The Best Piece Of Advice I Ever Got Was Not Meant As Advice, But As An Edict. If I Was Going To Threaten

Mare Ditat, Rosa Decorat

An: Hii! This is my first fic. Enlish is not my first language, and Im open to sugestions and everything! ૮ ˶ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ˶ ა I hope you like this! If you just found this fic its a Repcomm AU that focuses on Sargeant Walon Vau and his home planet. And in this Etain lives! She isn't a very major character but she has her role. Disclaimer: I read the books a long time ago, so if something is wrong then sorry! And it will be on AO3 too, I just need to figure out tagging Wordcount: 5275 Reading time (estimate): 7 min Hope you enjoy! ⸜(｡˃ ᵕ ˂ )⸝♡ Here is the AO3 link: Mare Ditat, Rosa Decorat

Memoria Praeteritorum

It was very light for the night in Kyromut. Mandalores two moons where full, causing many headaches in the household. One person who was especially snappy was Walon Vau. The old man had a spliting headache for two days, and even before that he fellt like shit.

He was sitting in the kitchen while waiting for his tea to finish, Mird laying next to him. Even when he was relatively far from the karyai, he could hear the happy chatter coming from there. After a little time he heard the soft taps of cruthes.

He stud up from the table and went to the cupboard to take down a cup. Vau thought about joining the group, but his headache said differently.

The taps were getting closer when it suddenly stoped. Walon looked at the door and he seen a head full of choppily cut red hair. He smiled.

“Miss Etain. Would you like tea?” He tried to pull his most inviteing smile. “Its Behot tea. Good for an upset stomach.” Walon poured a mug and held it out.

“Sergeant Vau!” Etain smiled and took the tea. “Thank you!” She said politely and sat down facing the window. Vau took place too.

“The moons are beautiful, aren’t they?” Etain pulled up her legs and crossed them. Vau's supprised she could move this freely after her injuries.

“They are. But they cause a killer headache too.” He chuckled. Etain suddenly looked at him and raised an eyebrow. In response Vau raised one too then he shook his head. “ How are your injuries doing?” Walon asked.

“They are fine…” She looked down into the mug.

“You are healing quickly. You Jedi are fascinating in many cases.” Vau tried to give her encuraging words, even when he didn’t really know how to give those.

“Hm. Thank you.” Etain suddenly become very quiet. ‘Maybe i said something offensive? I don’t think I did’ Vau thought. Etain oppened her mouth like she wanted to say something, when Kad ran into the room, Mereel following in his trail.

“Kad!” Mereel called out, smiling. “Don’t run away just like that!” When Mereel arrived at the kitchen he stopped in his track to look at Vau. The sergeant shook hi head and turned away. He did not notice Mereels quirked eyebrows.

The boy ran to his mother and asked to be picked up. Etain tried lifting him up, but a pained expression painted her face. Kad looked into Etains eyes, like knowing that she was in pain

“Don’t worry Kad.” Vau said. “Ba’vodu Mereel will help” Mereel quickly looked away from the older man, and went to put Kad up into the young womans lap.

Vau stood up too. “I have a tea somewhere that is good for tea.” He want to the cupboard and started looking around.

“I don’t think tea will help her” Mereel proclaimed “Mij is in the karyai, I can ask him for painkillers.” The young man turned to Etain

“Tea is fine, thank you.” Etain said while trying to get Kads fingers out of her hair. Mereel looked at her with a questioning stare “I can’t be forever on painkillers. An it’s not that bad.” Etain explained and Vau hummed.

“You do you…” Mereel accepted. He sat down at the table too

“And you Mereel? Would you like tea?” Vau offered.

“No thanks. Im fine.”

Walon shrugged and pulled out a tea. He put it in front of Etain and sit down in his place. HE petted Mird and pulled out his Kniting. Mereel raised his eyebrows again then looked at Etain. She shrugged and went back playing with Kad. The soldier looked back.

“Mereel. A little advice. If you keep raising your eyebrow to anything I do then they will stay that way”

The young man frowned and turned to Etain and Kad.

Vau heard a Holocall comming in and heard Kal’s voice.

“Fen Shysa, how — help you?” The conversation goes on for a good minute. “—— Vau?” suddenly everything goes silent. Even Kad raises his head. Walon can hear Kals limping steps comming closer. The short man suddenly arrives in the kitchen door. He looks irritated and suprised at the same time.

“It’s the Mand’alor” He gives him the commlink.

Vau stands up and takes the commlink, then tries to walk out, but Kal does not let him. Vau sighes and sits back.

“Vaus here. What can I help you with”

“Sargeant! Are you expecting visitors from Irmenu?” Vau shoots a suprised look. Visitors? From Irmenu? What in the Karkin’ hell…

“Depends…” He hesitates looking around the room. Everybody is silent “Who are they?”

“Two children. They come from the Irmenuan resistance? Heard of it?”

What the hell… Oh Goddes Kola

“No. Never” Vau answered

“Well they heard of you. They have a message from…” Walon hears a young voice “Cordelia?”

Walon suddenly feels dizzy. He can feel somebody staring at him. ‘Not her. Why? Why why why…”

“Vau? Are you here?”

He stedies his voice “Yes.”

“Do you know who that is?”

“Yes.” He sighs. “Do they have money with them?”

The mand’alor mumbles something on the otherside. “They have some Irmenuan Galleons but i don’t think it’s enought

“I will pay tomorow morning. Could you get them somewhere to sleep?

“Yes. Come to Oyu’baat. They will be here.”

“Got it.” Vau stoped the call and stud up in a quick manner. Kal stood in the door, determined not letting him out.

“Care to explain?” Kal asked. It irritaded Vau more than usual.

“No” Vau tried to walk trough Kal.

“You will explain it”

“It’s none of your business” Walon said with so much venom in his voice that it made Etain flinch.

Kal leaned closer “You aren’t leaving this room till you explained yourself.”

Vau leaned down, his golden eyes almost glowing. “Let me out” he ordered.

Kal couldn’t even react that quickly, but he was already moving. like something came over him, something was commanding him. He stared wide eyed

Vau walked out the kitchen seeing Ordo in the hallway. He turned his head back.

“I will explain everything tomorow.” When he looked back all four of them looked very shocked. He smirked to himself. He then turned around and went upstairs.

“Mird!” He called out and the strill was already next to him. They went into Walons room.

He stood in the shower, letting the hot water burn his old scars. He should be happy that Cordelia’s alive. But what are those children doing here? ‘Could they be…’ No, thats dumb. Cordelia was sent into a nunnery ‘But what if…’ No. He did not let his head wander into that direction. They are probably taken in by Cordelia. Or some random children she sent ‘She wouldn’t send anybody…’ He sighed ‘This can’t be good’

He turned of the shower and got dressed. When he walked out Mird was already laying in it’s place. Walon petted it and went to bed.

But sleep did not come for him.

An: I hope you liked it! It's short, but I think its good for first try. Feedback is greatly appreciated

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Jedi Order Bureaucratic Structure

I’ve been working for a while on worldbuilding the inner workings of the Jedi Order. Below is a flowchart of the administrative bodies, their duties, and any other admin bodies they oversee. More details on each below the cut.

These are different groups involved in running the Jedi Order. For different roles within the Jedi, see my Jedi Order Corps and Subdivisions.

High Council: (Finance, bylaws, PR, major trials)

Determines the budget(s)

Relations with the Senate

Only body that can expel members

Librarian's Assembly: (Ensures knowledge is available to Jedi)

Fund academic researchers (many Jedi researchers work directly for the assembly)

Archives: (Run the Archives & research)

Host academic conferences

Protect important artifacts

Run basically directly by the Librarian's Assembly

Department of Classes: (Adult education)

Organize all classes that aren't geneds

Set criteria for certifications/ degrees

Help members get degrees from external organizations

Council of Reassignment: (Oversees transfers & is Jedi CPS)

New Initiate paperwork

Transfers between corps and/or branches

Helps members leave the Order

Checks the CoFK when necessary

Padawanship paperwork filed here (crèchemasters sign off, padawan signs off, check master for red flags/ not allowed to take apprentice, sometimes mind healer signs off)

Council of Justice: (Attourneys & internal justice system)

Try & punish cases committed by Jedi & internal to the Jedi Order

Mediate interpersonal disputes

Lawyers for the Order

Cannot expel members

Council of Outreach: (Manages outposts & patrols)

Assigns Jedi to satellite locations or watchfolk posts

Hires other outpost staff

Ships supplies to & from outposts

Tracks the locations of missions & sends Vanguards to areas that haven't been visited recently

Council of Temple Maintenance: (Oversees internal services and temple upkeep)

In charge of the cleaning droids

Coordinates trash & recycling with Coruscant government

Has the occasional member who can do specialized maintenance (ex. plumber, electrician)

Volunteers sign up to fix things

Hires outside contractors when there isn't a Jedi with the necessary skills

Assigns Jedi to living quarters

Interior decor

Delegates chores such as taking out the trash, mopping, dusting, etc.

Padawans and initiates are often assigned these chores as punishments

Kitchenmasters: (Mess halls)

Make & serve food in the mess halls

Label the food with which species can eat it

Order food supplies

Supervise initiate clans helping in the kitchens

Quartermasters: (Distribute supplies & manage finances)

Bulk-order supplies for the Order

Provide mission allotments

Desk operators help members pick up supplies

Accounting

Transport Office: (Run the hangar bay & speeder pool)

Responsible for the Order's vehicles

Mechanics

Vehicles are checked in & out like a library for cars & ships

Hire external staff when there aren't enough Jedi

Temple Guard: (Security & emergency response)

Guard against exterior threats to the temple

Security during criminal situations

Really good at sensing danger to temple inhabitants

First responders (fire & police-- MedCorp handles EMS)

Change lightbulbs and smoke detector batteries

Odd jobs on behalf of the CoTM

Uses the lore by Adsecula in "Nameless"

Council of Reconciliation: (Central hub of Jedi outreach & diplomacy)

All aid requests go through them

Sets mission objectives

Approve or deny aid/ mission requests

Reviews behavior of Jedi on missions when there are issues

Mission Consignment: (Assign Jedi to approved missions)

Desk jockeys

Not officially divided by type of mission/ Jedi role needed, but missions will be passed to people who are more familiar with the experts required

Organizes specifics for missions such as transportation and housing

Council of First Knowledge: (Runs Initiate & Padawan dorms, clans, & childhood education)

Initiate clans members live together with their crèchemasters rotating out night shifts

Padawans & Senior Initiates live in individual rooms in designated halls with some crèchemasters living in each hall

Department of Seekers: (Regulates conduct of Seekers)

Create regulates for what Seekers can & cannot do & how they should act

Investigate reported misconduct by Seekers

Crèche: (Organizes care for Initiates)

Sort Initiates into clans

Run events/ field trips/ etc.

Set educational standards

see my post about Living Quarters in the Jedi Temple

Department of Primary Classes: (Classroom education for younglings)

Standard elementary school operation stuff

Provides the general education classes all Jedi take as younglings

Circle of Healers: (Sets certification requirements)

Certified to train medical professionals for a variety of degrees

Determines when Jedi have fulfilled requirements for medical certifications

Sets the qualifications for Force-specific medical degrees

Halls of Healing: (Healthcare within the Order & internal outreach)

Like a local hospital but also has general practitioners

IRB: (Reviews research for ethical concerns)

Institutional Review Board

"Under FDA regulations, an Institutional Review Board is group that has been formally designated to review and monitor biomedical research involving human subjects. In accordance with FDA regulations, an IRB has the authority to approve, require modifications in (to secure approval), or disapprove research. This group review serves an important role in the protection of the rights and welfare of human research subjects."

IRB for the entire Order, not just the MedCorps

Some skinny pretty white girl needs to post a tiktok like "Come with me to get a library card 💞💞" and record herself going to the library and filling out the application and etc and it needs to go viral so people start going to the library

im just laying down but NOT for a nap guys i swear im getting comfy cozy but im NOT GOING TO FALL ASLEEP my ass is NOT laying my head to rest bro im just getting snug as a bug in a rug. FOR NO REASON. ill be awake the whole time bro i swear. me and my stuffed animals are just hanging out dude i PROMISE ill be awake im not sle

I miss you both...

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Fic recs - oneshots (part 4)

I'm currently in like, a lot of pain (...don't ask), so what better way to distract myself than cataloging some fics!

Last time I said I'll do a list of writers, but I noticed that so much time has passed that I've collected enough oneshots for another post like this, so I'm doing this first.

A couple of ones here are from shadowforest-wolf's lists, go check these posts out if you want more recs!

As always, sfw oneshots, if there are any dead links you need fixing let me know!

Sea of Love by MiddlemistsRed (chiakashie) - Soap keeps dying in Al Mazrah and Ghost reincarnates each time to save him.

Offhand Remarks by bisexual_werewolf - Ghost doesn’t think Soap is a good enough soldier. Soap tries his best to fix that. (Spoilers: It doesn’t work)

You'd Be the Mercy Under My Cruelty by ajax_in_agony - Ghost takes care of Soap in the aftermath of "Alone".

TV. by Kodalax - Ghost thinks Soaps mad at him so he distances himself as much as possible and clams up like he’s a child again. [this is a series with a second work from Soap's POV]

where the nightmares end by oh_ellie - Soap is sitting up in his bed, the sheets shoved off of his body and sweat beading on his forehead and running down his temple. It's dark in his room and far too quiet.

taken a shine to me? by oh_ellie - Soap is captured by Graves during alone [this has a second work which is nsfw]

Eleven by VibeDemon - Ghoap get stuck in an elevator. [this is just a little funny one :)]

He's The Gift That Just Keeps Giving! by StrixDaddy - some hurt/comfort featuring Christmas fluff.

Hold On To Me by iamtheidiot - That's when he saw it. A goddamn fucking knife sticking out of the man's right side, his arm at an angle like he was trying to conceal the thing from Soap.

Ghostly Music by oh_heccity - A 5+1 where Soap helps Ghost learn to have a healthy relationship with music, it, of course, has its ups and downs.

My heart in your hands keeps going on by FetteEule - 5 times Ghost is forced to go on leave and 1 time he takes leave on purpose.

Bleeding Sands by Islenthatur - What if Soap was one of the 15 who survived Operation Sand Viper [COD Ghosts Soap]

notre dame by merikai - Soap is stuck under rubble, but it takes a while until someone comes to the rescue.

heaven help the fool who falls in love by merikai - Soap has a "girl". Ghost tries to find out more.

leave it to the land by merikai - “Hypothermic,” Ghost mutters, more to himself as a note than to Soap. “You're delirious. Need to get you warmed up.”

no shortage of sordid by merikai - Hassan's men have taken Soap hostage—but there are things worse than this.

Dehiscence (Opening of a Wound) by made1for1life1 - Johnny knows his mind doesn't work the same as other people's. Maybe he just needs to try harder. Trying harder is a lot harder than he thought.

A quick game of chess by cheersyaslag - when Ghost tells him to shut up, he doesn't exactly know why it hurts so damn much. Maybe he's being too sensitive. But he does shut up. He will do as he's told for once.

Observations and Ink by Fearless_leaderr - He shifts nervously as the other man flips through the pages, and Soap can feel sweat begin to collect on his brow. "Didn't know you could draw like this, Johnny."

Still got like 3 days until I finish the semester, but I already got so many ideas for comics and drawings and fics it's not even funny. I'm gonna have so much fun once I'm finally done with my work T_T

⭐ So you want to learn pixel art? ⭐

🔹 Part 1 of ??? - The Basics!

Hello, my name is Tofu and I'm a professional pixel artist. I have been supporting myself with freelance pixel art since 2020, when I was let go from my job during the pandemic.

My progress, from 2017 to 2024. IMO the only thing that really matters is time and effort, not some kind of natural talent for art.

This guide will not be comprehensive, as nobody should be expected to read allat. Instead I will lean heavily on my own experience, and share what worked for me, so take everything with a grain of salt. This is a guide, not a tutorial. Cheers!

🔹 Do I need money?

NO!!! Pixel art is one of the most accessible mediums out there.

I still use a mouse because I prefer it to a tablet! You won't be at any disadvantage here if you can't afford the best hardware or software.

Because our canvases are typically very small, you don't need a good PC to run a good brush engine or anything like that.

✨Did you know? One of the most skilled and beloved pixel artists uses MS PAINT! Wow!!

🔹 What software should I use?

Here are some of the most popular programs I see my friends and peers using. Stars show how much I recommend the software for beginners! ⭐

💰 Paid options:

⭐⭐⭐ Aseprite (for PC) - $19.99

This is what I and many other pixel artists use. You may find when applying to jobs that they require some knowledge of Aseprite. Since it has become so popular, companies like that you can swap raw files between artists.

Aseprite is amazingly customizable, with custom skins, scripts and extensions on Itch.io, both free and paid.

If you have ever used any art software before, it has most of the same features and should feel fairly familiar to use. It features a robust animation suite and a tilemap feature, which have saved me thousands of hours of labour in my work. The software is also being updated all the time, and the developers listen to the users. I really recommend Aseprite!

⭐ Photoshop (for PC) - Monthly $$

A decent option for those who already are used to the PS interface. Requires some setup to get it ready for pixel-perfect art, but there are plenty of tutorials for doing so.

Animation is also much more tedious on PS which you may want to consider before investing time!

⭐⭐ ProMotion NG (for PC) - $19.00

An advanced and powerful software which has many features Aseprite does not, including Colour Cycling and animated tiles.

⭐⭐⭐ Pixquare (for iOS) - $7.99 - $19.99

Probably the best app available for iPad users, in active development, with new features added all the time.

Look! My buddy Jon recommends it highly, and uses it often.

One cool thing about Pixquare is that it takes Aseprite raw files! Many of my friends use it to work on the same project, both in their office and on the go.

⭐ Procreate (for iOS) - $12.99

If you have access to Procreate already, it's a decent option to get used to doing pixel art. It does however require some setup. Artist Pixebo is famously using Procreate, and they have tutorials of their own if you want to learn.

🆓 Free options:

⭐⭐⭐ Libresprite (for PC)

Libresprite is an alternative to Aseprite. It is very, very similar, to the point where documentation for Aseprite will be helpful to Libresprite users.

⭐⭐ Pixilart (for PC and mobile)

A free in-browser app, and also a mobile app! It is tied to the website Pixilart, where artists upload and share their work. A good option for those also looking to get involved in a community.

⭐⭐ Dotpict (for mobile)

Dotpict is similar to Pixilart, with a mobile app tied to a website, but it's a Japanese service. Did you know that in Japanese, pixel art is called 'Dot Art'? Dotpict can be a great way to connect with a different community of pixel artists! They also have prompts and challenges often.

🔹 So I got my software, now what?

◽Nice! Now it's time for the basics of pixel art.

❗ WAIT ❗ Before this section, I want to add a little disclaimer. All of these rules/guidelines can be broken at will, and some 'no-nos' can look amazing when done intentionally.

The pixel-art fundamentals can be exceedingly helpful to new artists, who may feel lost or overwhelmed by choice. But if you feel they restrict you too harshly, don't force yourself! At the end of the day it's your art, and you shouldn't try to contort yourself into what people think a pixel artist 'should be'. What matters is your own artistic expression. 💕👍

◽Phew! With that out of the way...

🔸"The Rules"

There are few hard 'rules' of pixel art, mostly about scaling and exporting. Some of these things will frequently trip up newbies if they aren't aware, and are easy to overlook.

🔹Scaling method

There are a couple ways of scaling your art. The default in most art programs, and the entire internet, is Bi-linear scaling, which usually works out fine for most purposes. But as pixel artists, we need a different method.

Both are scaled up x10. See the difference?

On the left is scaled using Bilinear, and on the right is using Nearest-Neighbor. We love seeing those pixels stay crisp and clean, so we use nearest-neighbor. 

(Most pixel-art programs have nearest-neighbor enabled by default! So this may not apply to you, but it's important to know.)

🔹Mixels

Mixels are when there are different (mixed) pixel sizes in the same image.

Here I have scaled up my art- the left is 200%, and the right is 150%. Yuck!

As we can see, the "pixel" sizes end up different. We generally try to scale our work by multiples of 100 - 200%, 300% etc. rather than 150%. At larger scales however, the minute differences in pixel sizes are hardly noticeable!

Mixels are also sometimes seen when an artist scales up their work, then continues drawing on it with a 1 pixel brush.

Many would say that this is not great looking! This type of pixels can be indicative of a beginner artist. But there are plenty of creative pixel artists out there who mixels intentionally, making something modern and cool.

🔹Saving Your Files

We usually save our still images as .PNGs as they don’t create any JPEG artifacts or loss of quality. It's a little hard to see here, but there are some artifacts, and it looks a little blurry. It also makes the art very hard to work with if we are importing a JPEG.

For animations .GIF is good, but be careful of the 256 colour limit. Try to avoid using too many blending mode layers or gradients when working with animations. If you aren’t careful, your animation could flash afterwards, as the .GIF tries to reduce colours wherever it can. It doesn’t look great!

Here's an old piece from 2021 where I experienced .GIF lossiness, because I used gradients and transparency, resulting in way too many colours.

🔹Pixel Art Fundamentals - Techniques and Jargon

❗❗Confused about Jaggies? Anti-Aliasing? Banding? Dithering? THIS THREAD is for you❗❗

As far as I'm concerned, this is THE tutorial of all time for understanding pixel art. These are techniques created and named by the community of people who actually put the list together, some of the best pixel artists alive currently. Please read it!!

🔸How To Learn

Okay, so you have your software, and you're all ready to start. But maybe you need some more guidance? Try these tutorials and resources! It can be helpful to work along with a tutorial until you build your confidence up.

⭐⭐ Pixel Logic (A Digital Book) - $10 A very comprehensive visual guide book by a very skilled and established artist in the industry. I own a copy myself.

⭐⭐⭐ StudioMiniBoss - free A collection of visual tutorials, by the artist that worked on Celeste! When starting out, if I got stuck, I would go and scour his tutorials and see how he did it.

⭐ Lospec Tutorials - free A very large collection of various tutorials from all over the internet. There is a lot to sift through here if you have the time.

⭐⭐⭐ Cyangmou's Tutorials - free (tipping optional) Cyangmou is one of the most respected and accomplished modern pixel artists, and he has amassed a HUGE collection of free and incredibly well-educated visual tutorials. He also hosts an educational stream every week on Twitch called 'pixelart for beginners'.

⭐⭐⭐ Youtube Tutorials - free There are hundreds, if not thousands of tutorials on YouTube, but it can be tricky to find the good ones. My personal recommendations are MortMort, Brandon, and AdamCYounis- these guys really know what they're talking about!

🔸Where To Post

Outside of just regular socials, Twitter, Tumblr, Deviantart, Instagram etc, there are a few places that lean more towards pixel art that you might not have heard of.

⭐ Lospec Lospec is a low-res focused art website. Some pieces get given a 'monthly masterpiece' award. Not incredibly active, but I believe there are more features being added often.

⭐⭐ Pixilart Pixilart is a very popular pixel art community, with an app tied to it. The community tends to lean on the young side, so this is a low-pressure place to post with an relaxed vibe.

⭐⭐ Pixeljoint Pixeljoint is one of the big, old-school pixel art websites. You can only upload your art unscaled (1x) because there is a built-in zoom viewer. It has a bit of a reputation for being elitist (back in the 00s it was), but in my experience it's not like that any more. This is a fine place for a pixel artist to post if they are really interested in learning, and the history. The Hall of Fame has some of the most famous / impressive pixel art pieces that paved the way for the work we are doing today.

⭐⭐⭐ Cafe Dot Cafe Dot is my art server so I'm a little biased here. 🍵 It was created during the recent social media turbulence. We wanted a place to post art with no algorithms, and no NFT or AI chuds. We have a heavy no-self-promotion rule, and are more interested in community than skill or exclusivity. The other thing is that we have some kind of verification system- you must apply to be a Creator before you can post in the Art feed, or use voice. This helps combat the people who just want to self-promo and dip, or cause trouble, as well as weed out AI/NFT people. Until then, you are still welcome to post in any of the threads or channels. There is a lot to do in Cafe Dot. I host events weekly, so check the threads!

⭐⭐/r/pixelart The pixel art subreddit is pretty active! I've also heard some of my friends found work through posting here, so it's worth a try if you're looking. However, it is still Reddit- so if you're sensitive to rude people, or criticism you didn't ask for, you may want to avoid this one. Lol

🔸 Where To Find Work

You need money? I got you! As someone who mostly gets scouted on social media, I can share a few tips with you:

Put your email / portfolio in your bio Recruiters don't have all that much time to find artists, make it as easy as possible for someone to find your important information!

Clean up your profile If your profile feed is all full of memes, most people will just tab out rather than sift through. Doesn't apply as much to Tumblr if you have an art tag people can look at.

Post regularly, and repost Activity beats everything in the social media game. It's like rolling the dice, and the more you post the more chances you have. You have to have no shame, it's all business baby

Outside of just posting regularly and hoping people reach out to you, it can be hard to know where to look. Here are a few places you can sign up to and post around on.

/r/INAT INAT (I Need A Team) is a subreddit for finding a team to work with. You can post your portfolio here, or browse for people who need artists.

/r/GameDevClassifieds Same as above, but specifically for game-related projects.

Remote Game Jobs / Work With Indies Like Indeed but for game jobs. Browse them often, or get email notifications.

VGen VGen is a website specifically for commissions. You need a code from another verified artist before you can upgrade your account and sell, so ask around on social media or ask your friends. Once your account is upgraded, you can make a 'menu' of services people can purchase, and they send you an offer which you are able to accept, decline, or counter.

The evil websites of doom: Fiverr and Upwork I don't recommend them!! They take a big cut of your profit, and the sites are teeming with NFT and AI people hoping to make a quick buck. The site is also extremely oversaturated and competitive, resulting in a race to the bottom (the cheapest, the fastest, doing the most for the least). Imagine the kind of clients who go to these websites, looking for the cheapest option. But if you're really desperate...

🔸 Community

I do really recommend getting involved in a community. Finding like-minded friends can help you stay motivated to keep drawing. One day, those friends you met when you were just starting out may become your peers in the industry. Making friends is a game changer!

Discord servers Nowadays, the forums of old are mostly abandoned, and people split off into many different servers. Cafe Dot, Pixel Art Discord (PAD), and if you can stomach scrolling past all the AI slop, you can browse Discord servers here.

Twitch Streams Twitch has kind of a bad reputation for being home to some of the more edgy gamers online, but the pixel art community is extremely welcoming and inclusive. Some of the people I met on Twitch are my friends to this day, and we've even worked together on different projects! Browse pixel art streams here, or follow some I recommend: NickWoz, JDZombi, CupOhJoe, GrayLure, LumpyTouch, FrankiePixelShow, MortMort, Sodor, NateyCakes, NyuraKim, ShinySeabass, I could go on for ever really... There are a lot of good eggs on Pixel Art Twitch.

🔸 Other Helpful Websites

Palettes Lospec has a huge collection of user-made palettes, for any artist who has trouble choosing their colours, or just wants to try something fun. Rejected Palettes is full of palettes that didn't quite make it onto Lospec, ran by people who believe there are no bad colours.

The Spriters Resource TSR is an incredible website where users can upload spritesheets and tilesets from games. You can browse for your favourite childhood game, and see how they made it! This website has helped me so much in understanding how game assets come together in a scene.

VGMaps Similar to the above, except there are entire maps laid out how they would be played. This is incredible if you have to do level design, or for mocking up a scene for fun.

Game UI Database Not pixel-art specific, but UI is a very challenging part of graphics, so this site can be a game-changer for finding good references!

Retronator A digital newspaper for pixel-art lovers! New game releases, tutorials, and artworks!

Itch.io A website where people can upload, games, assets, tools... An amazing hub for game devs and game fans alike. A few of my favourite tools: Tiled, PICO-8, Pixel Composer, Juice FX, Magic Pencil for Aseprite

🔸 The End?

This is just part 1 for now, so please drop me a follow to see any more guides I release in the future. I plan on doing some writeups on how I choose colours, how to practise, and more!

I'm not an expert by any means, but everything I did to get to where I am is outlined in this guide. Pixel art is my passion, my job and my hobby! I want pixel art to be recognized everywhere as an art-form, a medium of its own outside of game-art or computer graphics!

This guide took me a long time, and took a lot of research and experience. Consider following me or supporting me if you are feeling generous.

And good luck to all the fledgling pixel artists, I hope you'll continue and have fun. I hope my guide helped you, and don't hesitate to send me an ask if you have any questions! 💕

what if i *remembers that making suicide jokes is not conducive with my goal of improving the wellbeing of myself and everyone around me* transform into an oyster

Mare Ditat, Rosa Decorat

Hellooo ˶ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ˶ !! This is the second chapter. English is not my first language. Sorry for mistakes, it's not beta read. Here is the Ao3 link

Omne initium difficile est

“Walon…” a sweet voice called out for him. It was familiar, but he couldn’t place it.

“Walon…” Soft hands touched his face. He slowly opened his eyes. Everything around him was orange and red. He could taste the saltwater on his mouth. ‘Where am I?” Vaus hands gone too his neck to touch the gills. ‘They are here… I must be on Irmenu’

He begone swimming upwards. Not so long after he arrived to the surfice. He looked around. A battle must have taken place not so long ago.

Vau hisses and looks down to his hand, where he sees a wound. But when he looks the hands something is wrong. They look… younger? ‘What the Kark is happening?”

He looks around and sees a small island with a small orange dott. ‘I don’t have time for thinking.’ He decides and swims to the closest plank.

Then he waddles in the direction of the island and starts swimming. He does not know, how long would he be able to swim without the plank, but he is confident that he will make it to the island before sunrise.

Vau underestimated himself. ‘Maybe I got younger’ He smiles and shakes his head. He walks out to the island.

He turns back and kneels next to the water. Under the moonlight he could see himself pretty clearly and when he looked he was shocked. He aged back fifthy years. He now remembers where he is. Close to the Kaalan Islands. Close to home… No. That place is not his home. He stoped thinking about it and went back to look into the water again. But when he kneeled down the first light of the sun hit the water and that sweet voice called out to him. “Walon… Help us…”

Then everything went black.

The sun shone through the window straight into Vau’s eyes.

The old man rose from the bed to get dressed and wash his face Mird following into the fresher. Before Vau washes his face he looks into the mirror. Dry tears adorn his face. He quickly washes them of and gets ready.

He walks down on the stairs and heads straight to the kitchen. There he finds Besany working on something.

“Good morning miss Wennen.” He calls out.

“Good morning Seargent.”

Vau walked to the cupboard to make his morning tea. He feels the womans stare. He clears his throath “Miss Wennen. Can I help you with something?”

“I was just wandering. Etain told me what happend yesterday night.” Vau turns around and raises an eyebrow “When are the guest getting here?”

“As soon as I can get somebody to take me to Oyu’baat.” He sighs. “They don’t have some money with them.”

“Hm. Will you pack food for them?” The woman asks looking for a box he can put food into. She takes out two Hydro flasks and a bigger box. “If yes then here are containers. And I will ask if somebody will take you there.” Wennen leaves the containers on the table.

Vau thanks her and she leaves the room. Mird goes over to the counter and sniffs the food

Walon packs from breakfast and starts boiling tea. ‘What type of tea they would like?… Fruit. They are kids, they must like that. Or maybe herb…’ Somebody was stomping in the direction of the kitchen. It must be one of the nulls.

“Seargent Vau. When are we going?” Mereel calls out.

“As soon as I finished the tea.” He turns around and crosses his arms, staring at the young man. “Do you have any questions?”

“What did you do to Kal buir last night?” Suprisingly there is no anger in his voice, just curiosness.

Vau sighed. “I will explain it after the guests arrived. I will make an educated guess and state that you are comming with me. No?” The old man offerd this question.

“Somebody needs to do it. Can I ask something else?” Mereel raises his eyebrow.

“Go. Ask.”

“Who are these people?”

“Mereel I’m not sure. But if you want to ask are they trustworthy people, then I think yes. They are from Irmenu, so they are not correlated with the Empire. And the person who sent them was my par… friend.” He does not finish that word. The young man has no need to know this information. “And if they are from a resistance then they probably don’t want my head.”

Mereel snorts “Especially because they are children.”

“Don’t under estimate them. I have a feeling we will be suprised by them.” Vau mused

“You just said you trust them…” Vau turned away and put the tea inside the Hydro flasks. He handed one to Mereel and grabbed the container on the table.

“Let’s get going if you want to get answers quicker.”

Both man walked out of the kitchen and Mereel went to the karyai. Vau quessed that he went to say goodbye. If he went for that then it was fast. Both of them fastened their boots and went out to the speeders.

“Are you not bringig Mird?” Mereel asked suprised

“No. I don’t want to scare the kids.” Mereel mumbels under his breath ‘That never stopped you before.’ Vau smirked. Mereel turned to him.

“How many of them are?” Mereel asked.

“I think two. But expect packages.” Mereel shook his head in understance and went to chose a speeder. Vau haven’t seen this vehicle before. It seats five people and has a closed roof. It is perfect for this trip.

“This one is not the fastest speeder, but it is private.” Mereel explains.

“Thats perfect. I hope you had eaten breakfast, because I wont rush to get back.” Vau proclaims and gets into the front.

“I was not planning to…” The young man gets into the drivers seat. Walon looks at him and notices that he does not want to elaborate. They leave it at that.

They drive was silent but not uncomfortable. After an hour they arrived at Keldabe when Vau gets a Holocall. The old man looks at the Comlink and sees that Fenn Shysa is calling. He takes the call and puts it on speaker.

“Vau speaking. We are already in Keldabe.”

“Good. But we have a small problem.”

Vau sighs. “What is it?

“The kids. They speak an older type of common. There are some things I don’t even understand.” Walon can hear chatter from the background.

“It’s okay. I can.” Vau looks around “We are almost there.”

“Got it. Shysa out.”

“That will cause some problems. Wont it?” Mereel asks.

“Some, yes. But not much. Many things are relatively easy to figure out.” Vau asks. “We are here.”

Mereel stops and both of them get out of the car. The Oyu’baat is pretty run down. One of the walls had a hole in it that was freshly taken care of. When they arrived to the main door Fenn Shysa was already standing in the door. The man looked interested. The three of them walked in and greated the bartender. The woman smiled at them and told them where the guests room is.

The walk upstairs was silent. The three man even rushed a bit. When they arrived to the door Fenn Shysa knocked. The door opened and a tall teen was standing in the door. Their gold eyes locked in instantly on Walon Vau. They quickly bowed and turned back to the room.

“Kaalom.” They called out. A boy around 12 runned out of the Refresher.

“Yaa!”

“Gar to Oulom!” They called out. Walon needed a little thinking to translate ‘It’s draak.’ He smirks to himself. It was so long ago since he heard it.

The two other man look at him, not understanding what the kids are saying.

“The boy was sent to get the flowers. It’s costumary to give flower.” Mereel raises his eyebrows. “Every flover has it’s own meaning. It’s almost a diplomatic message.”

“So that’s why I got them.” Fenn proclaims. Vau shakes his head in agreement.

The teen gathers their younger brother and tells him to stand in the door next to them. The older one steps forward and puts their hand with the flowers. Vau studies them for a bit.

Vau takes the flowers while the two children bow deeply. He bows too and starts putting the flowers meaning together.

“Shress is for good wishes,” He turns to the other two mandalorians and starts explaining “Ophiannas are for humility” He points at blue flowers that are shaped like bells “Doil’s are powerful against evil. They are said to protect from evil spirits.” He turns them a little bit “Ice Feverfew. They are hard to come by. These little ones only grow in the cold mountains. They represent courage” He point at little white flowers “Daydream Spoolwoods. They are for wishing good fortune.” He brings it closer to the two men. “And lastly, Zine. They represent Faith, Hope or Trust.” He looks at Mereel. “What do you think Mereel. Is this code for something?”

The young man studies the flowers. He knows Vau is testing him.

“Maybe something to do with warding evil away? Because The most of it is that type of flower.” Mereel wonders. Vau raises his hand up for a handshake

“Good job.” Mereel varily shakes hand with Vau.

The old man bows again. “Hrala niu”

The two children straighten up.

“Yer name is Walon Vau richt?” The young boy asks.

“Kaalom” His older sibling shushes him “Ber min potar”

“Kaaah” the boy sighs.

“I am sorry for his manners. Mine name is Miine and this is mine brother Kaalom.” The older one bows first then pushes their brother into a bow too. “It is most nice to meet thou Count Vau.”

Vau shakes his head “Nice to meet you too. But I’m not a count.”

“Ach, i am sorry, our grandmother told us this. I do forget it.”

Vau raises his eyebrows. “May I ask who is your grandmother”

The young boy looks exited “She is the crimson captain. Cordelia, the lost dauchter o the count o Malli” The older one chuckles.

Vau is suprised. Cordelia? A captain? Well she kept herself buisy all this time. Vau clears his throat “And who is your grandfather” He crunches down onto the level of the boy

“Y-” Miine suddenly puts their hand onto Kaaloms mouth. “We are not sure. He ne'r very came up.”

Vau raises his eyebrow in supprise. He almost forgot that there are two other people that need to be introduced. He stands up and clears his throat. “You have already met Fenn Shysa right?” The children shake their head in syncron. “This young man is Mereel” He points at him.

“Nice to meet thou Mereel.” Miine turns to him and bows.

He smiles and bows too “Pleasure too meet you two.” He looks at Vau and turns back “Are you packed up? We soon should get going.” He looks at his Chronometer. “Its almost mid-day.”

Vau shakes his head in agreement. The two kids run back and bring out their bags.

The five of them go downstairs and say their goodyes to Fenn Shysa. When they get out the kids are a little bit wary of getting inside the speeder, but after a little convincing they where back on their way to Kyromout

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Thank you for reading. Here is the explanation of flowers and the draak words

Flowers: Shress - Good wishes (Basil) Ophianna - Humility (Bluebell) Doil - Powerful against evil (Dill) Ice Feverfew - Courage, Devotion (Edelweiss) Daydream Spoolwood - Encouragement, Good fortune (Goldenrod) Zine - Faith, trust, Wisdom, Hope, Valor (Iris)

And this is the translation for the Draak words: Gar to Oulom - Get the flowers Hrala niu - Thank you very much Ber min potar - Be more polite Yaa - yes, yeah. Impolite kah - okay

I don't really know how to put all of the chapters into one place. I will try to do something abot it. Till then sorry for the inconvinience!!

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ATTENTION

If you see this you are OBLIGATED to reblog w/ the song currently stuck in your head :)

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