#on mobile so i can't do a read more

[shadowxamyweek]

Shadow lets his head finally fall into his hands.

They're sitting on an upturned bucket in the garage out behind the casino, the open bay door letting the smell of rain waft in from the alley alongside the buzz of early morning traffic.

He tries to swallow his heart, its frantic pulse clogging his throat, but it will not budge.

An ear twitches. Shadow listens to the flickies that have nested under the lamp outside as he drags his hands down his face.

He'll need to buy more bird feed soon. Spring is coming. There will be more of them.

Yes, yes that is a safe thought to entertain.

Shadow sits up as he goes over the logistics; How long does he need to feed then? How much food does he need to buy? Where can he get it on sale? Where can he store it?

Easy problems, with simple solutions. He's done this all before.

Shadow breathes in.

The attempt at peace is short-lived. Shadow hears Omega behind them, coming down the stairs from the apartment long before the door opens with a bang.

"ROUGE REQUESTS YOUR PRESENCE."

Shadow waves a dismissive hand.

"I BELIEVE YOU SHOULD BE AWARE THAT ROUGE GRANTED ME AUTHORIZATION TO BODILY TAKE YOU UPSTAIRS IF YOU DO NOT COMPLY WITH HER SUMMONS."

His shoulders go taunt, tight fists curling in his lap.

"You wouldn't."

"INCORRECT." Omega's heavy footfalls and hissing pistons do little to hide the peculiar whirring of a processor fan, the closest thing to a chuckle the robot has, as they approach. "I FIND THE CONCEPT ENTERTAINING. GIVEN THE OPPORTUNITY TO, QUOTE, "CARRY SHADOW LIKE THE BIG BABY THEY ARE," ENDQUOTE, I WILL PROCEED WITH GREAT ENJOYMENT."

[genderdryad]

i feel like i shouldn't have to plaster "mspec/male 'lesbians' dni" all over my page but here we are

[cjgladback]

For the first time in a long while, I got to go to a white elephant gift exchange this December! We had a low price ceiling and my practically wins out over any practical joke sensibilities every time, so on the designated shopping day I left my local overstock store with a nice chopstick set, some fancy (not at all mess-free) popcorn, and a dream.

When I was growing up, my mom was an intrepid homeschooling parent who loved event planning, valued cultural exploration, and had married into a Japanese family. Multiple times - sometimes in the setting of a multicultural fair, at least once as a kind of class party (with celebratory takeout at the end) - she faced teaching large groups of children how to use chopsticks quickly and with as little cost and cleanup as possible.

Her answer was popcorn! It's edible, so you get the full motion down, and lightweight but large enough for less coordinated sticks to pinch. It has tons of nubbins to grab and widely varied shapes to experiment with. Specifically, we used air-popped kernels, without oil or toppings, so when it gets overzealously crushed or bounces away and gets missed by a broom, it's basically biodegradable styrofoam.

What I'm saying is, this is my mom's fault. Other than the choice to draw so many hands in one afternoon on the same day as the party, while also baking a snack. That's all me. This primer was delivered in the format of a tiny booklet (if you look up an "eight page zine" that's also a method I learned from my mom, to turn single-sided misprints into notepads), with fewer jokes and tips than I'd have liked because I simply did not have time to transcribe a hashi rest fold or hairstyle. But reformatted (for Mastodon) it looks fairly respectable.

Lengthy image descriptions and full poster format under the cut.

[ID: A title page reads "How to Use Chopsticks" in all caps. The words "without too much mess" are between two straight, orange lines, which start with round points at the left, evoking chopsticks, and end in flared shapes of a silhouetted splash on the right. Below the lower line are the words "by CJ Gladback." All the text is in black, the background is white but appears light orange due to a repeating geometric watermark pattern of CJ's logo in orange overlaid on the whole image; her handle on most sites is included once on each of the following spreads: @cjgladback​

Next is the first spread of four illustrations with their instructions. On the left half of page are two line drawings of a right hand holding one and then two chopsticks, with the text, "The first stick rests on the side of your ring finger's nail and the flesh between your thumb and index finger. Your middle finger's pad holds it securely while it can slide against your thumb as your hand changes posture in use. The second stick is held between the knuckle of your thumb and the middle section of your index finger. This is the one you move to change angles; it may touch but doesn't really rest on the middle finger's tip." In orange, two arrows indicate the rest points for the first stick while small hashes emanate from the points pressed on the middle and ring fingertips and under the thumb's joint holding the top stick. On the right upper quadrant of the page is the text "Hold them close to parallel to scoop." A hand holds two sticks poked into a bowl of rice between the viewer and the palm; a series of parallel orange lines emphasize the space between the sticks. The remaining quadrant's text reads, "Press with your index finger to pinch firmly." This hand is holding an indistinct rounded shape in its chopsticks, with an orange arrow indicating the rotation of the index finger's tip to press the top stick's point toward the bottom's.

Next is the final spread of the pamphlet. The upper right text reads, "Practice with something medium sized and low mess like (air-popped) popcorn." A single piece of popcorn is held in disembodied chopsticks above a full popcorn bowl, with several kernels fallen to the surface below it. Text below reads, "Pick up your dishes to bring close to your mouth to scoop the harder to grab foods." An implied tilted bowl of food (fried rice or porridge with diced pieces) protrudes off the page, covering only the lower left corner. Close-up chopsticks have their points buried in the food and their lines fade out toward the right. The final black text, underlined by two orange chopstick shapes, reads, "but most of all, do what feels comfortable and eat well!" In orange in the lower right corner, the parenthetical "(and maybe knit a scarf)" is followed by a small orange drawing of a steaming bowl of noodles and sliced egg with a noodle line trailing toward two upward angled sticks with loopy hashes indicating knit fabric hanging from them.

The final image is the full booklet in its web format, with the three previous images from this post stacked vertically. Some orange lines have been added between what were pages in the print booklet, to aid reading flow. /end ID]

[moonblossom-bunny]

Been stuck with an Oswald the lucky rabbit AU idea for the last week now and I figured I'd share the unrefined layout of this thing here.

I call this AU the 'Ozzie's multiverse diner AU'. (Might workshop that name tho)

It takes place in a Toons are actors/House of mouse like setting.

Disney still got Oswald's rights back in 2007. Everything he was in irl happened as well.

But over the next decade the studio hasn't asked him to be part of big projects like Epic Mickey and he realizes he's only being used for merch bc he has a marketable face and not much else.

Kind of bitter about that and knowing he's in the public domain anyway, Oswald decides it's time for a career change. That he was promised a show and that it got canned is actually the deciding factor with this.

No more hoping to be in the limelight for two seconds tops and waiting for another ten years until he's asked to be in a project.

He can't really retire either bc he has a family to look after. So with the funds he has, he manages to buy and renovate an 50's styled diner and turns it into Ozzie's.

------

. Oswald is the chef/fry cook as well as the owner.

. Although he used to love being in the spotlight, all the empty promises the studio made him has turned him away from that. So he rarely leaves the kitchen of the diner.

. He does interact with patrons, but mostly around opening and closing time, or if they end up ordering something insane and off menu. He gets currious usually about who tends to have such a liking to weird food combos.

. He actually adores it when he can get creative with his dishes and patrons order something wild. It makes his whole day.

. Ortensia is there too of course. She is the head waitress and the offers advice and an listening ear to those who need it.

. Two of their eldest children help her out most of the time too, when they are not busy with their own work or school.

. Oswald and Ortensia don't have 420 bunny children of their own in this AU. Instead they have 13 and the bunny children used for the Epic Mickey games were 25 or so "extras" who tend to look alike at their young age. Making it seem there were a lot of them in the games.

. Both of them attempted to adopt them as their own though, but studio meddling prevented them from doing so.

. Speaking of studio and company meddling. Ozzie's is located across the street from the now boarded up and unused House of Mouse previously run by Mickey. The building still stands unused because the company no longer saw profit it letting Mickey keep the place, even though he really wanted to.

. Oswald is very determined to not have the same thing happen to his diner.

.That's why he's opening his doors to everyone and not exclusively characters from Disney.

.Characters from videogames, comic, other cartoons etc. All are welcome at Ozzie's even if they don't feel welcome anywhere else. (Hence the multiverse part of the AU)

.That doesn't mean the diner is currently a big hit yet. Since it's located in a more quiet part of town.

. The diner also has a downstairs bar/nightclub hidden away. Dusty remains left from the prohibition years.

.Ozzie's doesn't have a liqor license atm though, but Mickey has expressed a willingness towards reopening it and turning it into a bar of sorts, but so far Oswald isn't on board with the idea yet.

That's all I have so far.

Haven't worked on an AU in a long time, but hoping to expand on this in the near future.

[mieczyhale]

fics where the writer ignores or "fixes" wylan's inability to read fill me with rage tbh

someone said they write it because "just because he can't read doesn't mean he isn't smart, so since he's smart he can learn to read" as if his whole childhood canonically wasn't him trying to learn to read and being punished because he can't. it's not about learning. he can learn anything, he's proven that. so the fact that he can't read despite all his efforts might fucking mean he just can't, sharon

and that's okay!! that should be okay!! not everyone has to have the same level of skill in things you consider basic. and tbh if you really believe "just because he can't read doesn't mean he isn't smart" why are you SO fucking determined to make him read?? why not let him be how he is?? he can't read or write but he's a fucking genius. i think letting him be is the best way to show that

illiterate people exist and they aren't any less smart because of it. perhaps we can allow that to be represented by a beloved character. idk. just a fuckin thought.

regarding the topic of dyslexia:: idk if its canon or just headcanon that what he has is severe dyslexia, i haven't finished reading yet so idk if it says anywhere, but that A. doesn't make as much sense and B. still wouldn't make some people's writing for him okay.

yes people with dyslexia can learn to read and write - i know, my mom is dyslexic - it's just harder (how hard depends on the person and how they're being taught) but jan hired all the best tutors from literally anywhere he could - if none of them were able to find a way to help wylan read then perhaps it's not about needing extra help or needing different methods. sometimes the easiest answer is the real answer.

y'all are just weird (derogatory) about it

[ladyimaginarium]

“you can’t write that plot or expand the worldbuilding in that universe!! it’s too far out!! it’s too complicated!! it’s too unrealistic!! you’re just throwing random twists and connecting narratives together and linking these characters in the plot via time period or character relation!! besides it's not canon!! those characters would never meet or get along!! you can't just make new narratives or perspectives or skillsets for that character!! you can't racebend white characters into muses of color!! you can't hc that character as trans or nonbinary or genderfluid or gay or bi or aro or ace!! you can't write villainous, toxic or abusive characters because that means you condone those behaviors!! you can't hc that character as mixed or jewish or native or autistic or neurodivergent bc you're self projecting!! you can't write about social issues and the grievances you suffer through your muses!! you can't make your female characters overpowered or they'll be mary sues!! you can't—” 

[deeisace]

Well, I made it through today without throwing up or my knees fucking up, so even tho I was half hour late to work I count that as a successful day tbh

[shifty-shoelaces]

.

[beskad]

my bf is really bad about gift-giving. he has adhd so I know that's part of it, but I told him a few weeks or even a month ago that it's really important to me that I have a little something in my stocking on Christmas morning.

I said it doesn't have to be anything expensive or fancy, just some hair scrunchies or a candy bar would be nice. I gave him several examples of low-cost, low-effort things and reminded him that my "love language" or whatever is gifts and especially because I have no contact with family anymore, holidays are really hard for me and it's really meaningful to me to just have a few little things that say "I thought of you" on Christmas because it makes me feel cared for.

I told him it could literally be a rock from a parking lot. A snickers bar. Anything

I got home from a 8.5 hr retail shift today and he told me there's nothing for me.

"sorry, I forgot"

I'm just really upset and let down. Like seriously, not even a parking lot rock???

[tofupixel]

⭐ 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 (30% off with code 'tofu'!!)

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.

⭐⭐ ReSprite iOS and Android. (free trial, but:) $19.99 premium or $$ monthly

ReSprite is VERY similar in terms of UI to Aseprite, so I can recommend it. They just launched their Android release!

🆓 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!

🔸 How to choose a canvas size

When looking at pixel art turorials, we may see people suggest things like 16x16, 32x32 and 64x64. These are standard sizes for pixel art games with tiles. However, if you're just making a drawing, you don't necessarily need to use a standard canvas size like that.

What I like to think about when choosing a canvas size for my illustrations is 'what features do I think it is important to represent?' And make my canvas as small as possible, while still leaving room for my most important elements.

Imagine I have characters in a scene like this:

I made my canvas as small as possible (232 x 314), but just big enough to represent the features and have them be recognizable (it's Good Omens fanart 😤)!! If I had made it any bigger, I would be working on it for ever, due to how much more foliage I would have to render.

If you want to do an illustration and you're not sure, just start at somewhere around 100x100 - 200x200 and go from there.

It's perfectly okay to crop your canvas, or scale it up, or crunch your art down at any point if you think you need a different size. I do it all the time! It only takes a bit of cleanup to get you back to where you were.

🔸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! 💕

My other tutorials (so far): How to draw Simple Grass for a game Hue Shifting

[vexwerewolf]

If I could ask you for some advice, what do you think helps the flavour text of a mech or piece of equipment sell a player on the fantasy of using it?

I'm finding it frustratingly difficult to do so with my own homebrew content: I can come up with lore and backstory easily enough, but re-reading it feels dry, and I can't help but contrast it with how the descrptions in official content and other supplements is more evocative, at least for mechs.

Let's observe some corebook Lancer flavour text and examine the various varieties it comes in.

Purely Functional

While it's usually not the most fun type of flavour text, this just tells us what the weapon is, and - if it has any particular tags or on-hit effects - why it's like that. The Hand Cannon is a good example: here's what it is (modified pistol), here's why it does more damage, and here's why it has Loading.

The main advantage of Purely Functional flavour text is that it provides space for other types of flavour text to breathe. Flavour text is a great place for jokes, but it's not good for every piece of flavour text to be a joke - the pauses between notes in music are just as important as the notes.

Obfuscating Vendorspeak

The Bristlecrown Flechette Launcher this is a great example of dark humour that Lancer uses quite often: marketing fast-talk to cover up something really unpleasant. The joke here is based on us understanding precisely what the equipment does mechanically, and then seeing how the manufacturer tries to sell it. There's a bunch of dense technobabble here meant to obfuscate the fact that this weapon fires knives in every direction specifically designed to kill infantry.

Deadpan Weirdness

The joke here relies on describing something extremely weird like it's the most natural thing in the world. Wait, you're telling me that in a world where I can just print new parts if the old ones break, they put DRM on my fucking knife and I have to apologise to the fucking knife maker to get a new one? What the fuck, dude? Why are you acting like this makes any sense?!

My sword uploads fucking what to the Space Internet?!

Third-Act Twist

This type of flavour text disguises itself as something else - most often Purely Functional - and then hits you with Third Act Twist. It makes you go "wait, what?!" It's very classic setup-punchline stuff. You're telling me my mech can rot?!

As a side note, Lancer loves to use this for its NHPs.

WHY DID YOU PUT THAT IN SCARE QUOTES, LUCIFER

Worldbuilding

This is similar to the Purely Functional, but instead of just describing technical specifications of the weapons, it puts the weapon in the broader context of the setting's history. Okay, so we know what this weapon is and what it does - why was it built? What was the original use case, and why? Most importantly, what can the existence of this weapon tell us about the world that build it?

Whimsical Aside

This is the insertion of a light-hearted, humanising little insertion regarding how this piece of equipment gets used in the field. This serves to remind us that soldiers aren't cold, unfeeling killing machines: they can be as emotional, irreverent and silly as the rest of us, and they do things like name their mobile bombs...

... or call resupply drones "mech snacks."

The Ominous Out-Of-Context Quote That Explains Nothing And Only Raises More Questions

As I've said in multiple textmash memes, this is basically Tom and Miguel's shorthand for "this technology is Intensely Fucked Up in a way that it is more fun and scary not to explain." This is essentially Lancer's version of SCP's [REDACTED].

You might think this is the domain of HORUS, and you'd be right, but every single manufacturer indulges in these - although IPS-N had to wait until NRFaW to get theirs:

What the fuck do you mean by that, Lancer?

[juniperscholar]

9:30 am: arrive to semantics lecture after walking for half an hour in the rain

11:30 am: go to another college's common room with friends to 'work,' get almost no work done

12:30 pm: go to drugstore to get new eyeliner, since I ran out this morning

1 pm: order the saddest, most British burrito in history for lunch

1:30 pm: walk to a small park for lack of anywhere better to go before seminar, experience The Horrors

2:15 pm: seminar on germanic runes, ask a vaguely coherent question

4:15 pm: Latin instructor calls all two of my questions 'interesting,' day is saved

6:30 pm: get home, start to put finishing touches on syntax homework

7:15 pm: eat the dinner that my husband made so that I could work on syntax homework, it is mediocre but filled with love

7:45 pm: back to syntax homework

9 pm: go to college bar because husband is dying to go, start drafting email to syntax instructor to ask a few questions about homework

11:30 pm: three drinks later, send weird ass email to syntax instructor I've been drafting for 2 hours and go home

12 midnight: bone husband into absolute oblivion

1 am: finish syntax homework, check email obsessively for an increasingly unlikely reply

I'm having a weird one today folks

[giantkillerjack]

You shouldn't get a wheelchair, walker, cane, shower chair, or any kind of assistive technology mobility aid because then you might become dependent on them. Just like how you also shouldn't get glasses if you have bad eyesight because then you might become dependent on those.

For instance, if you end up stuck using corrective eyewear, you could actually lose your ability to tell what things are even when they are extremely blurry! You need to get used to having migraines from seeing unclearly because if you wear glasses all the time, you are basically giving up!! You don't need to see things coming at you from far away! You just need to get good at dodging, and if you can't, then you have no one to blame but yourself!!

For example, I read a really heart-worming article recently about a girl who was stuck using glasses - just absolutely, tragically trapped in her eyewear from dawn to dusk, even though she was good and never ever complained; and I heard she trained herself to discern the blurry faces of her loved ones with 60% accuracy! - she was even able to walk down the aisle at her wedding WITHOUT forcing the discomfort of seeing a woman in glasses on all her guests!!

Sure, she had to give her vows with a splitting headache, and she couldn't see her husband's expression when he said "I do," but overall, SO inspi-ration-al!!! So up-lifting!!

(She didn't even have to use a seeing eye cane, which would have been the worst-case scenario, obviously, because she worked hard to make sure she looked LESS disabled, not MORE disabled!!! Everyone knows blind people exist solely to be a cautionary tale to sighted people!!)

Also, did you know some people get glasses when they only need them a little bit?? How selfish of them! Sure, there's not a shortage, and an increase in demand would result in overall increased accessibility to glasses--but emotionally it's like taking glasses away from someone who needs them more! After all, if everyone who needed glasses got them, then...... um...... more people would have glasses! Which is probably bad!!!!

I also had a friend who was trapped in glasses who saved up all her money for laser eye surgery, and I don't know why everyone doesn't just do that! Sure, some doctors say some people don't "qualify" and it "won't help" those people, but that's why you can't give up!! You don't want to be one of those people!

After all, what's the worst thing that could happen with an unnecessary laser surgery to the face that comes with crippling debt??? It's worth the risk to gain your FREEDOM back, and I'm so proud of my friend!!

Tragically, she did die later that year while driving Uber and squinting at street signs, but at least now I know my friend is finally free from the shackles of her terrible eyesight. #ripAshley #rippedAshley #justripit 😌😌😌❤😇😇😇

And that's why you shouldn't get used to using a mobility aid!! Because, like glasses, they are inherently embarrassing to be seen with; and - like glasses - it is more noble to suffer silently than to depend on unnatural technologies that force you to rely on them; AND - just like glasses - by abstaining from using them, you DEFINITELY benefit SO many people in tangible life-changing ways!!! (Besides, everyone else will be so much more comfortable if you just look normal! 😊)

I hope you learned something today. 💖

[writersblockedx]

Hi there!

I really love your fanfics!

I couldn’t use the link to submit a request so I’m sending it here !

What about a fanfic where Ried has a family but he’s kept it secret for so many years so they wouldn’t get hurt. He has a small daughter and a young son. One day at the office, he gets pictures of someone taking pictures of them with a threat so he has to come clean to the team and bring his family to the office to keep them safe and they are all shocked

Please no pressure for this fic! Love your work!!!

Securing Secrets / S.R.

Pairing - Spencer Reid x Fem!Reader Summary - Spencer has always attempted to keep his family safe. So much so, they had become a secret. But when their lives are threatened, he has no choice but to come clean and ask for the help of his team. Warnings - Stalking, mentions of violence and death Words - 3.8K 

A/n - I hope this is okay for you - I wrote a little more than I intended to but I still hope you enjoy!

Masterlist

It was no wonder why Spencer had kept his family to himself. When he had faced killers like Cat Adams and Tobias Hankle, he knew what humans were capable of - if he dared to even compare them to anything humane. So, he made the decision when he met Y/n to forever keep her a secret from his work. And when they started growing a little family with two children, he kept them a secret too.

Sometimes it killed him inside. As much as he loved his team, risking the lives of his family just wasn't enough for him. He had lost his first love, had his mother held captive, he wasn't about to risk his family too. He had learnt from his past - at least he thought he had done.

"Morgan, hey, no, you can't-" Y/n called towards their seven year old daughter whose sticky fingers had grasped a hold of a copy of fifty shades of grade. When she thought taking the kids on a day trip out to the book store would be easy, she hadn't imagined her seven year old reading smut. "You can't read that." She scolded before placing the book back on its shelf.

The bushy-haired girl gazed up at her mother, "Why not?" She huffed.

Her arm wrapped around Jay, their more reserved, four (and a half) year old. "Because it's an adult book. When you're old enough, you can read it."

"I am old enough, Daddy said I've got an advanced reading age!" Of course, she did - she was the daughter of the guy who could read 20,000 words a minute. Not to mention, she was going through the 'I'm old enough to do what I want' phase.

"Ask me again when you're 18, how about that?" She suggested before the child wrapped at her torso and stared up at her.

"Will Dada be home?" He asked.

Jay always liked coming home from their day trips to find Spencer already there, his head deep in another book or a case file. But days like that were rare - as much as both the parents hated such. "Erm-" Before she could give her son an answer, her phone started to ring. "That should be him." She gave the boy a smile before pulling out her mobile and seeing Spencer's contact staring back at her.

The man, from the moment they made it official, had always made sure to call her at the end of his working day. Whether he was in a hotel somewhere in the country, on the jet or if he was simply in his car, travelling home. "Hey, Spence, you should hear what Morgan wants to read-"

She could barely finish her breath, "Where are you?" He asked, his tone ever so stern that it was already making her nervous.

"The bookstore down town." She answered, already glancing around like she suddenly felt as if she was being watched. "Why?"

The girl could hear his uneven breaths on the other side of the phone, "I- Shit-" That's when Y/n knew something was wrong - her husband never swore...ever. "Can you come to the office? With the kids, we need you here."

"The office? Spencer, what are you talking about? I thought they didn't know."

"Yeah, well something's changed." Her heart started beating so fast that she wondered if Jay would be able to feel it. "Please, I need to know you're all safe."

She nodded and gazed over at her two children whom were waiting to hear about what Daddy had told her. "We'll be right over," She assured.

"And Y/n," He spoke, "In your car, in the glove compartment, there's a pistol, please, take it." What the hell had happened? Spencer could barely use a gun himself, never mind her. "I put it in there just in case and, just keep it on you until you get here."

"Okay, yeah." She didn't like the idea but, if someone was threatening them, if someone was putting her and her children at risk, she would do whatever was needed.

"I'll see you soon." Spencer huffed, "I love you."

"I love you too."

And with that, she ended the call. Only a single exhale dared to leave her lips before she stood. "Is Dada home?" Jay nagged.

She scooped the boy up into her arms, "No, but we're gonna visit him at work, okay?" Jay didn't seem happy about the idea but she'd rather the boy be safe than happy. "Come on," With her free hand, she grasped Morgan's finger tips tightly. "We need to go."

She rushed her and the kids into her parked car outside, making sure to look over her shoulder. Once she was seated in the driver's seat with the engine running, her gaze glanced to the glove compartment. Y/n needed to. Her hand leaned over, pushing it open and finding the gun stuffed behind a thick car manual. She grasped it for a moment before placing it on the passangers seat for easy access.

From there, she didn't take her foot off the gas. She was usually an ulta-safe driver. But, tonight, everything was different.

When they arrived to the BAU, Y/n pressed the button for the sixth floor and waited for the doors to glide open. With two children at either side of her, she wandered into the office. Her eyes instantly searched for Spencer. Instead, a blonde, colourful girl came running over to them. Well, walking as fast as she could in her thick heels. Garcia, Y/n assumed.

"Oh, you must be the lovely Mrs Reid," She sighed in relief when she came face to face with Y/n.

She glanced her up and down; there was no way this was JJ or Emily. "Penelope, right?"

The girl almost seemed surprised, "You- you know me?"

Y/n's face softened ever so slightly, "Of course."

"Y/n!" Her head turned from Garcia to see Spencer jogging over to her. Once he was close enough, he instantly engulfed the girl into a tight hug. "You okay?" He asked before pulling away and hugging his two children.

She nodded, "Yeah, we're okay, don't worry." When Spencer stood from hugging his kids, he gazed back over at his wife. She had grasped her hand from the back hem of her jeans, pulling out the pistol he had made sure she take. "Here, I've no idea what I'm doing with it anyway." Spencer took the weapon from her before her expression turned stern, "Now, what the hell is going on?"

Spencer's eyes instantly glanced down at their children; they didn't need to hear this. "Morgan, Jay," He spoke ever so softly to them as he leaned down, "Why don't you go with Garcia, she'll show you all her funky toys?" He glanced back at Penelope who was gleaming with a smile as she offer a hand for each child.

"Oh, yeah! I've got unicorns, fairies, fluffy pens, everything." She gleamed, trying to hide her fear for the true reason Spencer's family had been bought into the BAU. Once the kids took the woman's hand she gave one last look at the couple, "Let me know if you need anything."

The boy nodded before Garcia began leading the children towards her cave, "Someone- someone found you." He started to explain as he interlocked his hand with her, guiding the two over towards the conference room where the rest of the team were waiting. "I don't know how and I don't know who but- but around 30 minutes ago I had email to my work address. There's photos, almost a months worth."

Her brows narrowed at him, "Of what?"

"Of you."

Oh god. Despite all the effort the two had put in to keep their family personal, someone had still connected her and the kids to Spencer. And for whatever reason, they had become a target.

Spencer opened the door to the conference room, where the team were waiting. Most of them sat at the round table where they had several files and papers scattered in front of them. But at the entrance of Reid and his secret wife, they each turned. She offered them a weak smile before the man, whom she assumed was Hotch, spoke up, "Sadly we don't have much time for small talk, but we all want to help." He stood over towards Y/n and offered her his hand, "Aaron Hotchner."

She shook his hand, "Hotch, I should have known." And then she glanced around the table at the rest of the agents. Without hesitation, she named them all, "JJ, Emily, Rossi and Morgan." She smiled at each of them. "Spencer talks about you all a lot."

The boy next to her grinned every so slightly. "I wish we could have met differently." Morgan offered as he stood up, "Take a seat, we'll run you through what we know."

Y/n followed Spencer as the two sat at the round table and the tv screen in front of them started filling with papazzi-style photographs of the woman. Her grocery shopping, her at a bar with some friends, and even one from this morning: hand in hand with Jay as she led the two children into the bookstore they adored.

"You said this has been going on for a month?" How could that have been the case and she had no idea?

Hotch nodded, "We believe so yes."

"Who would want to do this?" She questioned; she wasn't exactly an interesting person. She had a normal life - as the pictures had proven.

Spencer took her hand, "We erm, we're not sure yet. We have one theory."

The tv screen clicked onto another slide. A woman's face filled the screen. A woman whom Y/n had heard far too much about: Cat Adams. "We know Adams has an obsession with Reid, and well, we know she likes to target his personal life," JJ informed as Y/n recalled the days in which Diana had been held captive. "If she somehow found out about you, it would have set her off."

"But she's in prison." Y/n pointed out.

Emily shrugged, "She was in prison when she found Reid's mother. She's- She's a master manipulator and ever since Reid first encountered her, he was the first man to challenge her." All of which Y/n already knew.

"If you really think it's her then-" Her eyes gazed over at Spencer, filled with worry, "You're going to have to talk to her aren't you?" It wasn't a question; she knew it.

Spencer sucked in a breath before he dared to nod.

It didn't take them long. Before Y/n realised it, she was watching out the window of the conference room as two prison guards held Cat by either one of her arms. She was smiling- no, she was smirking. She knew exactly what she was doing. Her eyes gazed around the office until she was forced into an interrogation room.

All they needed to know was who her contact was. Once they had a name, they could find them and put whoever that was in prison too.

Y/n stood next to Spencer as they stared at the woman through the double-sided mirror. "If she's done all this to get to you, why are we letting her talk to you?" The girl questioned.

"She always slips up in front of Reid." Emily answered - despite how much they all hated the idea.

Rossi was the first to pose another opinion, "What if we give her something she isn't expecting?" He suggested, "What if we don't give her Reid?" Surely, if the team sent in someone Cat Adams didn't expect, then maybe she would slip up just as easily - if not more so.

The older man shared a glance with Emily. A glance of which allowed them to silently suggest something; the two had an idea that wasn't yet shared with the rest of the group. It wasn't until Emily's eyes landed on Y/n that they started to understand what the two were thinking, "What if- What if we sent Y/n in?"

The girl scoffed; that must have been a joke. "You're kidding, right?" She laughed. "I mean, I'm not- I'm an agent. I'm a normal person. I can't talk to a criminal!"

"That's exactly what we need," Spencer spoke aloud without even realising, "She's expecting me, she's expecting FBI, send in someone different and it might just make her slip." Spencer turned to face Y/n, one hand gently cupping her cheek as he spoke, "Especially if we send in the very girl she's jealous of."

Y/n's head shook; she couldn't. She was with Spencer, but she wasn't a part of his world, "I can't."

"You can," His voice soothed, "You can do anything."

"We'll be right here," Emily assured.

Y/n glanced back at the window, at the criminal who had targetted her. If this was their best shot, then she might have to take it. Her family was at risk for goodness sake. Once they figured out who  her partner on the otherside, all this would be over. The girl sighed, "Fine," She finally agreed. "But if anything happens, if she does anything, please-"

Spencer was already nodding, "We'll get you out of there, don't worry." He promised.

His hands fell from her skin before she glanced between the other two agents, "How do I do  this then?" She asked.

"Go in there, vague questions, act better than she is, because you are," Emily mentored, "We need to figure out how she's orchestrated this."

With those instructions, the girl nodded and Rossi handed her the file. The one of which was filled with the stalker photos of herself and the kids, "See what happens if you show her these too, it might tell us a lot." He explained.

And with that, with that grace of a nod, a peck to Spencer's lips, the girl headed into the interrogation room.

Cat Adams was nonchalant. She had learnt a lot. She had learnt the best way to not let BAU agents know what she was thinking. But sending Y/n in certainly hadn't been what she expected.

The girl swallowed as she took the seat across from Cat with a very weak smile. She gazed up at the woman who had suddenly grown a sickly smile which made Y/n become nervous. She wanted to leave already, "Hi," Cat shrugged her shoulders and gazed softly at Y/n.

But the other girl was staring back with narrowed eyes, "Do you know who I am?" She questioned.

Cat leaned back and shrugged, letting out nothing but a hum. So Y/n leaned forward and placed one of the photos in front of the girl. It was just of her - no Jay or Morgan present. Just her, exiting her car as she headed to the store, "So you don't recognise this?".

She barely glanced at it, "Should I?"

"You know Doctor Reid though, don't you?"

Instantly, her demeanour shifted. But she desperately tried to hide it, "Bumped into him...sure." She shrugged it off.

Y/n thought for a moment before raising her left hand, wiggling her ring finger to show off her wedding ring to the girl, "Yeah well, I know him quite well." She said, watching as Cat's smile completely dissipated, "And he, well, he sort of mentioned you. I mean I sort of remember your name...remind me again? Carol? Cath-?"

"Cat." She cut in.

The girl faked a shock of realisation; this was exactly what Emily had asked: make herself look better than Cat.  "And you don't know me?" She glanced back to her wedding ring, "Wife." She spoke.

The girl huffed and smiled to herself like something was funny, "Yeah, good luck with that."

Y/n glared back at her, tilting her head. The words from Emily echoed through her mind. "And what do you mean by that?"

Cat doesn't want to answer that. More specifically, she doesn't want to answer Y/n. "He- he's complicated, I'm sure you're aware right? Girlfriend died, no dad around, mum got kidnapped, and well, god knows everything that's happened to his team." She almost finds it funny.

Y/n leaned her elbows against the metal table, "And you were the very person who took his mother. I know you, Cat. I know all you want is to win against my husband but tough luck, it's not going to happen." The girl tried to keep up her straight face but when facing Cat Adams, it seemed to be proving difficult.

She shrugged, "Maybe not before, but now I have you." Her eyes narrowed and suddenly Y/n grew nervous; she was behind this. All of it. "And of course, you two little munchkins." Her shoulders squeezed and she smiled sickly.

"So you do know them."

"I know everything."

A shiver flew down her spine. She was behind all of this. And Y/n couldn't help but ask: "And what do you want?" Y/n had some idea. This had nothing to do with her or the kids; it was all about getting back at Spencer.

She giggled, "Well there would be no fun in telling you, would there?"

"You can't do this myself yourself," Y/n stated. Once they had the name of whoever it was on the outside, they could get over this: they could move on.

The girl on the other side of the metal table simply shrugged, "Who says I am?" And like that, it was confirmed. Not only the fact that she was behind this, but that she had partner and the outsider. And that was all they needed  - for now, anyway.

With narrowed eyes, Y/n glared at the girl and started to stand from the chair. She didn't need anything else. She took a breath before turning her back, "You might want to look over your shoulder." Cat taunted.

Something of which, the girl had ignored as she continued out of the interrogation room. An exhale fell from her lips as she found herself back in the company of people she trusted. Of people she knew...with Spencer.

His hand instantly reached at her waist, pulling her close. The feeling of her skin at his releasing a relief she couldn't stop. He was safe. He was loving. He was her husband, "Are you okay?" He questioned before anyone else had the chance to speak.

The girl nodded but gave no words. What was she meant to say after a face to face with Cat Adams? "She's definitely behind this," Emily confirmed.

"She's working with someone too," Y/n added as she eased into the familiar feeling of Spencer.

"So now we know that," Y/n started as she gazed between the three agents, "What do we do now?"

"Now," Answered Rossi, "We get Garcia."

And so the group of them wandered over from the interrogation room and headed to what they called Garcia's 'cave'. And safe tp say was. No windows, just a lot of screens and several different sparkly things. Plush teddies, framed stock photos of puppies and a slingy which Jay was playing with.

"Hi," Y/n gleamed as she greeted her kids once more, "You two been good for Garcia?"

The woman stood from her chair, "They're angels," She smiled.

"We need your help now," Spencer said as they quickly entered back into the situation at hand. They didn't have time for small talk.

"Of course, anything."

And so she sat back at her chair as Spencer came to her side, beginning to list the profile they had started, "Look for names that pop up in the guest book of the hotel Montana, it's the building next to our house." Spencer informed and Garcia became manically typing. "They'll have been a guest for at least a month, cross check that with anyone from Cat's old life, work, college, high school, anything-"

"Nothing."

"What if- I mean surely whoever this person is would be using an alias," Y/n suggested.

A theory of which Spencer agreed with, "Bring up a photo of the guests who have stayed for a month."

Garcia followed: there were three. As they scrolled through high school pictures and then college- "There!"

A photo matched. A woman, same age as Cat, sickly sweet smile, fire red hair and geeky glasses. And then the name: Amy Duke. They had a name. They had everything Garcia could find. "That's got to be her," Emily confirmed.

"Garcia, send us everything." And like that, everything was go-go-go.

Y/n barely had a chance to speak before her hand was reaching out to stop Spencer from running off, "Hey," She called.

His hands cupped at her cheeks, "It'll be alright, I promise." He gave a smile which could ease her nervous a million times over. "Go home, I'll be there soon."

And like that, he was gone.

Y/n said her goodbyes to Garcia before taking her kids hand in hand and heading for the exit. She tried to not think about what Spencer was doing, about the woman he was facing. It was all too overwhelming. Instead, she focused on feeding her kids and getting them dressed for bed. It was horrible when they asked about where Daddy was - if he was coming home. All she could tell them was that it was going to be fine...even if she wasn't so sure of such herself.

She perched at the end of Morgan's bed, her door open, giving the woman a view of a sleeping Jay in the room across the hall. She didn't dare to leave her children when there was danger still looming over them. The girl watched as her daughter's chest rose and fell with her breaths. And after what felt like hours, the front door rustled open.

Y/n became alert, she flew up to her feet and wandered carefully out of Morgan's room. She lingered at the top of the stairs; what if it wasn't her husband? "Spence?" She called, worrisome.

He was already rushing up the stairs at the sound of her voice, "Hey, it's me don't worry." He met her at the top of the landing, engulfing his body around her. "It's over, I swear, she's been arrested, Cat is back in prison." Relief flooded her. "It's all over."

Her head gazed up at him, a slight grin brushing over her lips, "What a way to meet your second family, hey?" She giggled. And while the day had been horrid, there was some good out of it - she wasn't a secret anymore.

[carrotpiss]

Wall of text time wall of text time (hello tumblr I use u like a diary time) just gotta get some words down innit

[yelenasdiary]

For the AU request, what about nervous Wanda asking Natasha to take R out just the two of them. Maybe they just go to the park or to a movie. R being 5 :)

Can't Say No

Pairing: Natasha Romanoff x Daughter! Reader, Wanda Maximoff x Reader

Summary: Wanda wants to get to know you a little more and asks your mom if she can take you out for the day. 

Comfort

Warnings: None | 2K

Translations: милый (darling), мед (honey), 

AC: Thank you for sending this! I love the idea; I hope you enjoy it! x

A Widow’s Sunshine Masterlist

"Do you want cheerios or porridge for breakfast?" Your mother asked with a soft smile as you took a seat at the small wooden table in the kitchen with your favorite stuffie sitting beside you, "uhm, porridge please!" You replied with a sweet smile that your mother loved so much. "Coming right up!" She said, reaching for the cupboard. You weren't much of a fuzzy child which was something Nat was a little thankful for, you'd eat most things, you loved your fruits and most of your vegetables, but you weren't too big on meat because you didn't like when it would get stuck in your teeth. 

While the porridge cooked in the microwave, your mom poured you a small cup of orange juice and placed it in front of you just as the microwave peeped. "Thank you, mommy" you said before you took a small sip of your drink. Your mother returned with your breakfast in hand, placing a kiss on the top of your head, "it's a little hot милый, we'll just give it a moment to cool, okay?" She said. You nodded, not too fussed. 

"What are doing today mommy?" You asked, looking up at her. 

"Well, baby, mommy has to go into work and do a little paperwork so I thought we could go to the park afterwards, how does that sound?" She replied, stirring your breakfast around. 

"Can Dory come?" You asked. Your favorite stuffie named after a character from one of your favorite movies. 

"Of course, милый" Natasha smiled right as her mobile began to buzz, placed your breakfast in front of you and reached for her back pocket. "Be careful baby, if it's too hot, give it a few more minutes, okay?" She said, you nodded but it was just right to eat. Natasha looked down at her phone, butterflies fluttered in her stomach when she read Wanda's name on her screen, and she wasted no more time before answering. 

"Wands, hi!" Your mother said in a sweet tone as she slowly wandered out of the kitchen, 

"Hey, sorry if I called too early" Wanda replied. 

"Don't stress, I just finished making Y/n breakfast, is everything okay?" 

"Everything is fine" Wanda replied and Nat was sure she could hear the soft smile through the phone, "I was just calling because you mentioned yesterday that you were gonna head into the compound today and catch up on some mission reports so I thought and of course if you're not okay with it, I completely understand but I was wondering, you could be okay if I took Y/n for the day? That way you can get as much work done as you need, and Y/n and I will get some time to get to know one another more. But like I said, it's completely fine if you're not okay with that, I just thought I'd ask" She added. 

"Actually, that would be really helpful, let me just ask Y/n" Natasha couldn't help the smile that tugged at her lips. Having you meet her partner was a big seat for Natasha and it meant the world to her to know that Wanda wasn't put off about the idea of Nat being a single parent and she loved knowing that Wanda wanted to get to know you more. 

Your mother came back into the kitchen and smiled softly at you, "мед, would you like to spend a few hours with Wanda today instead of coming to work with me?" She asked. 

You enjoyed Wanda's company, you liked her long hair and the funny faces she could pull, you nodded instantly with a growing smile, "yes please!!" You almost jumped out of your chair, making Natasha chuckle. 

"I'm not sure if you heard that but I have a very excited little girl who would love to spend the day with you" Nat said back to Wanda. 

"Well, I am glad! Tell her I am very excited too! Shall I come by and pick her up in an hour?" Wanda asked. 

"Sounds perfect to me, thank you detka, we'll see you soon" Nat replied before hanging up. 

An hour later and you were waiting by the front door of the small apartment you lived in with your mother, dressed and full of excitement for your day with Wanda. Your mom braided your hair just like she did hers, as requested by you of course. "She's here!! She's here!!" You called, jumping up and down when you heard a knock at the door. Your mom chuckled at your excitement and grabbed your backpack which had some snacks and your drink bottle in it before opening the door. 

Wanda smiled instantly when she saw just how excited you were, "Hi Wanda!" You greeted her with your stuffie, Dory, in your arms. "Good morning, Y/n and I believe that is Dory?" Wanda replied. You turned and looked up at your mother with wide eyes and a dropped jaw, "she knew Dory's name mommy!!" You said with shock. 

Both adults chuckled, "I told you, she can read minds" Natasha smiled. Of course you didn't think she was being serious. "Make sure you're a good girl for Wanda, okay?" Your mother kneeled in front of you and placed a kiss on your cheek, "I'll be the best mommy! So will Dory!" You smiled. 

Nat handed your backpack to Wanda and explained what was inside while you waited so patiently to spend the day with your new friend. You said goodbye to your mother and took Wanda by the hand before the two of you began to walk down the hall to the evaluator and out into the busy street. 

"Is there anything you would like to do today?" Wanda asked while the two of you walked hand in hand down the street to her car. "Mommy was going to take me to the park today" you said, but not too sure on what on earth you wanted to do besides that. 

"Well, how about we do to the movies and then after that we can have lunch in the park?" Wanda offered, your eyes lit up and your smile only grew bigger as you nodded. 

----

Wanda took you to see Shrek 2, she let you pick the movie, and it was a hard pick between Shark Tale or Shrek 2 but when you saw Puss in Boots on the cover, the choice was made. You enjoyed a small soda and shared some popcorn and giggles with Wanda throughout the movie. To Wanda's surprise, you weren't tired at all after the film, in fact it was almost as if you had more energy than before but then again, you are the Black Widow's daughter. 

After the movies, Wanda let you pick what the two of you would have for lunch. You picked the small pizza restaurant that was only a short walk from the cinema. Wanda brought you a slice of your pick and then it was off to the park. Of course, Wanda didn't let you run off to play until you had some of your pizza and some water but once you did, you were off making friends with many of the other children on the playground. 

"Wanda!" You said, running up to her while she sat watching you from the park bench, "can you please look after Dory?" You asked, face red from all the playing you had been doing, "I don't want her to get dirty" you added. 

"Of course, I can" Wanda smiled as you handed her your stuffie, "I will look after her with the best of care" she added with confidence. You thanked her and then it was off to play some more. 

When it was time to start heading home, Wanda noticed you playing in the bushes by yourself, she frowned slightly as she walked over to you with Dory in one hand and your backpack in another, "Y/n, is everything okay?" She asked, startling you. 

"Look, Wanda!" You said, pointing into the bushes. Just as Wanda kneeled down, a small black kitten popped out of the bushes, you giggled when the little kitten brushed up against you which brought relief to Wanda who wasn't sure what to expect at first. 

"Can I take her home to mommy, please?" You begged, catching Wanda off guard. 

"Oh, uhm, I'm n-"

"Pleaseeee" you begged and honestly, who was Wanda to say no too? 

"Well, alright, but we should get you both home before it gets too late, I'm sure your mom would like you to have a bath before dinner" Wanda smiled, reaching for her phone and texting Natasha right away, "just know, I tried to say no" she texted before the two of you started walking back to her car. 

----

Natasha could hear your little voice in the hall, which brought a smile to her lips as she opened the door to greet you but what she saw you in your arms made Wanda's text message make sense. "Hi мед, who is this?" Your mother asked as you smiled at her. 

"A kitty I found at the park, Wanda said I could bring her home" you replied honestly. The small kitten took Natasha by surprise, you had already fallen in love with the little animal that she quickly noticed how Wanda tried to say no.

"I tried" Wanda whispered. 

"Can we keep her mommy, please?" You begged, placing the kitten on the floor. 

"мед, we don't know where this kitten has been, we would need to take it to the vet first" your mother replied, "she was in the bushes" you said back, not letting any excuses pass by, "please mommy, I will let you name her!" You offered. Wanda tried to hide the smirk that tugged at her lips, you were most definitely Natasha's daughter, that's for sure. 

There was a moment of silence, your mother unsure how to tackle this but on one hand, she didn't see the harm in allowing you to have your first pet. "How about you go wash your hands and I'll have a think about it, and we can talk more about it after dinner" your mother offered and just to win your mother over, you did exactly what she asked. 

Wanda stayed for dinner, the three of you enjoying some lasagna while you fed tiny pieces of mince to the little kitten, both Nat and Wanda noticed how the kitten didn't seem to leave your side, even when you came home and placed her on the floor, she was by your feet which to Wanda is more of a sign but to Nat it was going to be harder to tell you that you couldn't keep the animal. 

"Look mommy, she has the same eyes as Wanda" you pointed out after dinner, now your mother definitely couldn't say no. Wanda chuckled, "that is pretty cool" she said but your mom just smiled softly as she placed the dirty dishes into the dishwasher. 

When the time came for Wanda to go home, you didn't want her to go but it was almost your bedtime and Wanda promised to come see you again another day. "Thank you for all the fun today!" You smiled before giving Wanda a hug, "you are more than welcome, thank you for the fun" she replied.

"милый, how about you and Liho go get ready for bed and I'll be in to read to you in a few minutes?" Your mother smiled softly at you as your eyes widened, "we can keep her?" You asked, earning yourself a nod from your mom. "Thank you, mommy!!" You hugged her tightly before running off to your room with little Liho running shortly behind. With you distracted by your new little friend, Natasha was able to show Wanda just how much she really appreciated her help today, kissing her deeply, something she had waited all day to do. 

"Promise me on thing" Natasha said, her hands placed on Wanda's hips. 

"Depends" Wanda bit her bottom lip making Nat lightly chuckle, "next time you and my daughter hang out, no more pets" Nat replied (not so) jokingly. 

"Hey, if you couldn't even say no, how do you think I'm supposed too? Besides, it got me a little extra date so I'm not complaining" Wanda replied with a playful wink. "Great, now I have two people I can't say no too" Nat rolled her eyes playfully before giving Wanda one last kiss for the night.

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