#(obviously fragrances smell different on everyone but yeah! this is super nice)

[russellius]

what's an appropriate way to say thank you to a coworker who brought you a sample of the cologne your blorbo is [most probably] using????????????

it's a super interesting scent btw!!! from the bottle it's very lemony, a lot of cypress, pine(?), and off the bat it almost smelled a bit like honey on my skin?? there is a lot going on in it, and at first it seemed sweet, but once it calms down, most of this early sweetness is gone (there is still a tiny bit that lingers though, which is really nice), and the bitter, fresh parts with the sea vibes take over. it's very elegant, clean, yet unique. there is a vibrant streak to it, but it smells old school, like a classic. after about an hour it got deeper on me, and more spice appeared, which was very lovely. it also has a very prominent layer of that usual masculine scent most male fragrances have, while still being airy, so it's not that in your face feeling, but the one that really draws you in instead. overall the mediterranean description is spot on. a massive W in my eyes

#deranged! #but to be fair to me! #he is a fragrance nerd and im into this stuff too #and we were discussing some very important matters at work - as you do #and i was like yeah for me there is this one tom ford i want to smell #and he was like oh actually i do have a sample of that... i could bring it to you :))))) #and i said sure thank you ☺️ #and then he asked me why so i had to act like a normal person??? like. uhhhh i was just uhhhh talking about it with someone uhhhhh #r #(obviously fragrances smell different on everyone but yeah! this is super nice) #(on my skin after i sprayed it it was incredibly sweet for a sec #but once it dries thats gone) #(what happens after that also depends on the person like most things on me tend to become spicy) #(have to say tho - its a true summer scent and it doesnt last particularly long) #(but i love that it handles the lemon cypress duo so nicely #and the sea vibe as well #because im always wary of these things smelling like air fresheners 💀) #(but there is enough stuff in this to balance that out and give it a richer deeper scent. its hot ill say it.) #(i also have to be careful because my own perfume is very strong and i keep smelling that on myself lmao)

[nadacwriter]

OCtober (Belated) Day 9: Mentor

Part of @oc-growth-and-development‘s OCtober!

I WILL be writing a companion piece for this one, it’ll be for the CRAFT prompt.It’ll be kinda dark, and we’ll get to see that not everyone in the family gets along with Natalie. 

Words: 1,481

Norah Gaine was probably going to end up owning her mother's alchemy shop. She had even dropped out of school to learn more about the store and how to run it. She had no intention of doing anything else, so, she figured it'd be better to practice that than, say, general astronomy or whatever else. But it meant that by now, she was an expert in potions.

At age 18, she was already a master of the craft, a which paralleled by few. She was already making High class potions and serious poisons, and selling them for a good price in the store. And she had already taken the store into her hands if her mother was sick or just unable to deal with the store fully.

But all potions had to be made first. And Norah was making easy work of a particular potion that she knew could sell well; crimson balm. A topical balm used for treating fatigue one spot of that could work better than mountains of caffeine. Too much could, obviously, be a serious problem. But she was being careful; alchemist's gloves, safety goggles, her long braids of hair done up in a tight bun, and working in a well lit area. With no distractions…

Well. Then there was Natalie.

The younger girl sighed as she walked in. “Before you ask, yes, my potions test went horribly.” She said, laying face down on the couch. “And now I'm convinced mom's gonna kill me.”

Norah looked over, giggling, “Mom doesn't kill people. Mam, maybe, but not mom.” She said, looking back to her work. It would be done soon, it seemed.

“What kind of potion?” She asked, still focused on her work.

“Ugh, I studied so hard trying to make Flier's Potion, and then the professor just randomly changed up what we were doing and made us make some weird hawkfeather thing.” Natalie sat up and crossed her arms, looking over at the bubbling cauldron.

“That smells like crimson Balm.”

“it IS crimson balm.” Norah took the cauldron in her gloved hands and poured the contents into a saucer, before adding a strange pink powder to the top and pouring it into a large glass pitcher.

“its for an order, you can't borrow any this time.”

“But it smells so GOOD!” Natalie said, walking over to the table, “It's like a million cherries all at once.”

Noah took the pitcher and poured it into little vials. “I bet I could teach you a cherry fragrance, I know a pretty easy one.”

Natalie sighed and shook her head, “I'd probably mess that one up, too. I don't think potions are gonna be my thing.”

“Maybe not potions,” Norah said, capping the vials and arranging them, “But fragrances are simple. No dangerous ingredients, no horrible mishaps, nothing like that.” Norah picked up one of the vials and then sighed, putting it back down.

“Would you mind?”

“Huh? Oh, yeah, no problem.”

Natalie counted the bottles in her head before snapping her hand, and sticers and labels appeared on the bottles. 'Crimson Balm, Gibson family Potions'

“I never knew how you did that,” Norah said, beginning to clean out her cauldron and turning off the burner.

“Oh, command spells? They're super simple on inanimate objects. You learn 'em in wizardy intro courses.”

“Well, that'd explain it, I'm not a wizard,” Norah said, “And even if I were, I don't know how good I would be at domestic.”

“There's no domestic witchery course?”

“There is, but Mom hasn't taught me much of that stuff yet.”

The two stood there, looking at each other for a moment.

“...If you teach me that fragrance thing, I'll teach you command spells.”

“Deal.”

__

“So it's soap?” Asked Natalie, looking over the ingredients laid out in front of her; wax, cherries, lemongrass, and some strange jar of water.

“Nope. It'd be a candle, if not for flowing water.” Norah said, taking the strange jar and opening it. Sure enough, the water inside was flowing like a rapid stream over rocks, bubbling and roiling.

“How do you get it to do that?!” Asked Natalie, looking at the water in the jar.

“It's very complicated alchemy. I would have made some just for this, but it's way too hard, I just pulled some from the store.” She said.

“Yeah, I'm not gonna figure that one out.” Natalie said, “My wizard brain can't handle it.”

Norah got a few more things, two small cauldrons and two small burners, “Don't wizards have a form of alchemy that witches can't do?”

��Transmutation, but that's so different it's not even funny,” Natalie mentioned, “tin to lead, lead to brass, brass to iron, iron to bronze, bronze to silver, silver to gold, and gold to...well, whatever you want. But getting from tin to gold can take MONTHS of work. You guys can make incredibly powerful potions in a matter of hours. It's so incredible.”

“Well,” Norah giggled, “We try our best! Now, take that flowing water and put some into your cauldron.”

The water flowed as it was poured into the cauldron, and Natalie watched with a keen eye. The cauldron was only a little warm, but the water's flow did slow down as it hit the bottom of the copper cauldron.

“Is it supposed to slow down?” Natalie asked.

“Yes,” Norah answered, “The heat does that. It keeps the mixture from foaming. Now, add the lemon grass.”

“Just straight in?”

“Straight in.”

The lemongrass floated in the water, taking up a decent portion of the mixture.

“Now, let that sit, we gotta crush the cherries down.”

Norah took the cherries to a metal contraption, with a holed basin that looked like a large, flat colander. She placed the cherries inside of the machine, and used a large plank to crush the cherries into a pulp, letting it into a basin at he bottom.

“This is just straight juice. Nothing else in there. Take those to bars of wax for me?”

Natalie took the two bars of wax and placed them in the basin. Natalie reached in and took the wax out, making sure it was covered nicely. “And now we let it sit.”

“How long?”

“Just a little while.”

The two stood, watching the mixture.

“...So, you still wanna learn command magic?” Asked Natalie, “It's pretty simple-”

“I don't know, nat, I don't think I can learn wizard methods. The way you guys learn is just so different from how we do.”

“Well, yeah, but you could do it! It'd take time, but...oh. I see what you're saying.” Natalie said, crossing her arms, “You tricked me into a moral.”

Norah smirked a little, “So what if I did? You have to learn why there's a difference some day.”

Natalie rolled her eyes, 'Then WHY do I have to take an alchemy course if I'm not a witch?!”

“Because you can use methods from one to influence how you learn from the other. How do you think Mom taught me to make wax into perfume?”

“...Tin to gold.”

“Exactly.” norah said, poking her sister's nose, “you're never gonna be both a great Witch AND Wizard. But you can use one to improve your understanding of the other.”

“Well, you and I BOTH know I have problems picking sides.”

Norah laughed a bit, “Your sexuality has nothing to do with your magical education, Natalie. Now, I think that wax has sat long enough.”

The two took their bars o wax and let them sit in the cauldrons, mixing in a light blue powder as the wax melted, and stirring it gently.

“Just think of the air around it,” Natalie said, “and manipulated it to do what you want.”

“...What?”

“The spoon. Make the spoon stir itself by manipulating the air around it.” Natalie said, making her spoon stir without even looking at it.

“Are you trying to teach me wizard techniques through witch lgic?”

“you SAID use one to influence the other.”

“I did say that, let me give it a shot.”

Norah scrunched her nose up and looked at the spoon. It twisted, then it shifted, and eventually, it was stirring itself.

“See? Look at you doing wizard things.” Nat said, smiling wide as she looked on.

__

Natalie was in her room later that night, looking over an old book she'd 'obtained'. When she looked at her clock and saw just how late it was, she rubbed her eyes.

“Fatal spells and incantations can wait a day, I think.” She said, closing the book and placing it in a compartment under her bed.

She went to a shelf and grabbed some of the fragrance she'd made with norah that afternoon. She inhaled deeply, letting the scent of cherries and light lemon fill her nose, before setting it back down and going to bed.

She was fast asleep when the door crept open...

#OCtober #DELSTRAN