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                “Normally it is not polite to go into somebody’s room without knocking, but you can make an exception if the person is dead, or pretending to be dead.” [x]

CONCEPT: the bad daughter from charles perrault’s fairy tale “diamonds and toads” makes a living using her CURSE to help evict sundry supernaturals from coffins, graveyards, and other haunts for a tidy sum. throw in some gogolian antics, a bit of old fashioned witchery, a good dose of humor and you have:

PLAGUEDAUGHTER.

Honestly, this is all crazy to me. When I first made this account, I went into it thinking that I’d maybe have 10-15 followers, tops, and that they’d all be accounts my friends were running. To have reached this milestone in less than a year is, well, surprising, to say the least. I’m floored and overwhelmed everyday with how much interest people have in Pasha and how much people enjoy interacting with us.

I wanted to take a few minutes out of my day to say thank you to everyone.

To all of you who’ve been here since day one: Thank you.

To all of you who talk to me everyday and cry over our babies with me: Thank you.

To all of those I’ve never had the pleasure of speaking with: Thank you.

To all of you who have just started following me: Thank you.

To all my followers: THANK YOU!

None of you had to follow me—and you certainly didn’t have to stick around—but you chose to anyway, and for that I will be forever grateful. xoxoxo

And now, without further ado, a dank ass follow forever list.

The following are all taken from The Pierces’ 2008 album, Thirteen Tales of Love And Revenge. Change the pronouns, names, punctuation as it suits you. Use or remove things n parentheses. Feel free to shift the spelling to convey your character’s accent and dialect. Some nsfw, some drug mention. Some murder. So it goes.

“Got a secret, can you keep it?”

“If I show you then I know you won’t tell what I said.”

“Two can keep a secret if one of them is dead.”

“Why do you smile like you’ve been told a secret?”

“No one keeps a secret.”

“Are you hypnotized by secrets that you’re keeping?”

“I have something I want to tell you but you have to promise never to tell anyone.”

“I promise.”

“Do you swear on your life?”

“I swear on my life.”

“You swore you’d never tell.”

“Two can keep a secret if one of us is dead.”

“We’re going out.”

“Boring.”

“Nothing thrills us anymore.”

“No one kills us anymore.”

“Life is such a chore (when it’s boring).”

“Sexy boy, girl on girl, ménage à trois — boring.”

“Marijuana, cocaine, heroin — boring.”

“Galliano, Donatella, Dolce & Gabbana — boring.”

“Caviar, escargot, Dom Perignon — boring.”

“’Love of my life, bear your child, everything I’ve ever wanted’ — boring.”

“Hey, domino, I am stopping you from falling.”

“I’m the one you want.”

“Sticks and stones will break your bones and leave you lying in the mud.”

“You get scared when we’re alone like I might suck your blood.”

“I could tell you a witch’s spell but it just might blow your top.”

“You start to run just as I’m having fun.”

“It’s awfully hard to stop.”

“Hey, loverboy, oh, now do you believe me?”

“That’s not all that I can do.”

“Sit back down — I’m afraid we won’t be leaving.”

“Can’t undo my spell on you.”

“I don’t think I can stop.”

“Some people say that I want you for your money but I really want you for your body.”

“Pleased to meet you, baby.”

“I want to be your honey.”

“This won’t get any easier now that your heart is beating in my hand.”

“I’ll try not to destroy you, baby, even though we both know I can.”

“Clear the bed to lie on, darlin’, make a mess of me.”

“Here’s my dress to try on, baby.”

“Let me be your man.”

“Tell me what I am.”

“Can we run away together?”

“I would walk on water, I would walk on fire, I would sell my soul to the devil.”

“I’m done with compromise.”

“You’ve got me, dirty angel.”

“Aren’t you ready to come clean?”

“Don’t you hear me when I say I’m lonely?”

“Do I kid myself to think that I am your one and only?”

“I can’t tell you how many times I’ve cried over you.”

“I’ve had one too many sleepless nights over you.”

“Can’t you see I’m wounded? (Go ahead and put me down.)”

“I’m dying to believe you.”

“Cross your heart and hope to die.”

“When I woke up this afternoon I knew I felt uneasy.”

“No matter what I’d do nothing seemed to please me.”

“I couldn’t get out of my head that little fight we had last night.”

“Though I would much rather be dead than admit to myself that you were right.”

“Now don’t look at me that way. You know I just can’t take it.”

“No matter what they say I know that we will make it.”

“‘Cause when we are good, we’re grand but when we’re bad we are very bad.”

“But I stick around ‘cause the love that you’re giving me is the best I’ve ever had.”

“And it’s funny to me, the way that things have worked out.”

“There’s no doubt in my mind that you can’t recall what this all was about.”

“Love me sweetly and completely.”

“Come and sit beside me ‘cause you know I need you near.”

“This is the end of us.”

“You’ll never hear my voice again.”

“All that I want is for you to come to ruin.”

“All that I want is for you to come crawling back (to me).”

“This is the end of us and everything you said we’d be.”

“I do not want for you to be happy.”

“You won’t forget my name, but I’ll forget your face tomorrow.”

“If we built an armour for our tender bodies, could we love each other? Would we strive to feel?”

“You say you want to know her like a lover and undo her damage; she’ll be new again. Soon you’ll find that if you try to save her it will renew her anger. You will never win.”

“You want never bitter and all delicious and a clean conscience and all its blisses.”

“You want one true lover with a thousand kisses.”

“You want soft and gentle and never vicious.”

“He could bring me to my knees.”

“You were walking faster than I could run.”

“Boy, you’ve got a lot to learn.”

“What were you doing in my dream last night, honey?”

“Well it’s a mystery to me how you keep on slipping in my mind.”

“And  it’s downright dirty that this old wound won’t heal with time.”

“Well you could wash my brain, you could tear out my heart but I would never forget you.”

“It’’s killing me that I’m still in love with you.”

“Just when I think I’ve got you in safe keeping that’s when your memory, it comes 'round creeping.”

“Well it’s an ache I can’t shake and it’s creeped down deep into my core.”

“But babe I can’t fake it, I can’t take this heartbreak anymore.”

“I asked you please to leave my heart but you refused to go.”

“I can’t take this pain much longer.”

“You insist on teaching me what I already know.”

“Well, I’ve been lying here all alone.”

“Wondering if you are ever coming home.”

“I left on the light by the bed in case you were to call.”

“What is wrong with me?”

“I never really thought it would last. (And here I am now, fading fast.)”

“No, I could not sleep tonight”

“Where would you go? What would you do if it wasn’t me, it was you?”

“If only you could feel my heart race.”

“Well maybe I am not what you thought.”

“Don’t worry, you are not what I thought you were either.”

“No matter how hard it gets, no matter how thick your head is, there’s always something more to learn. (Even if you just want to quit.)”

“I can’t tell you how to live your life, but I know how to live mine.”

“I take home pretty things that I like and baby, you are so fine.”

“I swore I would never fall in love with a boy in a rock and roll band.”

“Why do I adore you? We’ve only just met.”

“I feel I would do anything for you.”

“I’ve had too much wine.”

“Make love to me until the sun comes up or until we decide we are done. Or until all the prayers that go to heaven get an answer.”

“You are absurd.”

“You say the cutest things I’ve ever heard.”

“I don’t think I can take another word or my head might explode.”

The following are all taken from The Pierces’ 2011 album, You & I. Change the pronouns, names, punctuation as it suits you. Feel free to shift the spelling to convey your character’s accent and dialect.

“We could bring a blanket for the grass.”

“Cover up your eyes so you don’t see.”

“If you let me go I’m running fast.”

“We could watch the black birds cross the skies.”

“We could count the leaves left on the trees.”

“We could count the teardrops in our eyes.”

“Now you know how I feel and I won’t back down.”

“Prick your finger on a spinning wheel but don’t make a sound.”

“Drop of blood and now you’re taken for all time.”

“With a kiss you will awaken and you’ll be mine.”

“I could always stay and work it out.”

“Wondering if you still wanted me.”

“But there are so many things to doubt.”

“Think that for a moment you were mine.”

“I know that you saw what we could be”

“But then you went and changed your mind.”

“Seven months to the day since I saw your face.”

“You roam the earth like a fire holding out ‘til the bitter end.”

“You’re holding on ‘til the bitter end.”

“I take a walk into town, it’s like a dead-end street.”

“The sidewalks sing your name underneath my feet.”

“Baby where’d you go, did you sail away with some distant notion?”

“Darling what we had it cannot be taken, it cannot be stolen.”

“And it won’t be forgotten no it won’t be forgotten.”

“Summer disappears like a dream I had.”

“And winter comes with a knife that cuts you down and it never ends.”

“I hurry past the place you like to drink alone.”

“Seven months to the day you left me here on this avenue.”

“Darling what we had it cannot be taken, it cannot be broken and it won’t be forgotten.”

“Seven months to the day and you don’t leave a trace.”

“I find you never seem to notice.”

“They’re intertwined, but they’re still free,”

“Oh but you don’t wanna hear it.”

“What’s it to do with you and me?”

“Tell me, how can I love you more.”

“What now,

“Step off the heart that’s on the floor.”

“We are stars, fashioned in the flesh and bone,”

“We are islands,excuses to remain alone.”

“We are moons, throw ourselves around each other.”

“We are oceans, being controlled by the pull of another.”

“I just wanna be loved by you,”

“I see nothing worse than to sail this universe without you.”

“When we met, I was pulling an angel out of a liar.”

“We forget, satisfaction kills our desire.”

“We are dreamers, wishing upon what we were born from.”

“We make plans, kill them ourselves and then we mourn them.”

“If I found a way then I would make you stay maybe one more night if you wanna.”

“God bless the world, it’s so glorious.”

“God bless the ones we’ve loved, God bless the ones we’ve lost.”

“I will never die, never die like you.”

“If I found the boy, the one with golden eyes you know I think I’d haunt you.”

“Say afterlife’s ok.”

“But it got so lonely when you turned away.”

“I feel like hell today.”

“He was moving towards me like a deadly hurricane.”

“Well the eye was on the sparrow but I was in the rain.”

“Why can’t I know secrets that you’re keeping from me?”

“Stop, don’t tell me now.”

“I don’t know how to bring to life the things that meant so much to me before.”

“There is danger in your your words that I cannot ignore.”

“Why must I conceal the secrets I’ve been keeping from you.”

“Time flies by like planes above and worries me to death.”

“I lose you more and more with every breath.”

“Clock strikes three in the morning and I lie sleepless.”

“In the early light I found you with the bottle by your side.”

“I can see by your eyes you know that I…I’m kissing you goodbye.”

“I’m kissing you goodbye.”

“So I think I will leave you guessing after all you put me through.”

“I don’t want nobody else if I can’t be with you.”

“Leave me in quiet.”

“You said I was hiding and I will not deny it.”

“Your eyes look heavy (babe), so why won’t you just sleep.”

“I can’t afford to watch you walk away.”

“These games you play are bringing me down.”

“If you could see all of this sorrow in me, I’ve got to believe you’d stick around.”

“My life goes on slowly without you, I move through space and time.”

“I feel the air heavy upon my skin and wonder if I’ll see you again.”

“If the weekend starts on Wednesday and it lasts till Monday night then when Tuesday comes around, you better treat your body right or it will drag you down.”

“Yeah, you say you’ll have another then another turns to five.”

“So when morning rolls around, you’ll be surprised you’re still alive.”

“It’s just another role that you do.

“If you’re looking for a lover and you find someone you hate, if you stay with them forever then I guess you’ve found your fate.”

“It’s funny how it all works out in the end.”

“It’d be a tragedy for anyone that was your girl, because the saddest part is you want the love of all the girls.”

Image Credit: Herbal Academy of New England

As a part-two to my glossary of herbal preparation techniques, I decided to make one for some of the effects too! What’s the difference between an emmenagogue and an abortifacient? What’s the fancy word for “cures fevers”? Here’s a list of the most common terms used to describe herbal medication effects.

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Abortifacient - Promotes or induces abortions of foetuses

Adjuvant - A therapy that is used to increase the action of  another therapy, rather than as a treatment in and of itself, such as  adjuvant chemotherapy for cancer.

Anaesthetic - Causes loss of sensation, and usually  unconsciousness, by suppressing nerve function rather than through analgesia.

Analeptic - Stimulates action or restores correct action in the  central nervous system

Analgesic - Relieves pain without suppressing functionality of  pain-receptive nerves

Anaphrodisiac - Reduces libido or sexual arousal

Androgenic - An agent that mimics the action of, increases the production of, or blocks the reabsorption of androgens (e.g. testosterone). May not actually act as androgens themselves.

Anorectic - An agent that suppresses the appetite; not related  to anorexia nervosa, which is a psychological disorder.

Anorexia - Abnormally low appetite, a common symptom of many  infections or diseases. This is a physical symptom, unrelated to anorexia  nervosa.

Anorexia  nervosa - A psychological disorder which manifests itself  through extreme and abnormal reduction in consumption of food, resulting in  extreme weight-loss. Most commonly related to feelings of lack of control, or  an obsessive need to maintain thinness. Frequently causes death. Not related  to anorexia the physical symptom.

Antianaemic - Reduces symptoms of anaemia

Antibacterial - Kills or otherwise prevents the spread, growth or  reproduction of bacteria

Antibilious - Reduces stomach disease, most typically indigestion

Anticatarrh - Reduces inflammation of the mucous membranes of the  head and neck

Anticoagulant - Prevents or limits the clotting of blood;  colloquially known as “blood-thinning”

Antidepressant - Reduces the effects of or causative agents of  psychological depression

Antidiabetic - Reduces, relieves or treats diabetes

Antidiarrhetic - Reduces or cures diarrhea

Antiemetic - Causes the stopping of vomiting (emesis)

Antifungal - Kills or otherwise prevents the spread, growth or  reproduction of fungi

Anti-inflammatory - Reduces and controls inflammatory histamine  responses

Antimicrobial - Kills or is otherwise destructive to microorganisms  generally

Antioxidant - Prevents or inhibits the formation of oxygen  radicals within the body; prevents or inhibits the oxidation of molecules,  usually proteins

Antipruritic - Reduces, cures or treats itching

Antipyretic - Reduces, cures or treats fevers

Antirheumatic -Reduces pain caused by rheumatic disorders of the  joints

Antiseptic - Opposes the actions of sepsis such as the formation  of pus; promotes asepsis

Antispasmodic - Causes a reduction in spasms and convulsions of the  muscles

Antitussive - Reduces, cures or treats coughing

Antiviral - Kills or is otherwise destructive to viruses or  virion particles

Aperient - A form of very mild laxative

Aperitive - Stimulates the appetite; combats anorexia (the  symptom)

Aphrodisiac - Promotes an increase in libido and sexual arousal

Asepsis - Sterile, without lifeforms (especially microbial);  healthy blood is always aseptic, for example

Astringent - An agent that causes the coagulation or binding of  proteins, especially in cell membranes

Bitter (as in  medicine) - A form of aperitive; may also stimulate digestive  function and metabolism

Cardiac - Of or related to the muscles, structures and  extracellular matrices of the heart

Carminative - Causes relaxation of the stomach and its associated  sphincters

Catarrhal - Of or related to inflammation of the mucosal  membranes of the head and neck

Cathartic - Causing the purging of waste, typically in the  faeces or by promoting bowel movements

Cholagogue - Induces the production of bile

Cicatrizant - Aids in the formation of scar tissue; helps heal  wounds

Contusion - A subdermal bursting of the capillaries; a  bruise

Counterirritant - An agent that produces an inflammatory response in  an adjacent region to an area of damage as a means of treating that damage

Demulcent - Soothes, reduces pain and inflammation, or regulates  proper mucous production in mucosal membranes

Depressant - An agent that temporarily reduces metabolic and  functional activity of the body or a specific organ or tissue

Dermatitis - Inflammation of the skin, producing raised weals,  itchiness, redness, or other indications of rash

Diaphoretic - Increases production of sweat

Diuretic - Increasing or promoting urine flow or production

Dysmenorrhea - Painful or abnormal menstruation

Dyspepsia - Painful or abnormal digestion

Ecbolic - Increases uterine contractions, usually used to  faciliate or induce labour

Emetic - An agent that causes vomiting (emesis)

Emmenagogue - An agent that induces normal menstruation processes,  usually through breakdown of the uterine lining

Emollient - An agent that softens and soothes skin, especially  chapped, dried, or damaged skin

Errhine - Inducing sneezing; related to demulcents

Escharotic - A caustic agent that induces destruction of tissues,  often causing aseptic necrosis. May induce sloughing.

Euphoriant - Induces feelings of euphoria, pleasure, or  enjoyment. Frequently associated with narcotics and other drugs of  addiction.

Expectorant - Causes the removal of or facilitates the removal of  fluids, usually mucous, from the body.

Febrifuge - See antipyretic

Galactagogue - An agent that acts to increase production of breast  milk. Please note, this may not automatically mean the milk is safe for  infants to drink.

Haemogogue -An agent that promotes the flow of blood. Not  necessarily synonymous with anticoagulant.

Haemostatic - An agent that halts or staunches the flow of blood,  especially through inducing rapid clotting. Usually but not always the same  as a procoagulant.

Hepatic - Of or related to the liver and its function

Hypercalcaemia - A state of having too much calcium in the body

Hyperkalaemia - A state of having too much potassium in the body

Hypertensive - Increases blood pressure

Hypoglycaemant - Lowers levels of blood sugar , usually by acting on insulin receptors

Hypotensive - Decreases blood pressure

Insomniac - Prevents or reduces ability to sleep; does not imply a reduction in fatigue levels

Ketoacidosis - Uncontrolled ketosis resulting in too many ketones  in the blood, causing acidification of the blood. A life-threatening medical  emergency, must be seen by emergency medical professionals.

Ketosis - A state in which the body preferentially metabolises  fats and fatty tissues over other sources of energy, producing ketones as waste

Lactifuge - Reduces the production of or expression of breast  milk

Laxative - An agent that causes the loosening of faeces, by  many possible methods

Masticatory - Induces production of saliva

Narcotic - Induces drowsiness, sleep, torpor, stupor, and  lessens or totally deadens sensations of pain. Often related to euphoriants,  all narcotics are highly addictive and many are used both medicinally and  recreationally.

Nervine - Of or related to the function of the nerves; almost  exclusively used in the context of tonics; when general reference must  be made to the function of the nerves, “nervous” is more common.

Neuralgia - Sensations of pain, usually severe and acute, that  are related to direct damage, abnormal structuring, or abnormal influences  upon nerves.

Oestrogenic - An agent that mimics the action of, increases the  production of, or blocks the reabsorption of oestrogens. May not actually act  as oestrogens themselves.

Parturfaciant - Induces contractions  associated with labour

Procoagulant - An agent that induces the clotting of the blood

Purgative - A form of strong laxative, one that causes  evacuation of all intestinal contents

Resorbent - An agent that aids in the reabsorption of blood  after contusions

Rheumatism - A general term used to refer to pains associated  with the joints and  (less commonly)  the muscles, which most usually implies imflammation of the joints  (arthritis)

Rubefacient - An agent that causes the reddening of the skin  through the dilation of subdermal blood vessels; often induces pyresis,  frequently used as a means of reducing inflammation

Sedative - An agent that causes relaxation of the body,  usually inducing torpor, stupor, or sleep.

Soporific - An agent that induces natural sleep

Stimulant - An agent that temporarily increases metabolic and  functional activity of the body or a specific organ or tissue

Stupor - A state of near-unconsciousness, but not complete  loss of awareness

Subdermal - Beneath or below the level of the skin (dermis)

Sudorific - See diaphoretic

Tonic - An agent for increasing the strength, tone or  potency of some aspect of the body. This is usually specified (e.g. nervine  tonic), if not then refers to systemic increase.

Torpor - A state of inactivity, lethargy, relaxation, and  reduced metabolic function

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OK, so there are 93 terms here, and whilst I tried by absolutely hardest I may have got one or two partly or wholly wrong. If you think you’ve spotted a term that could be more completely defined, please do either send me an ask to clarify, or reblog it and add it on yourself.

Reblog with any additions you think should be included! I tried to include all the ones that come up most frequently in herbalism texts, but I might have missed a couple!

I sourced most of the terms in this list and tweaked many of the definitions from the American Botanical Council, which is a great little resource. However, I tried to rephrase things wherever possible (there’s a limit to how much you can change a definition, after all).

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Thanks lovelies!