OC (he / Him) In Formalwear From A While Back! 90% Done With A Mouse Due To A Wrist Injury (his Face

I’ve asked a few other places already and mentioned it in Twitter circles, but I figure asking here as well can’t hurt - I’ve been pretty much just studying faces for two months and it’s not going great!

I suspect that it’s an issue with vision / “perceiving” the 3D forms, rather than a lack of technical knowledge, but does anyone have ideas for what to do while I wait for the optometrist to call me back?

I did go back to doing very basic fundamentals / 3D shapes, but it didn’t really help. Google is only giving me “how to draw the other eye” tutorials, articles about Rembrandt, and aphantasia resources (none of which are it).

i sometimes like characters that fucking suck. when a character is a shit head in just the right way it can be so funny and/or compelling. like this is my beloved character, Asshole The Hater. they suck and i love them. someone dropped them into a ditch on the side of the road and i picked them out of the ditch and put them in my pocket

Tagged by: @maybeimawhale

Tag nine people to get to know better

Three ships: The Going Merry, the Thousand Sunny, and -- kidding. Any time someone asks me this I forget everything I'm into but I am very fond of Lae'zel / Shadowheart lately, and some OC ships.

First ever ship: I don't remember? It might've been Zack / Cloud actually and that was mostly based on ship art because I didn't have a way of actually interacting with FF7 for years

Last song: I think it might have been From a Place of Love by Mili? I really haven't forgiven Project Moon but the moment this song plays is so insane that I was trying to find it again --

Last Movie: I haven't actually watched a movie in a few weeks - I think it might've still been Train to Busan actually ...

Currently reading: Listening to the audiobook of The Final Empire and losing my mind over how good it is. There's thought! There's emotionally resonant scenes! My friends who got into this stuff before me are amused by my suffering (that's a joke).

Currently watching: Pluto (need to finish, I've got one ep left), Paradox Live, and Undead Unluck. Planning to start the Scott Pilgrim anime soon, and there's some KDramas I've been wanting to check out, too.

Currently consuming: Black coffee...

Currently craving: Salt and vinegar or just like, anything with a really strong flavor honestly. People who are aware of the Hell Ramen Incident DO NOT interact--

Tagging: If you see this, you're tagged! Good luck!! ll

I like games like this but I hope no one's like "aw man, this guy's just spamming random stuff instead of posting art, why am I even here?" help -- still alive, still on hiatus.

holy shit I just found this blog and I LOVE YOUR XENOBLADE ART AAAAAAAAAAAA

Aww, thank you C: !! Definitely hoping to make more as I make my way through 3.

FFXIVWrite2022 Participation Prize

Slowly starting to post again with a prize for @carbecex for this year’s FFXIVWrite, hosted by @sea-wolf-coast-to-coast! Congrats!

in the latest cyber-news: the internet archive has lost their case against 4 major publishing houses (verge article). they’re going to appeal, but this is still a bad outcome. the fate of the internet is currently hanging in the balance because 4 multibillionare publishing groups missed out on like $15 of combined revenue during the pandemic because of the archive’s online library service. it’s so fucking stupid.

for those who don’t know what the internet archive is, it’s a virtual library full of media. books, magazines, recordings, visuals, flash games, websites - a lot of these things either don’t exist anymore or cannot be found & bought. heard of the wayback machine? that’s part of the internet archive. it is the most important website to exist, and i don’t say that lightly. if the internet archive goes down, the cultural loss will be immeasurable.

so how can you help?

boycott the publishing companies involved in this. they’re absolute ghouls, frankly, and don’t deserve a penny. the companies involved are harpercollins (imprints), wiley (imprints), penguin random house llc (imprints), and hachette book group (imprints). make sure the websites are set to your location as it may differ worldwide.

learn to torrent. download a torrent client (i recommend transmission), a vpn (i recommend protonvpn - sign up and choose the area that’s closest to your continent/country), and hit up /r/piracy on reddit for websites. with torrenting, you can get (almost) any media you want for free in high quality, with add-ons such as subtitles, and with no risks of loss. i would also recommend getting into the habit of watching stuff online for free. the less you can pay to a giant corporation, the better.

get into the habit of downloading and archiving materials. find a TB external hard drive, ideally the higher the better. it’ll probably cost around $60 for 1TB and continue to go up, but they’re so so useful. if you can’t afford a drive, look for any GB harddrives or memory sticks you have lying around and just fill them up. videos, pdfs, magazines, songs, movies, games - anything you can rip and download and fit on there, do it, because nothing is permanent.

donate to the internet archive. this is the most important option on the list. the IA relies entirely on funding, and it’s going to need more to fight this case. whatever you can donate, do it. i promise it’s helpful.

and finally…

[oc] the tower

FFXIV Lore Resources

Hey dudes! Lately I’ve been reaching out a bit to some FFXIV players who expressed interest in getting a hold of lore resources. I mentioned to them I’d  try to set up a post making the most helpful ones I’ve encountered readily available, and this?

It’s that post.

MIRKEMENAGERIE: Easily one of (if not the) most complete and comprehensive collections of lore I’ve encountered online. Includes quotes from NPCs in-game, Encyclopedia Eorzea I and II, item references, and more. The Twelve posts and location lore are some of my favorites but really all of this is fantastic. Very accessible.

HARMONEA: Has assembled a HUGE collection of lets plays on youtube that are organized and well-paced, showing everything from MSQ to Ascian-lore specifically to Job quests and beyond. This has been truly helpful whenever I want to check a reference but don’t necessarily have time to New Game + or check the Unending Journey in-game. It’s easy to jump around to find exactly the scenes you’re looking for, and compare moments from different points during the game.

GARLAND TOOLS DATABASE: Sometimes I need lore details from specific quests, that aren’t in cutscenes or easily found in a video. Garland Tools helps with tracking down quotes, character information, and much more. Also contains data around NPC designs. Doesn’t have cutscene quotes, but does have enough info to find what cutscenes you’ll likely need to watch. Whether on youtube or in the Unending Journey, it gets much easier spotting references.

TALES FROM THE CALAMITY, TALES FROM THE DRAGONSONG WAR, TALES FROM THE STORM, CHRONICLES OF LIGHT: THE HUNT BEGINS, TALES FROM THE SHADOWS, TALES FROM THE TWILIGHT: These are official FFXIV short stories associated with A Realm Reborn, Heavensward, Stormblood, and Shadowbringers respectively. The story from Chronicles of Light is also canon but insanely difficult to locate, contains details surrounding Zenos’s backstory and psychology. These absolutely carry lore details! You don’t need them to understand and enjoy the game, but they give added information and context.

ALL FINAL FANTASY XIV 1.X MAIN SCENARIO CUTSCENES: I have not gone through all of this yet but you can bet your ass I have it saved.

FINAL FANTASY XIV 1.X LETS PLAY: Likewise haven’t gone through all of this yet but if you want really detailed 1.0 lore info, this has it.

OZMA’S ASCIAN REFERENCE PILE: Contains both concrete known information, game data, and speculation by Ozma as a longstanding Ascian fan. 1.0 WHITE MAGE QUESTLINE: This isn’t 100% canon anymore, but I’m including it because it actually shows the Elementals in voiced roles and that is a huge deal. Worth noting this youtuber has other 1.0 videos documented too.

BOTANICA EORZEA: This contains all lore surrounding the plants of Eorzea, organized and accessible.

MINERICA EORZEA: Sent by @firecattebird, A fully searchable, organized, and accessible doc containing all the lore I could find in-game about the things we pull from mining nodes.

LODESTONE SONG LYRICS COMPILATION: There are often other places you can google around for official song lyrics and I usually use those, but if you want everything in one place this is your spot!

ETHYS ASHER: Has some really good coverage of the niche parts of Eorzea’s history and solid discussion/speculation surrounding various lore elements. I haven’t gotten to investigate deeply but did enjoy his coverage around Belah’dia and the Great Wyrms.

Lastly, while not lore related I do want to share a particularly fun resource with the people who might be peeking over.

EORZEA COLLECTION: A lot of players in FFXIV are  heavily invested in the design components of the game, and this is a hub for that. Whether you’re looking for something in the vein of Dark Souls, something outrageously silly, something cute, something majestic, etc. you can basically find all kinds of tones/experiments here. You can restrict what you see by job, race, gender, etc. and order according to recency or loves. It’s also somewhere you can see how gear looks with different characters, dyes, and combinations. Very organized and can be a useful resource for farming.

Headcanon A-Z

A - Advocate - How do they show their support for others? Are there any causes that they publicly support? Why? B - Boy/Girl - What is their gender? What’s their relationship with their gender? Has this changed over time? How does their gender identify relate to their gender expression? C - Caregiver - How do they give/receive care best? Do they care for everyone or just a small number of people? How do they react to someone in need? D - Director - How much do they feel the need to have control over their life? Do they spend a lot of time telling others what to do or and they more likely to be more obedient to others? E - Entrepreneur - How do they make money? Are they willing to take financial risks? How do they approach making deals with others? F - Friend - What kind of friend are they? How do they judge potential friends? Where do they draw the line between platonic and romantic relationships? How far would they go for a friend? How do they handle conflict in relationships? G - Growing - How have they changed over time? How has their self-image changed? Are they more or less of a risk-taker? Has their approach to romance changed? H - Hero - What makes someone a hero in their eyes? Who is their biggest hero in life? Why? Do they consider themselves to be heroic? I - Inventor - How creative is their thinking? Do they seek out the opinions of others or rely on their own ideas? What’s their problem solving approach? J - Joker - What’s their sense of humour like? Do they enjoy slapstick comedy? What kind of humour do they enjoy in others? K - Know It All - Are they a Know-it-All? Do they actively seek out new knowledge? How do they behave around others how have a great amount of knowledge on a topic? L - Lover - How do they show love? Do they love themselves? Do they believe that all you need is love? M - Miracle Worker - Who or what do they consider to be a miracle? Do they believe in magic? N - Navigator - What’s their sense of direction like? Do they have a set path in life that they’re planning on following? What do they do if they’re knocked off course? O - Organiser - How organised are they? Do they have any unusual organisation systems? What would cause them to be uncharacteristically (dis-)organised? P - Philosopher - Are they particularly philosophic? What do they believe is the purpose of life? Do they have any particularly strong convictions or ideologies? Q - Queen - What kind of leader are they? Are they entitled? What have they inherited from their parents? How powerful are they? Do they act superior towards others? R - Rebel - Do they follow rules, bend or break them? Do they find rebelliousness in others attractive? S - Seeker - How do they go in search of new information? Do they accept ideas on faith or do they need to test out information for themselves? T - Teacher - How often do they have to teach others? How do they go about it? How do they learn best? Do they dive in first and reflect later or study the theory of something new before putting it into practice? U - Ugly - What traits to they find unattractive in others? Do they have any of those traits themselves? V - Visionary - Do they have a plan for their future? How imaginative or creative are they? Do they have vivid dreams? W - Witness - What do they consider the best thing they have ever seen? What would they most like to see in their life? X - Xceptional - Who is the most exceptional person in their life? Are there any rules that they have notable exceptions to? What gets them excited in life? Y - Yes! - Do they believe in luck? What makes them feel lucky/grateful? Z - Zoo - What’s the favourite animal? Do they ever behave animalistically? If they were an animal, what animal would they be? Why?