#Things to add and redo items with

[kentnaturaltribrid]

Finished up with a few other things on some stickers, but couldn’t go without having some sort of symbol to put on the side of it either, or at least enough of the side that it would still leave room for a few other things. Thought I could fit something on the lid, till I realized how large some of the side was and the thing I was working with as well. So, went with the side instead and ended up decorating the lid with a smaller sticker. Though, still turned out pretty well. Still have a few more things to add to the collective, but couldn’t go without a few larger scale things having some of them as well, still have two that are waiting for an item, but the rest have found their home. Haven’t got around to much else either for the items, but still going pretty good so far.

Each one has space for about 1 to sometimes 4 decorations at maximum on some of them, but some have space for only about 3 to 1 scale of the size depending upon the length and sizes of the piece. However, still had the space and it’s now ready. Been busy with finding space for things, they’re all finding spots except for waiting on the larger scale of some things for the item that will personality fit the quality. Though, found most things a place.

[savyir-genesizz-the-wizard]

me, at 9am Wednesday: man, I should rewrite the entire Cyberpunk RED handbook

[valiasims]

WIP #63

Hey everyone!

I'm here to show you the next WIP! I didn’t get as much done as I hoped since my sister came to visit and we spent a few days together.

The first thing I did was redoing the UV map for the rattan chair. Someone suggested I shold make a loveseat version and I always try to link the textures between similar items, so I had to adjust it for that.

Next up, I wanted to make a wallpaper and I won’t lie, I spent so much time on it because I just wasn’t happy with how my early attempts looked. I almost gave up and thought about leaving it out of the set, but I really hate giving up on things, so I kept pushing through (even though I didn’t have much time.

The version you can see in the picture above is what I finally came up with, and I’m somewhat satisfied with it. It gives off the vibe I was going for!

This was one of my earlier tries, but I really didn’t like the quality, so I decided to separate the cracks into decals and go for a “cleaner” base wall instead. I do like the colors though, so I’ll include some swatches in this style!

And lastly, I made the crack/damage decal. I’ll work on a few more tomorrow. I really love using the in-game ones, they can add so much character to a building.

Also, I wanted to show you the other side of the door because I’m really liking how the hardware turned out.

Next up: I really need to do the windows and finish the texture for the citrus tree. I also want to make a table to go with the patio furniture. So many tasks, so little time! :D

At this point, I can already tell I won’t have time to finish everything I had planned for the outdoor theme in this set, so I’ll continue it in the next part as well. I want to make more plants and gardening pieces, but that’ll come later!

[thespectralcottage]

Getting Back Into Your Practice

Sometimes life is shitty and your spiritual practice doesn't take priority. Thats okay. Here are some tips for how to get back into your practice once you're feeling up for it.

Cleanse and Clean Your Space This is defiantly the first think you should focus your energy on. This can take as long as needed and as intensive as you want or feel is needed. Spiritual and physically cleanse your space. Pick up items, open windows and start your cleansing method of choice.

Redo Wards and Protections Once you've cleansed its important to redo your protection. Cleanse to get rid of, protect to keep it away. Even if nothing has *hit* your protections and wards, its important to keep up to date on them being energized.

Keep Actives Low on Spoons Now that you've done the basics, stick to low spoon actives and slowly build from there. Even if you feel super energized and ready to get into it- you want to take things slow. This'll help you from losing steam..

Slowly Add Back In Your Daily Practice This is totally unique person to person, but dont expect to be back into your multi step daily routine right away. Add in each step one at a time, or slowly so you wont feel overwhelmed.

Come Up with a Ritual Youre EXCITED About You want to focus on the parts of witchcraft you love. Do something you've always wanted to try, something you always love doing, or anything that will make you excited for the working.

Pick a New Topic, Not an Older One Getting into your practice and going to an older topic might feel disheartening. Pick a new topic like astrology, plants, or an aspect of witchcraft you havent gotten too into before. Then go back to the older topic you left on.

Do Some Divination on What You Need Right Now Spend time with your spirit team, deities or ancestors and figure out what you should be focusing in on right now. Maybe you need more rest, maybe theres a ritual they want you to work on.

Remember You Dont Have To Do Magic Daily Dont put too much stress into doing something every single day. Take breaks. Youre still a witch.

I hope these helped. Remember to take things slow and dont let the pressure of getting back into it weigh you down. Magic is suppose to help not hinder.

[del0nix-regia]

Since Patch 8 is on the way and there are no hints on Wyll getting any updates by then, I humbly made a semi-comprehensive list of Things They Could Add To Him That Wouldn't Break The Game™

I wish they'd redo the final act of his character quest and I do have a lot of ideas on how they could make something that is actually about him while keeping Ansur's quest its own separate thing, but that is pretty much impossible to happen, and I see a lot of people say there's nothing that can be done since Larian will step back from bg3 after this next patch and it's too little time to add a whole new major quest. So, here's little things that would still add a lot to his story:

Act 1

Fans! He talks so much about being the Blade of Frontiers, and by playable characters' reaction, his name has reached far and wide. You're telling me none of these refugees are giggling because he's staying at the Grove to help them? Not even the little kids that he's literally training? That's like Lady Gaga showing up to give you singing lessons!?

A more extreme transformation if you spare Karlach. It just feels quite silly to me that he's so afraid of the refugees being scared of him when all that differentiates him from your average tiefling is that he has ridges on his face as opposed to just his body (and still, Zevlor has them, so what's the problem exactly?). I know there's a limit to what they could do to his model in a reasonable time frame, but like?? Sharp teeth? Claws? Pointy ears? Tail? Those are things you can easily borrow from a tiefling's model (If life was fair and god loved us all, Wyll would have digitigrade legs and wings, but oh well).

Something of the Duke for you to find in the burning building. Maybe a locket, something sentimental that concretizes in his mind that his father truly was kidnapped, and it can add an extra bit of dialogue if it's an item he remembers from his youth.

An actual, proper romance scene. What do you mean I can only give him a kiss and just let him drink by himself at the corner of the party? Let me sit with him by the beach!!!!

More party banter! I don't know why they got rid of his flirty lines with Lae'zel — I get that it's vestiges of his old rake-ish persona from the beta version, but I think it actually fits quite well with his current characterization. He compliments her eyes so poetically!! That's so Wyll! Also a bit of an early strife with Gale would be funny, considering the whole thing with wizards thinking warlocks took the ‘easy way’ to magic. The sussur blossom dialogue could spark another conversation between them where Gale understands Wyll a bit more (since he never actually wanted infernal powers in the first place), and it'd adds a bit of foreshadowing towards his eventual explanation for his pact in Act 2.

Act 2

Actual autonomy when standing up to Mizora. Why does the PC get to be the one confronting her? Little bits of dialogue before when you first find out about his pact in Act 1 could encourage him to stand up to her when she tells him to rescue a devil in Moonrise Towers. Let Wyll tell her to release him once the mission is complete.

Jaheira and Wyll linkup. Folk heroes that have to endure hearing the most absurd tales being made up about them? Gimme. Immediately.

Small interactions with NPCs in Moonrise Towers, like chiming in if you have him in your party while talking to the prison warden, immediately asking about the Duke's whereabouts.

An actual cutscene when he reveals the context around his pact. We saw Shadowheart and her damn wolf-dad a hundred times over, and it added a lot to her. Simply describing such a key situation in his life with such detail but no visuals is very counterintuitive, and it diminishes the direness of his situation and why he accepted the terms of the pact so willingly.

Some bits of dialogue about his early months of exile after the lore drop. Even with the power of a devil at his side, I doubt a 17-year-old took suddenly living in the wilderness very well at first.

A dialogue regarding Isobel and Ketheric, after you find out she's his daughter. Wyll too had a mother that died too early and a strained relationship with his father, the difference is that Isobel had memories of her mom and no justification for her dad's actions. I think he'd have interesting insight on what she's going through now that she's the last of her family line.

Act 3

Little interactions with key locations, key NPCs, just more for him to react to in general! That's his city, that he hasn't seen in seven years. Let him talk to people, recognize spots he'd go to, retell tales of his childhood misadventures!!

I get that he's a devil now, but having all Flaming Fists he meets immediately just disregarding him is so silly. He has the same damn face, why is no one shocked that Duke Ravengard's son is back after years with a pair of horns on his head and a bunch of weird people by his side?

More about his mother, especially if you save the Duke. Francesca Ravengard I may not know you but I adore you and I'd like to know all about your life, please.

Again, more people recognizing him as the Blade of Frontiers. There has to be at least a single merchant wagon stationed in Rivington that remembers him saving their produce from bandits on the road or something, come on.

Special dialogue while in the House of Hope. Raphael is apparently quite influential in Avernus, I'd like to think he'd have some books and tomes regarding warlock pacts, or even something that might hint to him and Mizora having dealings.

Autonomy!!!!! Let him decide if he wants to sever the pact and risk rescuing his dad on his own or guarantee Ulder's safety and give away his soul forever. I don't say to just take away the ability to sway his opinion at all, but at least make it a persuasion check like you have to do with every. characters'. most. important. decisions.

That's enough of a rant I think. Obviously I'd love for them to actually give his story a well-thought conclusion, but that would have to be made into its own post. Still, I think little bits like these, things that they could realistically add every other patch or so, would add a lot of meat to his character. Wyll has a lot of potential!!! It's just sad that so little is ever done with it.

[apiswitchcraft]

protecting your space

hi all! i just moved and was cleansing my new home; prepping it to be lived in and all that. i got to thinking about what other people do for themselves and, well, that's where this came from! the order of step one and two is unimportant, plus keep in mind that everyone does things differently. every culture has their own idea about how to cleanse a space/person, and none of them are wrong.

STEP ONE: CLEANSING

Immediate Disclaimer: Anyone/anyplace that uses the term "smudging" (using it out of it's cultural context) is a source you should be wary of. Smudging is a set of very specific rituals that were created and are used by indigenous americans. The use of sage, palo santo, sweet grass, hawk feathers, evil eyes/hamsa are all practices specific to certain cultures. If you're just someone not of those cultures trying to cleanse your space, I recommend the following techniques.

-Burning lavender, rosemary, or cedar bundles

-Burning incense

-Burning frankincense/myrrh

-Putting salt at the boundaries of your home, inside or out

-Putting ground eggshells at the boundaries of your home, probably best to do this outside for the smell

-Actually cleaning your home

-Sprinkle essential oils on the corners of a room or in doorways

-Selenite is also a great cleansing stone, although I usually use it for individual items instead of a whole space

-Moon water can also be a good replacement for essential oils

-Ring sacred (to you) or enchanted bells throughout the home

STEP TWO: WARDING

This is a step that varies a lot more from person to person. There are certainly plenty of spells out there available to you, but some people have created their own spells, others will use certain iconography, herbs, etc. Either way, know that it is not necessary for you to do every one of these things--I honestly doubt a space will get any more or less safe depending on how many of these you do. Also, for your own safety, make sure you're doing the appropriate non-witchy things to keep yourself safe. Just because you have a nice sigil above your unlocked door doesn't mean that someone will be automatically unable to rob you. Anways, here are just some of my ideas.

-Put a bundle of rosemary above a doorway

-Create a spell jar/bag with any of these materials or these, I also recommend including some of yourself in a jar like this

-Sprinkle black salt around entryways

-Use a spell like this or this

-Draw a rune (i use algiz) on entryways (i use essential oils and blood for this, but to each their own)

-Draw a sigil like this or these on entryways

-Pray to a certain deity for protection, or put their iconography up (for example, an ansuz rune for odin)

-Burning incense and using essential oils will ward away negativity, but they don't last for long periods of time in my experience

-Make use of a crystal grid to manifest your intentions

-Salt and eggshells also help to ward off negativity entering your space!

STEP THREE: UPKEEP

Now, how do we keep the wards and cleansing sustained? Well, there are a variety of methods. A lot of these can be done as your intuition tells you they need to be renewed, or done at a regular interval that works for you. Still, upkeep is important!

-Redo the spell you did every full moon or at another important time for you

-Refresh herbs and salt/eggshells when they get old or fall apart

-Break open your spell jar/sachet and recleanse the ingredients or just add new ones

-Clean up any salt/black salt/eggshells and put down new lines

-Add more essential oil/moon water to the locations you put them in before

-Redraw sigils/runes when they fade or get scratched off

-Pray to the deity who is looking out for you often/do devotional activities

-Burn more incense, herbs, or frankincense/myrrh, or cleanse with bells again

-Clean your room/house/depression hovel

[trippinsorrows]

looking through your eyes + one

authors note: hi! this is a complete rework from another roman story i wrote but needed to redo. it's a mafia au, so understandably super dark. a 'blink and you'll miss it' bit of a beauty and the beast retelling. not meant to be anything groundbreaking or unlike most mafia stories.

i've found that my writing is best when 2nd person pov, so i wanted to challenge myself to make this third person to better my writing, thus, bear with me, ya'll. :)

if any cw/tw's are missed, please let me know, and i will add them!

cw/tw: language, violence against women, mention of parental death, vague hinting at past sexual trauma

song inspo: 'looking through your eyes' by leann rimes

masterlist

words: 5.2k

Through trial and error, mostly error, a lot of error, Solana Miller has learned and mastered most of the things that upset her father. 

Speaking out of turn. Meals not being ready on time. The house being a “mess.” The actual list is a living, breathing thing that grows with each day and every unfortunate occurrence, but always at the very top of this list is lack of punctuality. 

There’s nothing Xavier Miller hates more than lateness. 

And that’s exactly what she is. 

Solana nearly faceplants into the three steps leading into the house with how fast she’s running. Her shaking hand and sweaty palms make it take longer than usual to unlock the front door, and the force in which she slams it shut behind her should be enough to knock the nearby family photo off the wall.

The photo that doesn't include her.

She’s brushing off invisible lent as she rushes into her father’s office. “I’m sorry, there was an—” Her panting mouth snaps shut when she reaches the doorway, hand holding onto the frame of the door. “—accident.”

Not only is she late, but she’s now interrupted some sort of meeting that he wanted her present for. 

The minute Solana saw the flashing police lights and array of red brake lights was the moment she realized that she was in for a brutal punishment. She’d started to mentally prepare for such, trying to recall if she’d restocked the first aid kit kept in her bathroom.

A frequently retrieved item.

But, it’s not until she’s standing in the doorway of her father’s office, an office that’s filled with not only him and her brother, Wes, but other men, that she realizes the ferocity of this punishment may be unlike any she’s received in some time.

Xavier’s eyes land on Solana with faux happiness that conceals flames she recognizes as a precursor for what’s to come. Naturally, like he’s not imagining all the cruel ways he can hurt her, in a way that only he can do, he slaps on a tight smile. “Ahh, there she is.”

Solana also realizes how almost everyone’s gaze is on her, and that doesn't make for a good response because she finds herself asking, “what’s going o—”

Xavier’s smile is very much unlike the ice in his voice. “Silence, child.” 

The sharpness of his command evokes an immediate response. Her shoulders slump and head drops. The displeasure just keeps growing. Solana can already feel the bruises forming, the sting of the ice on her busted lip. 

One of the men, an oversized, middle-aged white man with a sharp gaze, speaks. “I take it, this is your daughter?”

“It is,” her father confirms. If she didn’t know any better, Solana could almost swear there's a hint of pride in his voice. “Please forgive her lateness. She knows the importance of obedience.”

And the repercussions of disobedience. Repercussions Solana knows await her once this meeting ends.

“I hope she does.” The same white man clears his throat. Solana hears the ruffling of papers but refuses to look up. Her gaze is better served focused on the ground, her silence and submissiveness certainly music to her father’s ears. “We received the requested medical report, and it appears you weren’t lying, Miller. The girl is still a virgin.”

That….that is the moment where it takes all willpower for Solana’s head not to snap up, eyes wide with both confusion and partial recognition. She’d wondered why her father asked her to schedule her yearly check-up with her GYN when she wasn’t due for another couple of months but knew better than to question, so she went ahead and did it. 

And she wondered why this checkup was so….different. Labs were taken, more questions asked, and a vaginal exam that had her leaving more uncomfortable than she’d ever been with Dr. Boyd. Not that seeing the woman was ever an enjoyable time in the first place. She's cold, stoic, an obvious doctor on the mafia payroll, but she's still a woman. 

Solana can't have a male GYN. She can't have a male doctor in any sort of specialty.

The confusion, however, comes into play at this man’s words.

“The girl is still a virgin.” 

That couldn’t be farthest from the truth.

“Her blood work also indicates she should have no problems conceiving a child.”

Emotions overpower reason as Solana breaks her silence and lifts her head. “What?” One furious glance from Xavier, and immediately, she knows that she’s fucked up.

She also realizes that she’s failed to notice one very important member whose sheer size takes up almost the entirety of her father’s onyx loveseat.

Solana has heard the name Roman Reigns more times than she can keep track of over the years. It’s inescapable to live in this life and not know of the brutal ruler of the Bloodline, one of the most notorious mafia bosses in the underworld. But never in any of her 28 years has she seen him in person. Maybe somewhat in the same vicinity but never in close proximity, not like now where he’s sitting mere feet away from her.

He’s reclined back into the seat, thick legs spread, a blank expression on his handsome, bearded face. His features are sharp and predatory, yet there’s something about his eyes, a beautiful, light shade of brown that’s such a contrast to the cold blooded killer he is. Bulging, rippling muscles seem to be at battle with the plain black shirt he wears, and she notices his silky black hair is pulled back into a surprisingly neat bun of sorts. 

Solana knows that she shouldn't stare, but it’s hard not to. The man is objectively beautiful. He’s also staring directly at her. 

Panicked, her head drops down, eyes returning to continue counting the amount of beige swirls in her father’s persian rug. 

“Shut up…. ”Wes speaks from the other side of the room. He’s leaned up against the column near the bookshelf, lazily spinning around the pocketknife he never goes anywhere without. 

It’s the same knife that’s cut into her skin at least more than a couple of times over the years, drawing various amounts of blood depending on the extent of his anger.

Wes is always angry.

“I’m a man of my word, Mr. Heyman.” Solana doesn’t even need to be looking up to know her father has his hand over his chest, that faux sense of honor painting his harsh features. “I would never disrespect the Tribal Chief by wasting his time.” Solana’s throat goes tight. “My daughter is a worthy candidate.”

Candidate. Heir. Virgin.

It doesn’t take long with these major clues for Solana to piece together what they’re discussing, why her presence was required when never before has her father wanted her anywhere near one of his meetings.

Arranged marriage.

They’re discussing a possible arranged marriage between Solana and Roman Reigns. 

Her fingers flex and suddenly start to rub nervously against the soft material of her dress. Any appetite she had prior to entering the home is no longer present, vacated, replaced by a thick, heaping layer of anxiety.

Arranged marriages are far too common in this life. There’s not a week that’s gone by since she became of age that she doesn't hear about some union between two members of rivaling or partnering families. It's just how these things are done.

However, at 28, much past the typical timeline that daughters are married off, she’d accepted that that was not her fate. And she was okay with that, more than okay. Is okay with that.

Solana has a……complicated relationship with men, anyway. With people in general, but especially men.

The thought of her being paired off to Roman is so bad that it’s almost laughable. Their compatibility is in the negative range. He would never give her a second look, not even a first. A man like him needs someone who matches his prowess. She isn’t even on the radar.

And yet…..

And yet her father has somehow garnered interest, provided his counsel with her medical information “proving” her worthiness, and secured a meeting.

Circling back around to the medical report has her chest feeling tight and heavy. Lies. Her father has clearly paid off Dr. Boyd to write up whatever he believed needed to be said to increase his chances of locking in this deal.

She doesn’t know about the fertility portion, never really bothering or concerning herself with that part of her health. Someone has to have to have sex to conceive a child, and as far as Solana is concerned, that's never going to happen.

Not....not again.

But, the virgin part is most definitely a lie. The physical exam certainly would have confirmed that.

And yet, the exact opposite was stated. 

Chills instantly move down her spine. Her father is perpetuating a fraud. Even more, he’s perpetuating fraud to a man who’s rumored to have a body count in the thousands. The same man he’s trying to pawn her off to.

This….this is not good.

It’s not good at all.

—----------

“She’s weak.”

That’s the first thing to leave Roman's mouth since they entered the Miller Manor, and it’s not announced until they're back in the SUV and on their way back to his estate.

Checking emails and clearing notifications that piled during the time his phone was tucked away, he continues. “Too young. Has no backbone. It’s embarrassing.” Roman’s tone, much like everything else about that pointless meeting, reeks of boredom. 

“Her father clearly has her on a tight leash,” Rikishi adds. He brings the handkerchief he keeps in his shirt pocket and swipes it across his forehead, dapping up the light sheen of sweat that’s already formed in the walk from the house to the SUV. “But, a very pretty girl.”

Roman cannot and will not disagree on that. She’s undeniably beautiful, but everything else about her is unappealing. And saying Miller has her on a tight leash is an understatement. She’s terrified of him. The brother too,  and Roman would take a solid guess that one of the two is responsible for the slightly faded but still visible bruise he noticed on Solana’s upper forearm. 

There’s some conflicted emotion present at that piece of information, though he mostly leans in one direction.

Women and children should be off limits. Specifically, women and children who aren’t already indoctrinated into the life to the point of training. Roman knows plenty of kids who completed their first kill while still in single digits and women who fight better than some of his men. For them, it’s free game. They’ve proven they can handle themselves.

Solana doesn’t fall in any of those categories, and he’d be shocked if she even knows how to hold a gun.

Thus, in his mind, she’s off-limits.

Nonetheless, his family is full of fighters, regardless of sex.

So there's the other part of him that can't understand her passivity, that believes she's just weak. 

The thought process generates a list of other, much more adequate options. “What about Belair?”

“Engaged to be married in the Montez family.” Roman rolls his eyes. That fucker is an irritating prick. Seems like a desperate match. 

“Cargill?”

“She….” It’s slightly comical for Roman, watching the older man work his hardest to explain what was inarguably a disrespectful rejection. “---is not interested.” 

A dark chuckle leaves his throat. “She said fuck off, didn’t she?”

“More or less.” 

Roman smiles. He would expect nothing less. Cargill is a beast of a woman, a sure fun time in the sheets if she would ever remove the stick from up her ass.

“If I may, my Tribal Chief….” When Roman remains quiet, he takes that as his cue to continue. “The girl may be young and docile, but that also makes her moldable. She will do whatever you want with no protest. Is that not a possible advantage?” Roman continues to look out the window, allowing Paul to add on, “and she will have no problem giving you an heir, which is inarguably the most important thing at this point in your life.”

“He brings up a good point, uce,” Rikishi chimes. “With your temper, it’s probably best for you to take a wife who is more passive than dominant.”

Logically, it makes sense, but the idea of a stuttering, stammering wife who can’t even maintain eye contact for more than a minute doesn’t appeal to him in the slightest. 

“And as far as age, she’s closer to 30 than anything. You go for any older, and you might run into fertility struggles. This is the perfect age.” Rikishi’s crooked smile is followed by a small chuckle. “You ain’t so young yourself anymore, uce. Gotta have an even balance.”

There’s a difference between a balance and a child. Roman is prepared to say as such when Jimmy speaks, deciding to add his two cents from the passenger's seat.

“Look, Big Dog. All you need is for her to give you a kid, and you heard Paul. She can do that. Ain’t no need in making this bigger than what it is.” His insertion and contribution to the conversation ends up being valid. Granted, if he was anyone else, the delivery would have resulted in a maiming. But, this is Jimmy. He’s like a brother to Roman. Him and Jey. Hence their privilege with speaking so bluntly. “Shit, and did you see that body? Mannn, I’d never pull out of that.”

Also a valid point. Her dress was fitted around the chest area, accentuating heavy breast he could most definitely see himself palming as he fucked her from behind. The rest of the dress wasn’t as contoured, but it flowed against her shape when she walked in, and he could make out the curves he was certain she preferred to keep hidden. It’d been a while since he’d taken a woman to bed with a body like hers, a preference, but also not as easy to find in his world of fit assassins and killers who spend more time in the gym than anywhere else.

His latest set of women were on the slimmer side, moderate thickness, nothing like this girl.

But sexual desirability aside, her passivity indicates she’d be….that kind of woman. The woman who expects words of affirmation and quality time. A “gentle” kind of woman who’d want him to be sweet and patient in the bedroom, to make love to her. Roman is neither and none of those things.

He fucks, and he fucks hard. Subsequently, his wife should be cut from the same cloth. 

“Just….think about it, my Tribal Chief, hmmm?” Paul’s voice is tentative, laced with that tone that indicates he believes the decision should be made sooner rather than later. Granted, he values his life and standing in the bloodline, so he opts to not implement time constraints. 

A wise decision. 

“The scars.” Roman counted eight of them total, the one most pronounced on her face, slashing across her right eye and into the top of her cheek. The type of scar that’s embedded into the skin. And the soul. With a few of his own, it’s one of the first things he noticed. “What’s the story there?”

Paul quickly pulls out the portfolio from his briefcase, hurriedly flipping through papers when he settles on the one he’s looking for. “Ahhh….” Paul clears his throat, a telltale sign that’s he uncomfortable with what he’s about to say. “2005. It was a hit. Her mother was killed in the attack. Knifing. Solana survived, clearly.”

Roman turns his attention from the passing cars to look at his Wise Man. For the first time since this whole interview process began, Roman is intrigued. “She was there?” Paul confirms as such and says something else, but Roman’s attention is out the window again, haphazardly watching the flow of traffic, assimilating and accommodating this new piece of information. 

This may be the one and only thing he can understand about this girl. Something…something he can relate to. 

Survival

One doesn’t go through something like that without coming out on top or letting it bury you. Unlike him, she’d clearly gone the latter route. Granted, just making it out alive, physically, he knows better than anyone, is a feat in and of itself.

“Give me her file.”

—-------------

Dear Mom,

I’m sorry I didn’t write yesterday. It was…..a day.

I’m not even sure where to begin, because I’m not sure what to even feel at this moment to be honest. Dad is trying to marry me off to a mafia head, which would be fine, except….except that head is Roman Reigns. He’s….he’s a monster, mama. Has no soul. Not that many men in this life do, but there’s something about him that’s even more terrifying than the others. To make matters worse, dad had Dr. Boyd lie in my medical report. She wrote that I’m still a virgin, I guess something about my hymen still being intact. Mama, that’s a lie. There’s no way that’s possible. 

Not.....with what they did to me.

I’m trying hard not to panic, because there’s no way Roman would go for me. He’s a monster, yes, but even Lucifer was God’s most beautiful angel. He’s a very handsome man. He would never want someone like me.

I don’t know any man who would.

“Solana.”

Solana quickly snaps her journal closed, using the pen in her hand to mark her spot. She’s met with the gentle smile of 73–year–old Meryl Jensen, a widow who’s worked at this library for almost forty years.

Solana still remembers the first day she met Mrs. Jensen. She was 6-years-old, and her mom was looking for a certain book she’d read about in the newspaper. A book that she hoped would further and better her English speaking skills. A native of Mexico, Nina Miller taught herself English by immersing herself into American literature, film, and music. 

Similarly, Nina taught her Solana Spanish by immersing her daughter in Spanish literature, film, and music. A secret among the two as an always hostile, paranoid Xavier “banned” Nina from teaching their daughter a language he couldn’t understand.

If he couldn’t control it, it was a no-go.

But it was when Mrs. Jensen was helping Nina locate her book, Solana noticed another book sitting near a kids display. Goodnight Moon.

If Solana tries hard enough, she can still remember the warm smile her mother gave her as she allowed her to check out the book, her very first "purchase" from the library. It started a love of books, aided by Mrs. Jensen who always provided appropriate recommendations to Solana and her mom.

Not that Solana tries to think too much about memories with her mother. They’re almost always ruined and replaced with the sounds of the butcher knife slicing into her mother’s body as Nina used the last of her strength to shield and protect her daughter from the violent assault that would end up taking her life.

Solana’s smile, however, does dim and her stomach drops when she realizes that Ms. Jensen isn’t alone. 

“This girl is always writing, I swear.” It’s only when the older woman refers to her book that Solana quickly closes up her journal, shoving it to the side.

Her eyes never leave Roman though.

And his certainly aren’t leaving her, even as Mrs. Jensen places a hand on his arm, laughing at her own joke.

Mrs. Jensen then squints her eyes and leans over the counter. “Child, did you fall again?” It takes a second for recognition to dawn. She’s then hit with the memory of her father backhanding her across the room, the force sending her to the floor after the dispersion of yesterday’s meeting. A truly pale punishment compared to some of his prior assaults. “My goodness.” Mrs. Meryl laughs, shaking her head. “An everyday klutz I tell you. I can’t think of one day she hasn’t come in here without some kind of mark from her clumsiness.”

Roman’s staring directly at Solana while acknowledging the older woman’s casual observation. “Interesting.” He then darts his eyes, offering a smile that, if one didn’t know any better, could be considered genuine. But Solana does know better. She knows much better. “Could you give us a moment?”

Of course, Mrs. Jensen obliges, saying something about hushing up some boisterous high school students on the first level before it’s just Solana and Roman. 

She has a million and one questions, starting with why the hell Roman Reigns is at her job. Whatever the reason, it can’t be good. A man like him only brings about chaos and mayhem.

And death.

Swallowing and powering through the onslaught of anxiety, she starts off in an unsurprisingly soft voice, “if you’re looking for my father, he’s—”

“If I wanted your father, I would be speaking to him right now.” Roman’s interruption is dangerously calm, but Solana detects a hint of irritation. “You’re the one I want.”

Oh.

What in the world this man could want with Solana is beyond her. To make matters worse, Solana catches his gaze on her bruised cheek again. Makeup could only do much, but she's really starting to wish she went for heavier coverage. She drops her head, focusing on the denim of her jeans to avoid his burning stare. “I—umm.”

Solana’s body registers before her head does that Roman is lifting his hand to touch her. She responds accordingly, jumping back and away from the interaction. He chuckles, darkly, lowering his hand to his side. “That was some fall.”

Solana unconsciously brings her hand to hover over her cheek. “I’m—clumsy.”

“No, you’re not.” It takes a second for Solana to register his blunt comment and another for her to digest that he’s calling her bluff. “But, you are a terrible liar.”

He’s not wrong on either note, but she’s unsure just how to respond. “What—what do you want from me?”

Roman straightens up, and just the sheer size of him makes her swallow in fear. He’s a beast of a man, more beast though than anything else. “To make sure you understand what this is. It’s obvious Miller didn’t inform you about the meeting, and I won’t go into anything with anyone unless they’re fully aware of what they’re signing up for.”

If he’s waiting for Solana to acknowledge the first part of his reason for showing up at her job, he does a poor job waiting because he goes straight into his disclaimer. 

“I have no desire to be with you or any other woman for anything more than a sexual release. We’ll ensure my bloodline continues, but that’s it. Financially, you’ll want for nothing, and I can assure you, your clumsiness won’t be an issue. But, I will never love you, never see you as anything more than a business arrangement because that’s what you are.” He’s studying her facial expressions, reading all of the emotions oscillating around. “Do you understand?”

There’s a couple of different thoughts racing through her mind at this moment, but the dominant thought is wondering just what in the hell would possess someone like him to ever even consider someone like her? He is the definition of brute strength in all areas. She is beyond broken. There can’t be anything appealing about that.

But then….maybe there is. Roman knows she will not cause him any trouble, can recognize this brokenness and sees it as an easy way to get what he needs while still having the freedom to do whatever, and whoever he wants. It’s a bit of a win-win. 

And as far as the love aspect…..

Solana learned a long time ago that all of the fairytales lied. There is no prince that rides in and saves the damsel in distress. No one to swoop in and save you from the monster. It’s either killed or be killed, and her death already occurred on August 7th, 2005.

As ironic and fucked up as it is, Solana recognizes this is the best deal she’ll ever get in her life. 

With quite literally nothing to lose, she acknowledges him.

“I understand.”

—---------

The minute Solana steps into the house, she’s immediately shoved into the freshly painted wall behind her. A strong hand is on her throat, restricting her breathing.

“What did you say to him!”

Fingers foolishly grasping at the hand suffocating her, Solana tries to speak even with knowing that it’s impossible when she can’t even breathe. This only pisses her brother off even more. He bangs her head into the wall, causing the nearby pictures to shake. “Answer me, you stupid bitch!”

“Let her go, Wes.”

Xavier’s command is followed with a delayed acquiescence. Solana falls to the floor, coughing and gasping violently. She brings her hand to the back of her head to check for any blood, but her gaze is soon on the black leather shoes her blurred version is able to make out.

Solana cries out when her father grips her hair, yanking her head back and forcing her to look at him.

“We know Reigns came to see you at your job today.”

At some point in her life, Solana would be stunned and partially disturbed this, by how her father is aware of this piece of information.  But, this is no longer that time in her life. That time when she was naive enough to think that she could ever escape this life, ever leave and never look back.

She’d tried once. Foolishly. And it landed her in the hospital for two weeks. 

Solana can still remember her father’s dry, cracked lips pressing an insincere kiss against her temple as he said in the calmest yet coldest voice. “You ever try to leave this place again, and I’ll make sure to finish the job.” 

That was the last time she ever fooled herself into believing better waited for her.

“Now, what did you say to him?”

“I—I—nothing.” It’s not a lie but not the entire truth. She didn’t say anything that should have pissed him off. Then again, with a man as temperamental as Roman, anything and everyone could piss him off. Look at her dad and brother. “What did he—”

A phone ringing possibly saves, or just delays, the next set of hits. And even better, it’s Xavier’s phone.

He pulls it out of the back pocket of his pants, eyes lighting up. With a mischievous smile, he taps the screen twice, answering, “my Tribal Chief.” Solana’s eyes widen. “To what do I owe the honor?”

“Cut the bullshit, Miller.” Roman’s deep, baritone voice is powerful and authoritative, even when he’s not even in the room. “You know why I’m calling.” And before her father can further upset him, Roman jumps straight to the point. “We have a deal.”

It’s been some time since Solana has been so thoroughly surprised by something she’s heard that she briefly loses awareness of where she is. But this….this is one of those moments. 

He can’t…..he can’t have said what she thinks he just said. Her acknowledging understanding was just a formality. She didn’t think he was actually considering marrying her.

Xavier’s smile is broad, signs of a man who just got exactly what he wanted. “Wonderful. We shall start planning.”

“Two weeks. The wedding will be two weeks from today.”

The tightening in her chest has returned. Solana is certain she’s about to start hyperventilating. This….this can’t be happening. 

Xavier and Wes share a look as he stammers with a response. “Uhh, yes, of course—whatever you wa—”

“Oh, and Miller?”

Irritation flashes in Xavier’s eyes, but he shoves it back for a polite acknowledgment. “Yes, my Tribal Chief?”

“You or your boy lay a single fucking finger on her again, and I’ll gut you both where there’s nothing left to bury.”

Solana is almost certain there’s not a single one of them that’s not taken back by Roman’s icy warning. However, she swallows when her father’s fire gaze lands on her. She knows immediately she’s in for a matching bruise on the other side of her face.

Xavier laughs quietly. “That girl has always been so clumsy. I assure you—”

“One.”

Xavier is understandably confused by Roman’s single-word response. “Pardon?”

“Everyone gets one chance to lie to me. You’ve just used yours.” For the briefest hint of a second, Solana believes she sees fear flash in her father’s eyes. “Consider yourself warned.”

The phone disconnects. 

Silence settles over the three of them, but it doesn’t last. 

“I–I don’t understand.” Solana finds her voice, unable to stay quiet in a moment that’s completely just changed the course of her life. “I–I can’t marry Roman.”

For a lot of reasons. Many reasons that she can list out and defend if given the chance.

Solana is consumed by her thoughts and pending mental breakdown, so much so that she misses when her brother stalks across the room. He throws her back up against the wall, and the minute her eyes land on the silver, she’s frozen in place.

His grin is predatory and satisfactory as he murmurs, floating the knife in front of her. “It seems you’ve finally made your existence have some type of purpose.” Solana has to close her eyes. Just seeing knives sometimes brings her back to that night, and having one pressed against her….

Wes knows exactly how agonizing that is to her, hence his favorite method of torture. 

Swallowing, she weakly protests, “you—you told them I’m a virgin.”

That’s a major reason why. Her father has made her out to be some chaste, pure woman when she’s anything but. And to lie to Roman, of all people, about something like that.

They’ve more or less signed her death decree.

“No. Dr. Boyd’s medical reports confirmed you’re still untouched, and you’ll go along with it for however long is necessary.” Xavier’s rebuttal is smooth and to the point, like he doesn’t see the issue with his actions.

He never does. 

“Don’t you understand?” Wes lazily slides the knife up and down her skin, smiling at the terror in her face. It’s his greatest motivation, witnessing the extent of her fear toward him. “We’d let Reigns and his entire bloodline fuck you if that’s what it took to get what we want.”

Solana has no shock value at his words. Wes stopped caring anything for her the minute she got their mother killed, and it’s not as if she can entirely blame him. 

Nina would still be alive if not for Solana. It’s something she accepted ages ago, an undeniable truth. 

However, she does have to ask in a pained voice, “what do you want?”

Xavier supplies, taking a hit of his cigar she didn’t realize he was holding this whole time. “We want and will have control of the bloodline.”

If not for her current situation, she’d laugh. Control of the bloodline. That’s….that’s not even a dream. That’s a delusion. Still, there’s an undertone to his voice and words that alarm her. In a quiet voice, she protests. “That’s—that’s impossible.”

Solana hisses as Wes presses the knife deeper into her throat, nicking her skin and drawing blood. “No, it isn’t, not anymore. Because we have a way in.”

And it’s with widened eyes and a constricted throat that Solana finally understands what’s happening, what they plan to have happen. 

Her voice is barely above a whisper. “No….”

Xavier answers with a cruel, wicked smile. “You’re going to kill Roman Reigns for us.”

[bazookaboi]

AUTISM CREATURE RANT [PART II]

(I may continue this hunting strategy part because I wrote this a while ago and I may add or redo a few more things later).

HUNTING STRATEGY:

Featured in the image above: An Autismus niveus niveus pouncing upon its prey.

TBH-A1 is an expert at detecting even the slightest sign of movement around it, even in stormy weather. Its big eyes, facial disk, sense of smell, and numerous whiskers allow for excellent capture of stimuli. Here’s how:

Eyes: These big, dark, front-facing sensory organs receive as much available light in the area as they can, allowing for excellent night vision. This is partly because TBH-A1’s eyes posses a large amount of photoreceptive cells, equivalent to rod cells back on our planet, and also due to their large size in general, which allows for more light to be detected. They also posses a thin, reflective membrane in their eyes akin to a tapetum lucidum.

Facial Disk: although not visible due to its coat, the TBH-A1’s ears are positioned near its eyes. The facial disk helps gather sound like a mini-satellite dish of sorts, helping channel sound waves towards the ears. It’s much like when you cup your hands against your ears to hear better.

Sense of smell: The TBH-A1’s olfactory receptors can pick up on the most minute details about their prey and environment. This is useful for detecting sent trails left by other fauna in its habitat. Since potential prey is much less prevalent in this icy region, this is very useful for tracking them over long distances; wasting less time and energy searching for them. Avoiding larger predators is also easier.

Whiskers: These long, specialised feather/hairs also help gather information about its environment. They are equipped with multiple nerve endings and are very sensitive to stimuli like touch, temperature and vibrations in the air. With these, detection of potential threats or potential prey is more effective due to the small vibrations that they cause when moving.

A side effect that this excellent detection of stimuli poses is that the TBH-A1 may get overwhelmed if there is too much of it. This will evidently stress it out. This is dangerous for the TBH-A1 because it is vulnerable in this state, and can get injured or killed more easily. In fact, some prey in its area have developed the ability to make noises that are specifically designed to deter an attacking TBH-A1. This is one of the reasons why it has developed to quietly stalk and kill its prey quickly…

Although it is constantly travelling to find a fresh meal, The TBH-A1 is an ambush predator. When it spots potential prey, it will first start to carefully assess the scene; studying the prey item with undivided attention. TBH-A1 determines its size, its smell, its age, estimating how much energy would be needed to take it down to see if it’s worth wasting… etc. Then, if the TBH-A1 decides that the prey item is worth its time, it will move in for the kill. It moves closer very slowly, crouched low to the ground, pausing if the prey’s vision drifts near where it resides. It’s lightly-coloured pelt camouflages perfectly with the snow around it, and it’s wide, fluffy, snowshoe-like feet muffle its already soft steps. TBH-A1 will usually choose a path contrary to the wind direction to avoid the detection of its sent. Every moment it makes is carefully calculated. Once close enough, it will pounce in a burst of speed, not letting the startled prey item know what hit them before it’s too late. Its serrated retractable claws extend, hooking onto the prey with ease, and before the unlucky victim can utter a sound, the TBH-A1 delivers a killing blow by sinking it’s sharp, cusped maxillary and mandibular frontal plates (it’s equivalent of incisors and canines) into the prey’s neck, and ripping its throat out with the help of strong neck muscles.

It will then proceed to eat its prey.

[gakupojpg]

Building my own school curriculum for AgeRe.

Special Notes: I'm in no community, and everything is 100% Safe for Work.

Personal Notes: Making my own "School" helps me overwrite my bad school memories from when I was a kid, and provides me with a necessary routine for my daily life. Without my routines, i have problems with my days blurring together and issues with taking care of myself.

Everything is under the cut!

Think about what you LIKED from school. As a kid, art class and library were my favorite moments from school-- so my "school" has a heavy lean towards Art and Reading. For this, I look up (simple) art prompts online and follow them, make my own art for fun, make my own "art projects" and more. For Library, I go to my local library AND I use the Libby app so I can read multiple books on-the-go! (The books I end up loving, I purchase an actual copy eventually!)

I loved Field Trips, too! For that, I write down a place I really want to visit-- and i visit it someday!

Also, I still do "Related Arts" classes.

Art: Make art with items I already have.

Music: Learn to read sheet music, and play an instrument I have. (You can play a virtual piano if you have a tablet, or practice drums on an upside-down bucket!)

Library: Read a book/Visit my library

Computer: Visit educational Websites

Physical Education: Learn exercises and play outside!

For Education, I use KhanAcademy and find worksheets to fill out online! I chose my grade level by going to the grade level I began struggling with (3rd grade was when I started doing badly in school, so I'm "redo-ing 3rd grade"! This helped my improve and gain confidence in my math skills as an adult!)

I'm autistic and have VERY INTENSE special Interests, so I made a class dedicated to learning more about my interests!

"Self Care Classes and their Rewards"

I made a punch card for my self care goals, And when the whole card is complete, I get myself a reward (or "save up" my points for a big prize! I'm saving for Noise Canceling Headphones!)

My goals are: Brush Teeth twice a day for _ days total, take a shower once daily for _ days total, do at least one chore for _ days total, drink at least _ bottles of water for _ days total, etc. I don't punish myself for forgetting things, that just means it'll take a little longer to reach my prize goals!

I have a separate punch card made for "days I went to work"!

When do you "go to school"?

I do this kind of schooling every day, usually when I'm bored and don't know what else to do-- or right before or right after work. There's no rules or attendance policy. Your New School experience should be tailored to your needs! At the end of the day, this is mostly just for fun!

For fun, try to make your "school mascot" your favorite animal! My school "mascot" is a Sun Bear!

I might add to this post later! Bye bye!

[ponett]

ive seen you post about doctor robotnik's ring racers occasionally on twitter and would like to hear your overall thoughts on the game

I'm enjoying it a lot! It plays well, has a ridiculous number of unlockable characters and tracks, and is generally just really polished. This would be impressive even for a paid indie kart racer that cost like $20-$30, but for a freeware fangame that's somehow built off of Doom? It's nuts. So much love and care went into this. I've been having a lot of fun playing through all the Grand Prix cups and clearing out the challenge board, which I've only completed 47% of it even with over 15 hours of playtime logged.

It's absolutely one of the most hardcore kart racers I've ever played, though, and that's gonna turn some people off. While playing solo even easy mode can be difficult, especially thanks to the rival system that gives one CPU buffs over the others. Anything below 150cc is a complete joke for me in Mario Kart, but even playing on the "normal" difficulty in Ring Racers (now renamed "intense" in the 2.2 patch) kicks my ass, and if you place poorly in a Grand Prix race it gives you a game over and makes you redo the race. I can't even imagine touching the higher difficulties at my current skill level.

This is compounded by how technical the game is and how many options are at your disposal. Spin dashing, tricks, fast drops, collecting and spending rings, an item roulette that can be manually stopped, a high risk high reward chargeable melee attack when you have negative rings, the ability to harass and be harassed by other racers while positioning yourself before the start of the race, gates that can only be passed through when you have a high level of boost, lots of items with different quirks that reward skilled play. And of course, perhaps most daunting of all to new players, there's the game's unique slope physics designed to mimic how they work in the 2D Sonic games, which will often require you to either spend rings for a small boost or stop and charge up a spin dash to get up a steep hill.

All of these add a lot of complexity to the game that can be pretty daunting early on, which is why it has an infamously long story-driven tutorial to introduce all of these mechanics. I'm not sure said tutorial actually does the best job introducing how those mechanics will actually be put to use in races, but I can't blame them for thinking the game needed it. (I do have to admit I am annoyed by the game's insistence upon framing everything via Sega Saturn inputs, though. I had to open the settings screen to figure out what buttons the tutorial actually wanted me to press.)

Some of these things have already been addressed in the first couple patches, of course. You can now exit the tutorial way earlier, some unlock requirements have been relaxed, there's an option to let the game automatically use your rings for you, easy mode has been made easier, a handful of problematic courses have been tweaked, etc. And I'm sure they'll continue to refine the game based on player feedback. But it's probably always going to be a fairly hardcore game. It's hard and has a high skill ceiling by design. Nintendo's never gonna make a super technical new Mario Kart for sickos - not on purpose, at least. They need it to be a pick-up-and-play party game that sells 70 million copies. But a freeware fangame not beholden to shareholders can experiment more and try to cater to that more hardcore crowd. Say what you will about Ring Racers, but it absolutely has a specific creative vision of its own beyond "Sonic Mario Kart," and I respect that even if the game sometimes frustrates me

[minhyebindery]

This was my first time binding an incredibly long fic, Descent into Perdition by @dreamsofspike-blog. This is one fic separated into 4 volumes. I sent this off to a mutual friend because I wanted to practice this bind before trying again with the final copy. For the repeat of this fic I am definitely going to split this into 5 volumes which I think will make it a little more manageable.

I learnt a lot from this run, volume 4 ending up the best but the others aren't too bad. It's easy for me to focus on the imperfections, especially after all the time I spend looking at them and I do want them to be perfect. However, I think I have to focus on the good things and be proud of how far I have come in my book binding journey.

For those in the Good Omens fandom I matched each volume to associated colours for each of the characters. Blue for Aziraphale and then black (for those who have read the fic you'll know why), purple for Gabriel and red for Crowley. The symbols on the front of the book match certain items or themes within the book.

I love being able to wrap the packages ready to send off to the recipient and add little personal touches here and there. I hope it brings a smile to my friend's face when they get to open each package.

I've just ordered a finishing press from Affordable Binding Equipment, I can't wait to get it so I can properly round and back the books. I've been using two wooden planks with some clamps and I just haven't been able to achieve the tension I need to round and back properly.

A few notes for future me:

Don't glue the spines if you aren't going to back them until later (much later) it makes it a lot harder -> hairdryers are your friend

Glue your endpapers closer to the end of the board otherwise you end up with that gap

If trimming the ends take into account that the board will then be shorter

Sometimes you make mistakes...make sure you have enough materials to redo bits and pieces

I think these volumes could've benefited from zigzag endpapers but maybe that is something to add next time

(I did fix the purple headband as I noticed it was lifting a little)

[ccycloneblogging]

( I believe the ship name was bearhug )

I can too, but now here is a hard question! Who do you think would most likely enter a three way relationship?

There's so many ship names, huh? 'u';;; Bearhug is a cute one though

Last thing I'll point out about this ship. It's a little detail I include on all my favorite ships whenever I draw them. I love having a couple share their respected colors. In this case, Hoppy's eyes.

She has a light mint for her highlights, but her eyes? That's a soft pink to just represent how she's got eyes for Bobby! Ha! I'm just a sucker for such things. I include that pretty often - either clothing items or just a shared color.

Okay, okay.

Moving on.

So... I can see two possibilities here, both with Crafty.

I can sooner see Hoppy x Bobby x Crafty for the ultimate couple. It's just a fun idea to imagine these three getting flustered around each other, with Picky just laughing it off and assisting where she can.

The other one? CatNap x DogDay x Craftycorn

This one I just like the general vibes of. With Crafty and CatNap being quiet and introverted in nature, I think it only makes sense that they fit well together (...The cartoon versions, I mean. Or Pre Hour of Joy in the Toon AU)

I mentioned it before, but I really can see DogDay being the type to fall in love with all of his friends. He longs to make things permanent, but... He's the leader and he's terrified of picking favorites. So he sits on his feelings and tries to ignore it, instead focusing on doing right by the group.

He catches Crafty's attention by how kind he is. How he stops everything to make sure they all feel included. He sits with her and encourages her art. Insists that every drawing is amazing! "Even if it's not your best, it's progress! Crafty, your skills have grown so much! I can't wait to see what you think of next!"

And CatNap? That's obvious. They are opposites in so many aspects. The two were simply drawn to each other - cat and dog. Sun and moon. These two cannot go long without checking up on the other. CatNap fell hard for this sunny boy, and it reflects in his actions.

Since I'm going on about ships here too, I'll add this in.

While Bubba x Kickin' is a fun pair - (Gotta love the dynamic of person A has the one brain-cell between them)... I see Kickin' as AroAce. He'll joke and flirt, but he's far more content with something more platonic. At least - for the Toon AU, that's what I think I'm going to go for.

Bubba and Picky, I like the dynamics these two can offer, and these two seem kinda close as well... But I can also seeing this being a strictly platonic pairing as well.

All in all?

Hoppy x Bobby is cannon in my eyes lol

I'm on the fence if it'll be an OT3 with Crafty, but we'll see.

Okay, okay. This is the last one I'm answering in a row for now - only so I can get back to redoing a comic page. I appreciate your asks! :D

[sweetmariihs2]

🪄Cedric The Sorcerer merch, art and official stuff - Masterlist (incomplete)🌌

That's the new version of the post. The previous one was (accidentally) deleted by me, and this one here is more updated and organized.

I wrote a complete part two post about this post here (searching for Cedric stuff), and it was all very genuine because I was writing down my opinions while looking for more content, so there were my reactions for having found incredible content, art that I had been looking for for a long time, books games and more. I did this research the whole day (of course, taking some breaks and also doing my personal tasks) and finished the post at midnight, but when I posted it, Tumblr deleted the post for no reason. I think maybe it's because there was a bug on the post, because I only had two drafts (this post and one more) and in quantity it said it had 5. Even though I tried to contact Tumblr support, they didn't solve my problem :( so I decided to redo the blog just with the data I found, more organized and also a masterlist of the illustrations I found on Tumblr. (I still want to share the things I found but I don't want to rewrite my reactions, because it won't be genuine anymore)

I did this research myself, so it's likely there are still items off the list that I didn't include. Or there is media that Cedric is in, but that has not been published on the internet and I didn't found anywhere. The content of the magazines for example is so damn hard to find.

After that day, I continued searching all over the internet. I would say this research took around a week or two. And I decided to put everything I found into a big masterlist to share with other people too, so I made this post.

As over time I will continue editing this post and adding more links, you need to remember that when a post is reblogged, the version it was in when it was reblogged will be the version present on the profile of the person who reblogged it. If there are updates, the most recent versions will not appear on that person's profile, so it's a good idea to always check if I have added any more links. Here I will leave the link to the post on my blog, so you can know if there have been any changes.

As always, I will be very grateful to those who have access to this material and can share it with me, so that I can add it to the list, or who have found a link with content that was left out of the post. I'll be very grateful to add it to the list and I'll give you credit. You can send it to me through comments, asks or messages. I will add the link and @ of your blog :)

If you only have images please put them in a post and send the link to me, because we can only add 10 images per post and I have already added too many images in the masterlist :)

You can access the links to the products/media/stuff by clicking on the colored texts (not on the titles, as the titles are just decorative). I'll divide the links into topics so they don't get mixed up.

Sometimes the same book or the same product has multiple links because in one link there are some images and in the other there are others. It could be due to the difference in quality of images from one site to another or because one link has images that the other does not have, about the same product. I will list these links in yellow.

Let me know in the comments if any link doesn't work.

~This version of the post is a REPOST. I accidentally deleted the other post, but fortunately I had a backup in my notes app. I knew that if I lost this post all my hard work would be destroyed too, so at each update, I also did the same update here. I got so mad because I deleted when I was trying to add a new link. What makes me pissed is having to organize in the Tumblr format (with the colored text and everything), but at least the links and the text are still saved. I also added new links.~

~If you want, you can delete the old post from your profile if you reblogged it before I deleted it. It is no longer useful and is the outdated version, plus I may end up getting confused with the two posts. Forget about the old post and focus on this new one ;) ~

23/may/2024 edit: I was going to edit the post and add more concept art links and I was notified that I have reached the link limit per post (100). I don't know what I'm gonna do anymore, since this masterlist is incomplete and CAN'T be completed because Tumblr doesn't allow me to. I'm thinking about making a post for each one of these topics and get their links to make a masterlist of them. But oh God this will be extremely exhausting to do. This post is reblogged in a lot of people's blogs already, I'll make a mess. Let me see what I can do. For now I'll keep the post the way it is.

21/july/2024 edit: I'm gonna be removing some dead links (links that don't work anymore and brings us nowhere) to add some concept arts/storyboards and the stf magazine masterlist I did some days ago.

Let's go to the list.

✨️Concept Art:

This section is incomplete since new concept art is always being discovered.

Model sheets by Connor Flynn (and more artists in the other drawings, I believe)(my favorite concept art)

Model sheets by Connor Flynn (Cedric and Wormwood concept arts)

Carol S. Berkeley Concept/Official art

Cedric and Wormwood Character Descriptions

‼️ Sofia The First series bible (pitch bible) (I was afraid of it turning into lost media so I also uploaded this in my blog, in two parts. Since we have a link limit per post I won't add them here, but if in the future this turns into a dead link, you can find it pretty easily by searching for "bible" or other keywords in my blog)

🪻Storyboards:

Once Upon A Princess third/fourth Cedric scene storyboard (+Goodwyn was there for some reason. He got scraped and added to "Cedric's Apprentice" later on)

Holiday In Enchancia - deleted scene storyboards (Cedric in his undies lmao)

Holiday In Enchancia - deleted scene storyboards (same as the above, but more content and in the original artist's website)

The Amulet Of Avalor - Get That/My Amulet storyboard (this specific link can only be accessed through the Wayback Machine website. It works for me, but some people said that it didn't worked for them. I also uploaded these in my blog in case you can't access this link.)

The Floating Palace storyboard (sea monster Cedric)

The Winter’s Gift episode storyboards (Cedric and Sofia's hug)

The Leafsong Festival storyboard (Cedric's design it's different, which is weird... maybe it was made before Once Upon A Princess)

Through the Looking Back Glass - Magic Touch storyboard (Cedric's hair looks so cute! This whole artstyle is so sweet)

The Enchanted Feast - All You Desire storyboards (originally called "Anything You Want")

🪄Storybooks (introduction):

The content of the books can be easily found on YouTube by searching for "Sofia The First read-along book", as many people record videos of themselves reading the books to children. Although we can see the arts, they are usually not in the best quality, so I found some scanned illustrations on Tumblr.

Usually the storybooks have the same stories as the episodes, so Cedric will be present in the books corresponding to each episode he's in. Except for the book Royal Sleepover (He's not there) and Holiday In Enchancia (He's present on a page, but not present in the episode). When You Wish Upon A Well is not posted on YouTube, so it was not found with all the pages and is difficult to find.

—

💫Sofia The First Storybook Theater App:

It's an interactive reading mode that existed inside the Disney Junior app. We don't know if there are more interactive books besides these recorded and posted on YouTube.

Sofia The First (introduction book)

The Floating Palace

🌙Storybook scanned pages:

(I won't include the YouTube videos because then can be found easily)

There are variations from the Cedric's Apprentice book: Sofia's Magic Lesson, Cedric Gets Help, "Aprendiendo a Hacer Magia" and Magic Class (He's not in this one). There's also the japanese version of this same story.

Cedric Gets Help read-along video (because it's hard to find)

Japanese Cedric's Apprentice

Princesita Sofia - Aprendiendo a Hacer Magia

Princesita Sofia - Aprendiendo a Ser Princesa

From the book Sofia The Second

From the book Amulet Of Avalor

From the book The Enchanted Feast

Only one from the book Two Princesses And A Baby (little golden book edition)

One small illustration from Two Princesses And A Baby

From the book Royal Mouse In The House + Two Princesses And A Baby

Mix from Enchanted Science Fair and When You Wish Upon A Well

Mix from The Perfect Tea Party, Magical Match and Amulet And The Anthem

Welcome to Royal Prep (MUSHROOM CEDRIC AAaa)

🌠Merch/Activity Books:

Sofia The First - Annual 2015 (Insta)

Sofia The First - Annual 2015 (Pin)

This book "Annual 2015" along with a magazine confused me a lot. I found illustrations from this book, but they matched illustrations from a magazine comic, which left me very confused because I didn't know what was from which book. After finding a video on YouTube with pictures of the whole magazine, I was able to separate which illustration was from which book. You can find this specific magazine in the magazines section below. Let's go on with the book list.

Sofia The First - Sparkling - Sticker Dress Up (dress Sofia and her royal friends)

Same book, but dress up Cedric

Same book, but Cedric is in a dress

Same book, but dress up Cedric + Baileywick and Roland

— Okay, now we can go on with the rest of the books :)

Sofia The First Magic Sticker Book (Korea)

Sofia The First Deluxe Sticker Book (we have Wormwood here, and both Cedric and Wormwood have heart stickers! And Cedric wears a green robe!)

Sofia The First look and find book

Sofia The First Clay Buddies

S Is For Sofia (ABC book)

Personalized book (you can add your kid's name)

Sticker book "treasury" (NEW CEDRIC STICKER - there's still content from this book that Cedric is featured but I couldn't find it anywhere)

Compilation of Cedric in the coloring books

Unknown source (Cedric with his concept art teeth)

🌟JAPANESE Merch/Activity books:

Japan needs a whole separate topic because they have their own producs, magazines, even the aesthetics change

Found a lot of romantic c*dfia traumatizing content...

And at least a good thing: a japanese sofia the first cookbook (for...children?)

I know that not everyone is just part of the "Cedric fandom" like me. I know that there are people who genuinely wants to search for STF content and not only Cedric, and the advice I give to find these things is to write "princess sofia magazine" in Google Translate and translate to Japanese, and then you copy it to the clipboard and search on Google. You will find a lot of interesting stuff.

You can understand what is written in these books by downloading the image and putting it in Google Translate, image translation mode. Select Japanese language translating to English, and translate by image. The app will write in English on top of the Japanese texts so that you can read them. You need to download the image to do this, as it needs to be in your gallery! Or it's an image on Google images and you click on the camera symbol below it -> translate. I use my cellphone, so I don't know how it works in desktop mode. There must be tutorials on the internet about it.

In the Amazon links, sometimes the website don't always shows all the pics that the seller put to sell the product. To see them, don't just swip to the right when you enter the website, click on the image FIRST and then look through the pics. I think that counts for all the Amazon links.

(This one is a storybook) Sofia The First - once upon a princess story (you can read the preview on that big button and there's a Cedric illustration)

Sofia The First + Frozen Sticker Book

Sticker dress up magnetic bag

Sticker dress up book

Another sticker book

"Kisekae collection", japanese mini portable dress up bag

Did you notice that the photo of Sofia and Cedric on the cover has the ruby ​​heart sticker? <3

Another japanese sticker book

Same japanese sticker book but more images

Lessons for becoming a princess (Disney picture book)

Flora painting Cedric's robe pink 😭😭

Little Princess Sofia Perfect Guide All stories published! (Gakken Disney Mook) *I just translated* Cedric is in the stickers (click on the image to see all)

Japanese learning english book? With a reading pen

Japanese learning words with little princess Sofia [NEW CEDRIC ILLUSTRATIONS]

Activity book (Cedric is in the stickers)

Activity book (Cedric is in a number card)

Japanese character encyclopedia (new pics) (click on the image to see all)

Japanese character encyclopedia (high quality images- not complete)

Magazine/book with new Cedric content, BUT there are new pics of the last "character encyclopedia" and bless this person on amazon, they did so much for us, thank you, thank you (click on the image to see all)

(That's all the same link I just played a little with the colors lol)

Magazine/book with game of fiding the seven errors with Cedric (click on the image to see all)

MAGAZINE WHERE WE CAN LEARN MAGIC TRICKS WITH CEDRIC!!!! (click on the image to see all)

Magazine/book with stickers (click on the image to see all)

Magazine that comes with pens and a small bag

10 stories (there's a part for describing the characters... but it's just a preview so you have to buy it)(that gray button is for reading the preview)

10 stories 2 (same thing as the last one)(that small button below the pic is for reading the preview)

"Princess Lession", probably an activity book

Another sticker+activity book

Unknown book (it's described as a comic, but I don't believe it is)

I found a website full of high quality images of japanese merch and books, some scanned pages and everything. But it redirected to adult sites. The site full of STF merch appears for a second and then several betting sites and mature content open, so to be able to get these images, I turned off my Wi-Fi before the adult site appeared and kept scrolling the page to see the images, then to go to the second part I would turn it on for a moment and turn it off again before the ads appeared 😭 it was very difficult but I got everything interesting that was there. Here are some:

🌌Magazines:

Some time ago I started to buy the STF magazines in my country to scan them and prevent them to be turned into lost media. I only own some of them but I was capable to upload them here on tumblr. Here is the post where you can access them:

The Day Of The Sorcerers magazine:

Random images + part of the comic

The Day Of The Sorcerers comic version

Snowman Cedric pic

"A Bit Of Magic" (name of the comic) magazine:

WHOLE MAGAZINE VIDEO: Activities and full comic

"A Bit Of Magic" comic (Once Upon A Princess/Cedric's Apprentice inspired story)

"A Bit Of Magic" comic scenes (finally- that's not an "unknown source" anymore)

A Bit Of Magic" comic scenes (previously nicknamed "Once Upon A Princess comic-like illustrations by me)

Another part of the "A Bit Of Magic" comic (that's the reused artwork I mentioned at the "annual 2015" book)

This is the comic I mentioned in the "Annual 2015" book part. The illustrations in this magazine are similar to those in the book and because I didn't have access to either of the two complete books, I couldn't understand which was which. Today I know because I found the video of the whole magazine.

Other magazines content (activities):

Intituled "Sofia The First Official Comic Issue 13 with free gift", but it can be called "Magic Helpers"

Sofia The First Royal Adventures - Join Sofia's Party!

"Another chance"/"Perfect spell"/"Magical Mishaps" (unknown source)

"A successful spell" (unknown source)

"A magic celebration" (unknown source)

"Secret Path" (unknown source)

"Pet swap" (unknown source)

"Our special talents" (unknown source)

Magazines' comics:

"Welcome to Royal Prep Academy!" Magazine (comic)

Same comic but different pics (previously an unknown source)

I had a screenshot here before I mentioned that I lost the source. But not that I found out it's source I discovered that it's not from a magazine! It's a sticker book that I already mentioned but I thought those were two different books!! The book I'm talking about is "Sticker Play - Royal Activities". // 21/july/2024 edit: now the link that bring us to that sticker book is a dead link. Lost media unfortunately :( I removed it from the masterlist

—

🪞Magazine covers:

Sofia The First - Leading The Way (True Friendship/Cedric Takes Charge) [Day Of The Sorcerers Comic]

Sofia The First - Royal Adventures (New Exciting Adventures!/The Power Of Being Nice)

Sofia The First - Leading The Way (Surprising Friends!/Visit Hexley Hall with Cedric!)

Sofia The First - Royal Adventures (Indonesian: Selamat Datang di Pesta Sihir)(translation: Welcome to Magic Party) (sassy Cedric)

🌔Merch:

Panini stickers (from the Sofia The First - Collectible Sticker Album)

Panini sticker album — High quality stickers (I FINALLY FOUND THE DAMN STICKER ALBUM CARDS)

Panini sticker album — here we can see all of the pages. The quality is low but in other videos people don't show them all

Panini sticker album — complete (lmao this video)

Board game - Surprise Slides (conceptart-like Cedric illustration)

🐦‍⬛Games:

I have great news for you: I found a website called Numuki that still supports flash games. On this website you can play ALL the games I have listed below (except for Sofia's Enchanted Adventure. I thought it wasn't possible to play The Mermaid Princess either, but it just doesn't show up when you search for "Cedric", it shows up in similar game recommendations when you're playing a STF game). Just search for Numuki on Google and in the website's search bar search for "Cedric", and voilá, have fun.

I'm having trouble with the link limit per post, because I already reached 100 and I need more space to add other ones, like concept arts and storyboards. So instead of adding a link to videos about every game, I'll just link a private playlist I made on YouTube with videos to all these games (in the order that I mention them in the post) for you to access it more easily. Those colored titles of the games aren't links, okay?

This is the playlist link ✨️

A Spell for Mr Cedric

Cedric needs ingredients to make a spell that makes fireworks, so Sofia needs to get them for him.

Keys To The Castle

Sofia needs to go to the royal ball and Cedric locked the door with his magic. Now she needs to get the keys to go back to the ball. Cedric has a new 3d pose and is an enemy/npc that can "game over" your game (his walk is so funny). Plus we have Wormwood here. "Game over" at 04:50 min.

Sofia's Enchanted Adventure

Cedric turns into a lizard (a very cute and funny one, that doesn't show inside the episodes) and Sofia needs to help him turn back to his normal self.

The Curse Of Princess Ivy

Cedric has a new 3d pose and a small animation. This game is about catching Ivy's butterflies and you can play with Amber or Sofia.

Sofia's Card Catch

Matching game with Cedric. There was a previous version where Cedric was the sea monster instead of his normal self.

The Mermaid Princess

The Floating Palace game version. I'm not that familiarized with the english dub so I don't know if they reused the same voicelines from the episodes or not.

A Day At Royal Prep

This game is basically a collection of minigames based on the classes at the royal prep. Ironically, there is a "potions class", and Cedric apparently is the teacher... let's take the episode Substitute Cedric into consideration lmao.

A Starry Sleepover

A compilation of games from the Disney Junior app based on the episode "The Big Sleepover". Cedric is included in a minigame called "Hide and Seek" where the characters appear behind objects and the player must click on them. The narrator says "Watch out for Cedric, he's after Sofia's amulet!"

⚗️ Toys:

Cedric The Sorcerer figure — from the Sofia The First Deluxe Friends Pack

Cedric's workshop playset — from the Sofia The First Wizard School/Magic Lab Playset

Cedric's magic show tools — from the Sofia The First Magic Spells Bag

[rad-roche]

do you have any mod recommendations? other than romanceable nick lol

exposing my mod list is a real 'please don't tell anyone how i live' moment because it, top to bottom, is all just pretty little outfits for gloria, furniture, or very small changes to nick that i like. gameplay? story additions? those sound interesting, i wonder what those are like. my toxic video game trait, consistent across absolutely everything, is i can play a 5fps mess if it means i get to snap pretty pictures

now of those categories...

SAD WOMAN DRESSUP GAME FEATURING AN RPG OR WHATEVER:

Caliente's Beautiful Bodies: you know it you love it, and there's a nevernude option should you desire. i always forget what i have installed, so i made sure to get the nude one so i could nod appreciatively when a modded outfit failed to load. it's my present to me. got rained on? had an argument? never fear. glussy is here.

Apocalypse Attire

Commonwealth Cuts

Dave's Poses

Looksmenu

Mirrored Vanilla Scars

Eyes of Beauty

Photo Mode (even if you have absolutely no interest in the cc stuff, this thing is a godsend if you ever want to take screenshots)

Cigarette In Mouth

Handmaiden - the outfit in that picture. comes in other colours, too!

Concealed Armors

HOUSE FLIPPER: IS IT STILL MIDMOD IF IT'S THE FUTURE

Creative Family mods. you can't install these like you would the rest, so pay close attention to the instructions, but the quality on these is unmatched. creative clutter, do it yourshelf, modular kitchen, they're all really, really good if you like decorating player homes.

Building Budget Extender

Dino's Decorations

Global Stash

Just Some Rugs

MadKea (this thing adds 500+ items so if your computer has a hard time with fo4, give this one a skip unless you don't mind waiting an age for menus to load)

PlaceEverywhere

Reversed Workshop Highlight (gets rid of that annoying green glow! godsend!)

Workshop Plus (completely reworks workshop; lets you clone items, save layouts to layers, float around buildable spaces, undo/redo. it's hard to overemphasise the usefulness of this if you plan to build)

SO THERE'S THIS SENIOR CITIZEN

Companion Accuracy Boost

Companions Go Home

Alternative Synth Eyes

Nick Valentine Robot Voice (it makes nick sound as if he's talking through a speaker. it's subtle, but i really dig it)

Valentine's Revolver

Valentine Jaw Sync

Settler and Companion Dialogue Overhaul (makes npcs seem more 'aware' and much less likely to make repetitive comments)

Delay Nick's Quest (only allows Long Time Coming to trigger after you complete Gilded Grasshopper; a lot of his location-based dialogue remains open instead of him defaulting to brooding about the tapes and that long, hard quest)

I'll respect your wishes and not mentioned critically acclaimed Fallout 4 mod Romancable Nick Valentine, which can be found here. I will, instead, mention this adorable one where you can marry him, which I assume is keeping in the spirit of you specifically asking me not to mention them. Now go forth and play your wildly overambitious otome game

[bekkathyst]

Crystal Clearance Sale - February 15th 2025 Rules & Procedures

Hello friends! Everyone planning to participate in the sale today, please read. This is how everything will work. I’m trying to clear out our online store so we can redo it and change some things, so I’m posting my leftover jewelry at a discount tonight. Invoicing will be done tomorrow (Sunday).

I will start posting items for sale directly here on Tumblr. To claim an item and place your order, do the following:

Reply to the post (those who are unable to reply for whatever reason can reblog) saying “sold” or “mine" with the quantity you’d like to claim. It’s important you do this so we can see who claimed something first in case something sells out.

Keep a list of everything you claim (with the item number for each item). Once you’re done claiming, please message me over the instant messenger.

Include the following information in your message:

Your email address for the invoice, the country you live in (for shipping purposes - we are shipping from Austria), and the list of what you claimed (with the item numbers). Also please let me know if you want your order to be *open box* or *ready to ship*. “Open box” simply means you want us to hang onto your items after you pay so that you can continue to add things from future sales so everything can be shipped together for convenience 😊

Shipping to Europe is $12

Shipping elsewhere is $15

For extra-large packages, shipping is $20

Be sure to send your info at the end of the sale or whenever you’re sure you’re done claiming.

Invoicing will be done through my online shop “Bekkathyst” - the invoice gets sent to your email and you get the option to pay with a PayPal account or with a credit or debit card. You don’t need to have a PayPal account to pay.

Payment is due Monday.

Unfortunately due to problems we have encountered before - if you claim items and then at the end of the sale and either don’t respond to your invoice or never message, you will be blocked.

If you decide you’re backing out of a claim before the sale is over, message me so that I can delete your comment. Please try to avoid doing this. Thank you!

We now offer an “open box” option in which you can continue to keep your order open (aka have us not ship it yet) for future sales so everything can be shipped together once you’re ready. When you send your info please don’t forget to let me know if you’d like your order to be *open box* or *ready to ship*. Thank you!! 🙏

For all items that are marked random selection, you may make a request for a specific piece and we will do our best to honor your request, but it is not always possible. Please keep that in mind :)

Any questions? Feel free to ask! I hope you’ll join us and have lots of fun!

[dreamerwitches]

Iiiittt's Magia Record witch doppels!

I was in a 'I don't want to do digital art mood' so they're on good ol' paper. I find I draw best on paper honestly. Anyway let's go!

It was kinda obvious to me that Zenobia would be a bit open skirt one (I've used this before on like, Walpurgis and Gertrud). She's simplified down to fit but I think it looks good still! I was unsure whether to add her saturn-ring-hoop thing lest it get too clustered

Candy was a little hard cause I didn't know where to put the magi. She ended up kinda inside and you can see her head in the split in Candy's head. The items around her are her buttons(?) from her dress

Stacey was the opposite of Candy where I knew exactly what I wanted, sitting in the cameo is cuuute! Though then I wasn't sure what to do with the rest... I think the birds enlarging their wings is fun and cute!

I really wanted a bed for Rebecca, I hope it's not too far from her witch design... but I think it looks good! Her magi is having a nice sleep and Rebecca is WIDE AWAKE to make sure no one disturbs her

Teresa is inspired by the hanged man tarot card of course to link in with how her face (?) is hanging upside down. It was a bit hard to figure out what to do with the rest of her but eh I think it works

I'm not sure if Lucy is successful. I think the idea of the magi inside the backpack part is cute but I'm not sure if the rest of her is utilised well enough. Might need a redo

With Matasaburo, I wanted Kuro to be completely covered. I think it works well with her forgettable nature.

The magi is inside Shin's mouth. Like Lucy, I was worried not enough of Shin is used...

Durbar was kinda easy, just put magi on chair but yadda yadda, not enough used... her familiars are added with their sea creature theme to Durbar but I dunno if I'm happy with it

Onto the anime witches! Boxwood's eye is the magi head and its just the rest of her body kinda merged with her. Added her familiars around her to make her more interesting. Since Boxwood is pretty simple to begin with, this was a little tricky

Oshiti is another simple one so I used her familiar and some artistic liberties. With her super dark theme, we just had to have some violence lol

I don't know if I'm happy with Raspberry. What can you do with a hand?? I think it's fine for now...

I had a fun idea of Made in 168 being an alternate doppel for Iroha. How would it work? Beats me...

The last two were pretty easy but you can probably tell I was running out of steam aha...