mattress. Though, at this point, she honestly couldn’t tell if the pain she felt was physical, or if the emotional stress from everything that had happened was taking some sort of external toll on her body. Probably both.

She had just reached her door and was pushing it open when she heard the sound of footsteps from around the corner; Fjord almost bumped into her as he turned to head down the hall towards his own room.

“Ah,” Fjord stopped himself, taking a step back. “Hey.”

“Hey,” Anya responded, her voice soft. 

Images, memories of moments spent with Fjord suddenly flashed in her mind; times she had been alone with Fjord, and the feelings that had erupted in her chest when she thought she might lose him in the fight against the Laughing King; feelings that he had seen on her face, and heard in her voice. Stronger than that is the memory of the warmth that flooded her whole body as she sat beside Fjord, separated from their group, barely illuminated by the light of the fire, and their faces mere inches from each other. 

They stared at one another for several seconds, the time stretching between them, awkwardness thickening the air.

“We… We should talk,” Fjord managed to say.

Anya gave an embarrassed laugh. “Yeah… yeah. Come on in.”

Anya pushed her way into her room, lingering with her hand on the door as Fjord slipped inside as well. Closing the door behind him, Anya shuffled around the room quickly, using the small shafts of moonlight shimmering through her curtained windows to guide her to the candles scattered around her room. 

When she had finished lighting a few, their warm, dim glow revealed Fjord standing in the middle of Anya’s room, awkwardly glancing around. 

Clearing her throat, Anya pulled a chair away from her desk, gesturing Fjord to sit. As he complied, Anya went to sit on her bed.

For a moment, silence hung in the air like a fog, and Anya just looked Fjord’s face over as he studied her in return. The flickering illumination of the few candles she lit made his features more intense…

“So…” Fjord said.

“So.” Anya’s spoke softly, and she had to clear her throat to rid herself of a weird catch in her voice. Now that they were here, she had no clue what to say, so she just said the first words that came into her mind, “Are you okay?”

This must have taken Fjord by surprise, because it took him a moment to answer.

“I… guess I’m alright. Alright as I can be, anyhow,” he responded. “What about you?”

“Just the same, I suppose…” Anya muttered, absentmindedly rubbing at a bruise on her ribs.

“Well… what happened?” Fjord asked, his tone hesitant. “I know things’ve been… different between us for a while now, but I ain’t ever seen you act like that,”

Anya felt her stomach clench as she remembered how she had screamed her throat raw in the battle against the Laughing King, calling Fjord’s name as she desperately tried to figure out a way to save him; how hard and uncontrollably her tears had fallen as she had shakingly tried to use the last of her arcane energy to heal Fjord as much as she could, because she couldn’t help but think of herself mourning over his beaten, lifeless body.

“I… I don’t know,” she replied. “I don’t think I’d ever felt that way before.” She looked down at her hands, thinking back to how hard they were shaking; she elected to blame these memories for their slight tremors now. 

“How did you feel?” Fjord’s voice was low.

Anya swallowed nervously, and it took her a moment to find the words to respond with. 

“Like… if I lost you, I wouldn’t know what I’d do with myself.”

Her words lingered in the air, sinking into Anya’s own mind, and she could feel her face beginning to flush.

“You said things have been different for a while,” Anya said quickly. “What do you mean by that?”

It was Fjord’s turn to search for words. Anya could almost see his brain working to put his thoughts together, his hand in his chin, fingers covering his mouth that she could see was slanted in a frown. His eyebrows furrowed, leaving creases in his forehead. 

“I’m sure you remember that night we were alone in the woods,” he began. Anya nodded. “It’d been growin’, that feeling that things were… weird. That somethin’ was changing. And that night really brought it to a head…” 

Anya couldn’t tell if the dancing shadows of the candlelight were just playing tricks on her eyes, or if Fjord’s cheeks seemed darker in the way only a blushing orc’s face could be.  

“Those feelings…” Fjord had been looking off to the side, but when Anya spoke, he turned back to her. “Those feelings from that night, I’ve felt them before. But… they’re feelings I’ve been used to only feeling for a night, with someone who understood they wouldn’t be there the next morning…” Anya face was really burning now, and a strange lump had formed in her throat, pounding in rhythm with her racing heart. 

She forced herself to look up, to look Fjord in the eye, who was looking at her with an intensity she knew wasn’t just a trick of the light.

“This is the first time those feelings have lasted so long.”

Maybe Fjord could feel it too, the dizziness that had suddenly swept the room, the weird electricity that raced all along the top of Anya’s skin, and that’s what made him stand, made him cross the room to meet Anya, and maybe it’s what made Anya stand up from the bed to meet him, as well. 

Anya had no clue how long they stood there, eyes locked as if in a trance, just inches from each other. She felt as though someone else had decided to move her hands as they reached up to grasp at the front of Fjord’s shirt, tugging to move his face down close to hers. They’d been this close before, tantalizing and magnetic, always interrupted by confusion or the voices of others. No voices came this time, and the confusion that still lingered wasn’t enough to break the force pulling them together.

Fjord was the one to close the inch of difference, and Anya felt her stomach jolt when Fjord’s lips met hers. 

The kiss was soft, slight, tentative and curious. Their skin barely touched, and they let themselves stay like that for just a moment, drinking in all these new feelings. It was Anya who pushed, let the embrace deepen enough that she could feel Fjord’s newly sprouting tusks underneath his bottom lip. Fjord’s hands were on her waist, and the pressure of his touch felt warm and strangely heavy. 

This wasn’t their first kiss, but it was so, so different. Before, everything had been so strange, new, and a little daunting. Now, everything seemed to fit into place; one of Anya’s hands had curled up and around Fjord’s neck, cradling his nape and pulling him closer to her; Fjord’s arm moved to wrap around Anya’s body, curving her body into his so that their stomachs pressed together, his other hand gripping at her waist more tightly.

Lips parted, breath quickened, the room was thick with this strange energy holding them together, and Anya could feel her heartbeat echoing through every inch of her body. It wasn’t until her lungs were screaming that she finally forced herself to break away.

Her breath came in hot puffs, stirring the stray strands of ruffled hair. When she pulled back, Fjord’s tongue was left lolling out slightly, a small string of saliva connecting it to Anya’s lips that quickly broke as Anya moved away. Fjord removed his hand from Anya’s waist, using a thumb to swipe the stray strand of spittle away.

There was another stretch of silence until Fjord moved his hand, gently swiping Anya’s hair from her face, tucking it behind one ear and letting his hand drift to tangle with her short, choppy hair.

Lightly pressing his forehead to Anya’s, Fjord whispered,

“Will these feelings still be here tomorrow morning…?”

Anya let his words settle, let herself really feel everything she was feeling in that moment; what she had said before was true, the emotions rocketing through every nerve were ones she had felt before. But these were different, just like everything that had happened with her lately. These felt so much deeper, so much more frightening… and so much more exhilarating. 

“I think so…” she breathed back to him, putting her face close enough that her lips faintly brushed against his as she spoke. She raised her hand to touch it gently to his cheek, and a spark of something flashed in her eyes as her mouth tilted into a crooked smile. “You could always stick around and find out…”

Anya was expecting Fjord to laugh, to end their encounter here with notions of it not being the right time, or too soon. And she was perfectly fine with that; her suggestion wasn’t entirely serious, just her throwing out her usual playful musings. Her remark of “just kidding” and the beginnings of a laugh were just gathering on her tongue when Fjord tilted his head a bit his mouth curling in consideration.

“Y’know… I think I just might.”

[dramaworlduk]

  Drama recommendations!

Part 2!!

<-Part 1

11. The Legend Of The Blue Sea

There’s history, mythology, mystery, romance, and comedy- what more could you want?! Heo Joon-jae (Lee Min-ho) is the son of a rich businessman who becomes a handsome and clever con-man after his parents' divorce. Shim Cheong (Jun Ji-hyun) is a mermaid who becomes lost and runs into him. First only sticking by her for material gain, Joon-Jae slowly realises his feelings are a little stronger than that. Their tale is juxtaposed with the parallel story of their Joseon era incarnations, town head Kim Dam-ryeong and the mermaid Se-hwa. Cheong is absolutely adorable as she learns to adapt to human life, and strikes up friendships with some of the strangest people. Joon-Jae is a scumbag with a heart and a tragic past and it is very difficult not to love them both. The added element of mystery with a murderer on the loose and Cheong’s attempt to hide her identity make for a full and intriguing story that you won’t want to take your eyes off of.

Year: 2016

Where Can I Watch?: KissAsian

Episodes: 20, 1hr length

12. Pinocchio

Choi In-Ha (Park Shin-Hye) hiccups every time she lies. Choi Dal-Po’s (Lee Jong-Suk) life was ruined by the lies the media spread about his family. He is adopted by In-Ha’s family and they grow up together, battling back their feelings for each other and the cutthroat business of reporting which they’ve both found themselves pursuing. It explores the value and falldowns of honesty and how the media can be manipulated and faked. Friends->lovers plus lovely family bonds and the importance of empathy. Very good drama, emotive and charming, 100% recommend.

Year: 2014

Where Can I Watch?: Netflix

Episodes: 20, 1hr length

13. The Heirs

This ones a really good one if you’re starting off, as it’s not too heavy or complicated. Kim Tan (Lee Min-Ho),  a wealthy heir to a large Korean conglomerate, and Cha Eun-Sang (Park Shin-Hye) meet in America when Eun-Sang goes to visit her sister. After a failed encounter, Kim Tan offers to let Eun-Sang stay with him before she goes back to Korea. Despite being engaged to Yoo Rachel (Kim Ji-won), a fellow heiress, Kim Tan soon falls in love with Eun-sang. When Eun-Sang returns to Korea, Kim Tan also returns.  Tan’s ex best friend Choi Young-Do (Kim Woo-Bin) notices Tan’s softspot for the new girl and begins to pursue her too. It explores teenage trials and tribulations in the lives of the rich and the poor, as well as pressures from the adult world. 

Year: 2013

Where Can I Watch?: Netflix

Episodes: 20, 1hr length

14. Hymn Of Death

This three-parter channels Titanic with its tragic love story and historical setting. You go into this knowing there will be heartbreak, but it still hurts so much!!  It is based on the true story of the tragic romance between Joseon's first soprano Yun Sim-deok (Shin Hye-Sun) and a genius playwright Kim Woo-jin (Lee Jong-Suk). It is heartbreaking to see the two fall for eachother knowing they cannot be together for far too many reasons. It spans a number of years and their love remains strong throughout. The quotes in this from Woo-jin’s real journals are beautiful too and add to the real life story. A must watch, if not for the story, then for Shin Hye-Sun and Lee Jong-Suk’s acting which is fantastic throughout.

Year: 2018

Where Can I Watch?: Netflix

Episodes: 3, 1hr length

15. My Love From Another Star

Alien Do Min-Jun (Kim Soo-Hyun) whose time on earth is nearly up meets Famous actress Cheong Song-Yi (Jun Ji Hyun) as she moves in next-door to him. He finds himself entangled in Song-yi's crazy and unpredictable situations, and finds out that she looks like a young girl he fell in love with in the Joseon era. Song-Yi’s best friend Lee Hee-kyung (Park Hae-jin), is in love with her, but his older brother Lee Jae-kyung (Shin Sung-rok) has a dark secret and will get rid of anyone who finds out about it or gets in his way. This drama can be very intense at times wih the threat of Jae-kyung, but Song-Yi’s sweet, comedic personality serves for some very humourous moments too.

Year: 2014

Where Can I Watch?: Netflix

Episodes: 21, 1hr length

16. W: Two Worlds

Bad boy with a heart of gold?? Comic book world??? Violence and mystery?? Adorable, loyal sidekick?? Badass doctor who can travel between worlds?? LEE JONG SUK LOOKING HOT WITH A GUN?? W has it all. The premise is new and exciting, making for unpredictable plot twists and constant need for questions to be answered. W is a fictional bestselling webtoon in South Korea centering around the dramatic life of Kang Chul (Lee Jong-suk). Authored by Oh Seong-moo (Kim Eui-sung), somewhere along the line W became a living universe. The gap between the two worlds is crossed as Seong-moo's daughter, resident cardiothoracic surgeon Oh Yeon-joo (Han Hyo-joo) gets dragged into the webtoon world and is immediatel faced with saving Kang Chul’s life. Only, Kang Chul wasn’t meant to live. If you do one thing this year it should be to WATCH W. It’ll do you good, I promise.

Year: 2016

Where Can I Watch?: Netflix

Episodes: 16, 1hr length

17. While You Were Sleeping

A girl who sees the future in her dreams, and a seemingly unconnected new neighbour are brought together through a series of events. It is legal drama crossed with fantasy as Jung Jae-Chan (Lee Jong-suk) starts a new job at the prosecutor’s office despite his clumsy, goofy personality. Jae-Chan dreams about an accident which causes much grief and loss, and decides he must try to stop it, and in doing-so his connection with Nam Hong-Joo (Bae Suzy) is strengthened and their relationship blossoms. There are some great dynamics here, not only between Jae-Chan and Hong-Joo, but also with their friend Han Woo-Tak (Jung Hae-in), who begins to dream of the future too after his life is saved, and Choi Dam-Dong (Kim Won-hae) who is a funny but sweet father figure to Jae-Chan as he teaches him the ways of life as a prosecutor. Ruthless lawyer Lee Yu-Beom (Lee Sang-yeob)’s portayal is magnetic and captivating.

Year: 2017

Where Can I Watch?: KissAsian

Episodes: 32, 30min length

18. My ID Is Gangnam Beauty

Afraid of how her peers perceive her, Kang Mi-Rae (Im Soo-hyang) undergoes plastic surgery to stop worrying about her looks before she starts university. However, after a while at university people begin to label her as a ‘Gangnam plastic surgery monster’ as her appearance is a bit too obviously altered. Mi-rae struggles with her concerns of what people think about her, which has followed her around her whole life, in a stark contrast to Do Kyung-seok (Cha Eun-Woo), who does not care what others think. The general message of body positivity isn’t without its flaws, but it brings discussions of insecurity and societal standards to the forefront. The good messaging outweighs the flaws by far and there is also a fair bit of feminism going on, just keep track of Mi-rae’s T-shirt slogans! The relationship between Kyung-seok and Mi-rae is very sweet and shy, and Kyung-seok likes her regardless of what others think. Lighthearted but with an important message.

Year: 2018

Where Can I Watch?: Netflix

Episodes: 16, 1hr length

19. She Was Pretty

Kim Hye-Jin’s (Hwang Jung-eum) childhood friend contacts her years later wishing to reconnect. However, upon meeting Ji Sung-joon (Park Seo-joon) does not recognise her, expecting her to appear like her younger self. Kim Hye-jin was a beautiful girl from a rich family, but after her family's publishing company went bankrupt, she experienced hardships then lost her beauty too. Ji Sung-joon was a shy, unattractive boy, but grows up as a handsome and successful editor. Ashamed to meet her first love and ruin his perception of her, Hye-jin asks her attractive best friend, Min Ha-ri (Go Joon-hee), to act as her once, then make up an excuse to never see Sung-joon again. Things get complicated when Hye-jin is assigned to work at The Most magazine publishing office where Sung-joon is the deputy chief editor. He openly mistreats and belittles her for her clumsy nature, not knowing that she was his real childhood friend. Kim Shin-Hyuk () is the second lead in this and his performace is fantastic. The growth between Sung-joon and Hye-jin is definitely worth watching and messages about beauty resonate well.

Year: 2015

Where Can I Watch?: Netflix

Episodes: 16, 1hr length

20. Thirty But Seventeen

Although there are a fair few emotional moments, this show is still for the most part a light, heartwarming drama with little angst and struggle. Also, there are not really ny plausible second leads to confuse the romance storyline as Yoo Chan (Ahn Hyo-Seop) is Gong Woo-Jin’s (Yang Se-Jong) 19 year old nephew, and Kim Tae-Hyun has very little screen time. I feel this makes it a lot easier to connect to the main couple, who are ADORABLE. They are both still mentally 17, after Woo Seo-Ri (Shin Hye-Sun) was in a coma for 13 years, and Woo-Jin’s PTSD from the accident keeps him stuck on repeat. After waking from her coma, Seo-Ri returns to her old house, unaware that it is now under new ownership in the form of Woo-Jin’s family. There is still a lot of tropey goodness (living together!!), but the story and interactions feel fresh and unique, and the dynamic between Seo-Ri, Woo-Jin, Yoo Chan, and Jennifer (Ye Ji-Won) is enough to keep you watching as it’s so warm and pure. Not to mention the dog Paeng/Deok Gu!! I love them all so much and it’s just the sweetest!

Year: 2018

Where Can I Watch?: KissAsian

Episodes: 32, 30min length

[tipsycad147]

4 Terrific Spells For Bringing Happiness Into Your Life

SL Bear

I’ve been reading about happiness and joy lately. It’s the one thing everybody wishes they had more of in their lives but struggle with. Sometimes we’re happy and don’t realise it, looking back fondly at better times without enjoying the moment we’re living in. Sometimes happiness feels out of reach because we see our happiness as tied inextricably with the accomplishment of a goal or the acquisition of a thing we want. If I had A, B or C, then I’d be happy. Whatever the reason for our perceived unhappiness, as witches we have the special ability to focus and manifest happiness pretty simply. First, though, it’s important to remember perception and how to use it to change your world.

Our opinions, beliefs, and how we see the world are deeply important to us. They inform our entire personalities. The truth of the matter is that there are very few right or wrong opinions (not to be confused with facts). They are just that, opinions, and they should evolve as we grow. Thinking a certain way, and having that thought fixed in our heads, can be a good and bad thing. On one hand, knowing how we feel can build confidence and decisions are easier to make. On the other, being unable to change, or stubbornly clinging to our opinions, can keep our minds closed to possibilities and opportunities. So what does this have to do with happiness? Everything. The way you perceive your world and your opinions of it can have a direct effect on how you feel. If you wake up and the first thing you think about is how unhappy you are and how this, this and this are bringing you down, well, you’ve already set yourself up for failure. By simply changing your mind and how you see these obstacles will make all the difference. Perception is the key that unlocks everything.

Open My Eyes Spell

All that is well and good, but I understand that changing long-held beliefs — especially during times of depression and anxiety, when things are already overwhelming — is not easy. It is something you can learn to do, then practice daily until suddenly, your world looks completely different. A great way to start is by practising gratitude. Instead of thinking about what you don’t have, focus on what you do and be thankful. Another way is through rituals that help you see your life in a new light.  

This spell brings clarity to open your mind to a new way of thinking. You’ll be able to see holes in some mental arguments you have with yourself and beliefs that you’re holding onto about yourself or your life that are holding you back. Most importantly, you’ll be more willing to let these unhelpful beliefs go. You can see how you are blocking your own joy and know how to better work with yourself, not against yourself.

What you will need:

Diluted Citronella Oil

Cloves

Lemon or orange rind

Citrine or amber stone

Pearl or moonstone

Blue candle

Small bowl of water

Sponge

Dress your candle in the oil and set aside. Grind the cloves and lemon together to form a powder then add it to the bowl of water. As you stir, focus on people, pets, accomplishments, talents, etc. in your life you are grateful for — everything that makes you incredibly happy. Place the sponge into the water. As the sponge is soaking, light the candle and place it some place near, but on a raised surface. Now, pick a place to get comfortable, either a mat on the floor or your bed so you can lie down, and squeeze out the sponge so it’s not soaking wet but still moist to the touch. Lay down, place the pearl and citrine on your chest, and the cool sponge on your forehead. Breath through your nose and out your mouth, focusing only on being still and calm.

Once you feel peaceful, think about some beliefs you have about yourself, thoughts or feelings that you feel might impede your happiness or make you stressed; things that seem very important to you right now. Stay neutral while you examine these beliefs and don’t get keyed up. It may be a good idea to think of words only, if that helps to see things objectively. Now break down each stressful feeling and make it powerless. In 60 years, will this belief about yourself matter to you? Do you want it to? What is something positive about yourself that counters this belief or makes it untrue? Think of times in your life when this opinion about yourself was proven wrong. You may believe this thought or feeling has a lot of power over you, but if you stop reinforcing this belief, it goes away. It is no longer true if you do not believe it.

Focus on the coolness on your forehead and all the things that bring you joy. These are the things that require your energy. Throughout the days and weeks going forward, when you feel these unhelpful, untrue thoughts and feelings creeping in, practice remembering the cool feeling right above your eyes, and focus on that instead — good things at the forefront of your mind.

Invite Joyful People Spell

Everyone knows that being around negative people can affect your mood. Certain friends and family members seem to have a special talent for exhausting us emotionally. While I’m a strong supporter of cutting out toxic influences, I know that’s not always possible, so I figure the alternative is to invite more positive people in through magic. This spell works to do just that. In the days and weeks following this spell, be very aware of new people and be open to new relationships. It won’t help much to invite them to you if you have no intention of making that connection!

What you will need:

Chicory

Angelica

Lodestone

Basil

Purple candle

Grind together the chicory, angelica and basil. Place the candle on a dish, and sprinkle your powder around the base of the candle and on the top as well, so it will mix with the wax as the candle burns. Light the candle and settle down in a comfortable position.

Lodestones are powerful magnets for bringing us what we want, so hold it in your left hand and be very clear with your intentions in the next step. Close your eyes and picture yourself as a point of light, repelling darkness. Imagine you are a magnet for fun, intelligent, and kind people. Think about the people you know who fit this description already, and ways you can bring them more fully into your life. See how you could be more open to these kinds of people, ways to meet them, places they may frequent and let yourself be drawn there. Stay in this moment until your candle has covered the dusting of powder. Now follow your intuition. As you encounter new people, try to read them and give them a chance. Go to new places. Reach out. And carry your lodestone with you, focusing on your intention of bringing great people into your life!

Help Others Through Magic

One of the best ways to bring joy into your life is by helping others and showing compassion. Doing something nice for your friends or family, even something small like getting them a card or bringing over some of their favorite food, will go along way to making you feel great! You can also use magic to help others. Witchcraft can feel very isolating at times, with a strong focus on the self. Using your magic to help others is a way to take the focus off yourself, which can be a relief (especially if you’ve been in a negative state of mind). It also helps someone else — always a surefire way to feel better. This spell is used to make something good happen for someone you care about.

What you will need  

Neroli oil diluted in a carrier oil

Amethyst

Opal

Basil

Salt

Gold candle

To begin, carve your loved one’s name into the gold candle, dress it with the oil, and place it on a dish. Sprinkle a small circle of salt around this candle and place the opal and amethyst to the right and left of the dish, upon the circle of salt. Light the candle and sprinkle the crushed basil into the flame while thinking of your loved one’s face, why they deserve something great, and getting what they need. Pour your heart and soul into this intention! The spell is complete when the candle has burned all the way down.

Joyful Movement Spell

Lots of things can have a positive impact on how you’re feeling. Going for a walk, cleaning your room, taking a shower, watching a favourite movie, having a great meal, finding funny videos to watch are all quick pick-me-ups. For witches, performing magic and surrounding yourself with magic can have the same effect. It’s fun to organise your herb collection, cleanse your stones, light some incense and get into a witchy mood. Because everything we do in magic has a purpose, we can combine activities like showering or cleaning with witchcraft and turn them into silent reflection, focusing, or cleansing moments.

Likewise, we can mix movement and magic. Lots of people dislike exercise because it can be boring, but it’s important to get up and move, both for body and mind. The good news is you can easily turn the monotony of exercise into a magical ritual. I suggest dancing!

When you dance to music, lots of things happen to your body. Your heart rate speeds up, your muscles flex and you get to release tension. If you keep it up regularly, your circulation improves, which is a long-term boost to your health. You sleep better and you’re motivated to eat better as well, according to some studies. There are also studies that suggest dancing improves brain function!

This spell is a two-parter. First, put on your favourite dance music, turn it up, and go wild. Dance and move in all directions, letting the energy flow. Instead of focusing on anything in particular, try to free your mind of all thought and just tune into the music itself. This makes for an excellent cleansing ritual but we’re going to use it to build positive energy which will be channelled into part two, the spellwork.

What you will need:

Horehound

Aventurine

Silver

Peony petals

Cayenne pepper

A large bowl of freshly collected dirt

Note: This is spell is most effective during a full moon.

I suggest that you set everything up before you begin to dance so it’s ready for you after you’ve finished. When you’ve built up tons of good energy don’t turn off the music! Combine the horehound, petals, cayenne, and dirt in a large bowl, then take the silver in your right hand and the aventurine in your left. Push your fists into the dirt and hold them there a moment. Then release the silver and stone and move your hands around. Rake the dirt slowly with your fingers, pick it up in handfuls and let it sprinkle back into the bowl. Watch your breathing during this spell. Once it has returned to normal and your hands are wonderfully earthy, remove them from the bowl and place them above it, palms up. Close your eyes and repeat this spell:

“Rain on the earth,

Earth on my hand.

When storms chase me,

I can withstand.

Sun chases rain,

And clouds chase the sun.

Joy chases me,

And I no longer run.”

Wash your hands well and dispose of the dirt by your front door. Don’t forget to retrieve the silver and aventurine!

Bringing joy into your life is not a complicated process. Changing the way you see your life is where it gets tricky. Each day every single one of us is challenged by stress, internal negativity and outside forces that just seem there to upset us. Getting rid of all negativity from your life isn’t the goal. That’s just life! It’s up to us to take these things in stride and see opportunity over obstacles. Embrace the things that make you happy and use your natural talent as witches to cleanse, stay balanced, and keep that perspective in check.

https://thetravelingwitch.com/blog/4-terrific-spells-for-bringing-happiness-into-your-life