#Also. It is SO NICE to have weapon refs done so I don't have to draw the weapons from scratch every time

[the-down-upside-finch]

OC-tober Day 3! Today I spun the decision wheel and got Stained Integrity, Malina, dramatic lighting! (And I think I got carried away haha--)

Simple shading version and another version under the cut:

Master Malina Starspear, my beloved

[diardri]

Dia's FFXIV Art Reference Notes, A possibly long post

Hello! I made this as a thread on my twitter but I might as well post a version of it here. For the record this will be a thread linking to the resources I use when drawing commissions or fanart, I have not made Any of these and whenever I can I will note the creators and link directly to their resources.

GPose Reference First and foremost, if you're drawing a WOL or ordering a commission of your WOL the most important thing is to take a proper reference GPOSE. I use the method in this post, to make sure I got all the angles. Clean refs are super important when drawing armor/intricate outfits so take care to take simple standing poses like the one in the tweet above. Cool dynamic poses might be fun but they're not really useful for referencing.

Gear/Weapon Reference

If you need good references for a weapon/outfit that you don't have a GPOSE for, I recommend using the attire website

This is a japanese website maintained by @/chiyo_asa on twitter and if you've ever looked up a piece of gear in the lodestone you've almost definitely come across their pictures.

This is a super rough translation in english of the menu of the website. While it is in Japanese it's very easy to navigate and all the pictures in the site are super high quality and very useful for referencing.

This is my number one source for gear references I haven't taken myself

The "mirapuri" button afaik is for glams they made themselves that they want to showcase.

An important note about this site specifically is that I believe it's currently undergoing an overhaul so Some weapons/gearsets might not be completely transferred in yet.

That being said, the majority of sets from dungeons/crafting/alliance raids/job gear sets etc are sorted like so, which makes it super easy to look for.

There IS also a search function but I'm pretty sure it works only for japanese input.

NPC reference sheets

@xivrefsheets Offers really detailed resources of npc models. They also occasionally accept requests on their ko-fi (closed at the time of writing this)

These are super useful and really high quality, especially for some of the boss refs they've done. As someone who doesn't use anamnesis I go back to their refs very often

Convocation of the Fourteen refs

Maintained by @/Igeyorhm on twitter this site has a nice list of Ascian refs per character in addition to some lore bits for each of them. Also some very useful closeups of the Ascian clothes.

Even more NPC and Boss Refs

I believe maintained by @/MlNRATHOUS on twitter, this site has a really nice array of major NPC and boss references in various angles and with colourpicks for skintone and hair which is super useful. I use them a Lot

Lalafell centric refs

Norirow Note is a super cute blog that showcases glam items/ weapons/ chocobo barding and more.

It is NOT meant to be an art reference, however if you play a lala like me, I find their showcases useful when drawing gear on lalas.

Even if you don't use it as an art ref it's a super cute blog that's just fun to go through AND fully translated in english so I recommend just having a fun time reading through it anyway.

Bonus- Au Ra Scales.

I literally found out about this today but @/saficchi on twitter has made a super detailed angled ref sheet for both male and female au ra scales and I love them for it

Bonus 2 electric boogaloo- TextTools

I use this to import 3d models of specific weapons into CSP if I'm drawing them.

I don't know how useful this is for other art software but it's saved my ass from freehanding titania weapons so in the thread it goes

That's the full list of refs I personally use, if there's more that people want to add please feel free to do so in the comments. I hope it helps people out in their creative endeavors!

[star-fandoms]

i did ONE Danganronpa redesign before hyperfixating on cookie run...SIGH

I have been having so much fun though thinking about mine and my friends cookie run ocs. I gotta share them!

Freaking GAMER cookie my beloved

This ref and design is pretty old, I gotta redesign her. Gamer x Sandwich x Pizza cookie poly relationship real. She's a recluse who stays inside most of the time. She streams her playing games and that's how she gets her money. That said since she refuses to leave her house she often orders takeout(Although another part of it is to see Sandwich and Pizza cookie outside of college)

LOL YOU CAN TELL WHICH IS A MORE RECENT DRAWING

Anyways, G x S x P before their official friendship to after their friendship. They have sleepovers often(since they just go to the same school anyways) and they just kinda listen to Sandwich cookie ramble about anything and everything. Btw it doesn't look like it in the drawing but i prommy they are in fact listening to her. Anyways Gamer has just always been a recluse and shy person and so when Sandwich cookie talks to her and is nice to her, Gamer kind of develops feelings fast since she's never had that before. Gamer really admires Pizza cookie for her hard work, she can't help but wonder what drives Pizza cookie to work so hard. Gamer has stopped putting in a lot of effort because no matter what she's never lived up to anyone's expectations, so to see someone who works so hard no matter what, she really admires that. That said she does worry about Pizza cookies health and tries to get her to relax as much as possible. When she order's pizza and Pizza cookie delivers, she feels bad but she also takes this as an opportunity to give her a large tip(she gives her like $50-100 every time LMAOOO she is down horrendous) She does also tip Sandwich cookie a lot of money too!!

Epic Gamer cookie and Gunpowder cookie art done by yours truly. Also Gunpowder belongs to @muddymcmeatz, my bestie! Check him out!! Anyways, Gamer and GPC have a silly dynamic, they're friends, Gamer questions every day how it happened. Anyways, Gamer likes to cosplay and went to GPC for a weapon made for one of her cosplay, and they've been in contact since.

Jawbreaker Cookie!!

JBC x Roguefort Cookie as the one mlp meme LOL, im not really proud of this piece so i gotta redo it eventually LOL but this meme is literally them to me

JBC and Gunpowder are in the same gang and they have a silly sibling bond. They constantly play fight and tease each other. They have ruined each others hair more times then they can count which has made Salty Dog Cookie(Made by @/muddymcmeatz again lol) shave their heads. They constantly pull pranks on each other, they are very annoying, but they care for each other deeply, just as they do the rest of their gang!

Finally, Blue Rose Cookie!

Guh BRC and Rockstar Cookie my beloveds. Im doing a whole ass animatic with Blue Rose's relationship with her, Mint Choco, Hot Cocoa, and Rockstar to Duet, from the Omori soundtrack. Blue Rose plays the piano and her and Mint Choco would often duet together, but the Duet animatic im working on is their final duet together because BRC is aware she has no chance and just wants to move on, shes tired of chasing after someone who likes someone else. Anyways BRC and Rockstar cookie have been friends since high school and he's liked her since and she's always been a huge fan of his, they support each other! Anyways Rockstar will get his happy end with her

Here's one of the drawings from the Duet animatic!

I have some other design ideas that I'm really excited to work on!

Rose Water cookie: She's shipped with Peach Blossom cookie from Cookie Run Kingdom! They'd be so pretty and majestic together fr fr I gotta draw them soon!

Apple Bunny cookie: She's shipped with Onyx Cream cookie from Cookie Run Witches Castle.

Gummy Shark cookie: I don't have her shipped with anyone as of now. She's a cruel loan shark who's enemies with Salty Dog's gang. She's always accompanied by her two body guards Baja Blast Cookie and Mtn Dew Cookie.

Firefly cookie: Shipped with Amber Sugar cookie, i don't have too much info for her rn

[inkwell-and-dagger]

For the edgy asks, all divisible by 5 for Ruaridh? 👀

:O OH MT GOD OH MY GOD OH MT GOD YAAAYYYYYYY!!!! TUANK YOU SO MUCH ANON THANK YOU THANK YOU I LOVE RUARIDH!!!!

OKAY OKAY SO I THINK IVE DONE THIS RIGHT. LIKE. MULTIPLICATIONS OF FIVE RIGHT?? SORRY IF I GOT IT WRONG BUT YK

5 — How far is your OC willing to go to get what they want?

I imagine that, during their time with Derwyn, they tended to beg for things such as more food (especially during the time where they gained more of an appetite during their gradual transformation) or even a day off of experimentation and tests when they needed some more time to like. Get Over™ the previous one. I think the furthest they've gone is begging and even like. ooh I forgot the word but for example they'd ask for a day off of experimentation they'd have less food or whatever for that day. again I forgot the word- either way the furthest they've probably gone is begging and making themself look very pitiful and pathetic to get what they want (ngl they probably still do this with helodite / anton + dew)

10 — What's an AU that would be interesting to explore with your OC?

the most interesting, in my opinion (other than the crossover au/s I already have yay!! although they're more of like alternate timelines n stuffs) would be if Derwyn actually managed to turn Ruaridh into a mindless killing machine! the only reason why he made Ruaridh so monstrous was so they'd be more intimidating, thus more likely to scare people off (she basically wanted them as a kinda fucked up guard dog ig. living weapon whumpee yay!!) but the whole psychological aspects of changing Ruaridh's mindset entirely didn't work, which led to their abandonment. I think it'd be a nice thing to play around with as an au :3

15 — Does your OC have a faceclaim? If so, who?

I mean they have like. an official design? I've never really thought about face claims, so I guess their official ref pics is all I can give lmao

20 — Does your OC have a tendency to get jealous? If so, how does this manifest?

to be honest, I imagine Ruaridh doesn't really understand the concept of jealousy. they've only ever been around Derwyn for their entire life — only been subjected to the emotions that she showed them — and thus they've never truly experienced jealousy towards another person! they've learnt to kind of push down certain emotions as not to upset Derwyn, and they don't really know how to un-learn that behavior. so, I'm not really sure!

25 — What is your favourite thing about your OC?

THEIR CREECHURNESS!!!!!!!!! also just how much of a sopping wet cat they are (affectionate). they should always be treated gently they will cry. I just. I adore their design and how they look like a deer in headlights 24/7. idk they hold a very special place in my heart

(MUTUAL OC CREDIT TIME BITCHES BECAUSE SOME OF THE OCS I'VE MENTIONED ARENT MINE AND IN FACT BELONG TO VERY COOL VERY NICE PEOPLE!!!!! helodite belongs to @/ash-1s-wr1t1ng and anton and dew belong to @/whumpy-wyrms!!)

[mushroompoisoning]

HELLO I love bluejays (they remind me of Cassie :]) and also hearing abt mutuals ocs so I have come to drop ten million numbers for the ask game for (Blue)Jay sorry in advance 7 8 10 11 12 18 19 20 22 27 29 31 32 42 47 49 51 53 54 56

also i wanted to send this earlier but. I hate mobile with a passion hsbdhj

omg questions :000 Okay okay. Their full name is Bluejay they just go by Jay idk why I wrote it like that

questions below the readmore [:

7. Occupation?

Not really employed anywhere specific. They were a travelling bard! They'd play at bars and other events and got paid off of tips

8. Weapon of choice?

Magic! Jay uses a bard magic through enchanted gloves they wear. The gloves hold the magic, but they need to use an instrument in order to cast spells and whatnot. They play string instruments [: mainly violin and acoustic guitar

10. Do they have any piercings, markings or scars?

They have a few scars they hide under their clothes and earrings [:

11. Do they have any notable features?

Jay's eyes are very, very blue. Unnaturally blue! Closest I can think of is a brighter cobalt. Their eyes stand out a lot and are very recognizable

12. Own any pets?

Nope! They don't even have a house! Jay just stays in hotels and inns while travelling

18. Any special keepsakes?

Their favourite weapon/instrument is the first violin they ever carved by themselves! Also earrings from an old best friend

19. Hobbies?

Wood carving. In order to make your own instruments you have to be good at it, why not have some fun? They like making small statues and leaving them places

20. Clothing/Aesthetic?

^ those are my two main refs for Jay's outfit

22. Fav colour?

Never thought about it, really. Probably a nice shade of red

27. What's their family like?

I never actually thought of details for their family. They've been travelling playing music for at least around 10 years now, and have had no contact with any family in that time. Jay doesn't really care, they didn't mean much to them

29. What was childhood like?

Boring. Jay grew up poor and wasn't able to do much. They ran off to play music in far off lands as soon as they possibly could

31. What's their current main conflict?

Getting kidnapped by Captain Lapis and his crew. The captain isn't actually a bad person, none of the crew is. If you ignore the kidnapping, they're actually treating Jay really really well and being very friendly. Jay's mainly trying to convince themselves they don't like the crew

32. What steps have they taken to overcome this conflict?

Jay occasionally helps out around the ship. They have no requirement to help anyone or do anything, but sometimes they like to help. Doing this they're slowly realizing it's not so bad to open up and not put up a bitchy front

42. What's the dumbest thing your character has done?

Tried to see if they could break the strings of their guitar by biting them. They couldn't, of course, but the impulsive thoughts won.

47. What's your characters biggest turning point?

Meeting a travelling architect in their early teens. Then Jay didn't believe they could ever get out of their kingdom, felt trapped. The architect told them about how they just ran around to different towns and kingdoms and offered services people would pay for. Jay took inspiration and decided they were gonna do the same

49. What are some themes that tie into your characters story?

Finding your own path instead of following the one your parents set you on. Searching for your calling, your destiny. Finding peace in doing what you love instead of what everyone wanted you to do. Stuff like that [:

51. What are some inspirations for your character?

Imagine if Raine from toh had Darius from toh's personality. The bard magic of toh in general, really.

53. Expectation vs reality?

Originally, Jay was just gonna be me being like "hehe what if there were gay people. and they had a dynamic. wouldn't that be great?" but i expanded on that!

54. What does your character want? What do they need?

Freedom to do whatever they want. Jay hates feeling trapped with no choices, they like a lot of options! That's really the only reason they hated being kidnapped

56. What's your overall goal with this character?

Jay Will be forced to join the qpp pirate ship polycule. They also start dating Lapis! Basically all self indulgent fluff of some anti-monarchy pirates having fun

wooo :D i love questions jumps up and down

[jooniix]

So I decided to remake (well kinda ig) my LoS headcanon post so have this!!

More info. is under the "Keep reading"

General Info.

All are 19

Oldest to youngest: Stelline, Chikame, Vin, Dusk, Jean, and Rivet

They don't know each other's names until later on, except for Jean's

Everyone gets revived a week later after the Origami Festival

Before they all met, they had separate lives, but all of them died when they were 15

How did everyone get revived? Simple, after Olly and Olivia got revived by Orion and with the help of many others, they decided to revive the legion as well using their powers

Heights, weapons, what they look like, and sexualities are mentioned here ⬇️

Jean Pierre

Jean doesn't talk much, he usually draws to avoid talking to others. He's mostly calm, but is pretty much blunt in conversations.

The short one

He can speak french, but doesn't really have the accent

The only one that can bake, cooking? No.

Sometimes he would draw on buildings or on something that can be drawn on (Example: Like in Overlook Tower)

Jean doesn't like it when people watch him draw, he'll give them a glare in order to make them go away

Jean and Rivet have a sibling dynamic

"Art is life, fuck romance." - Probably him

Stelline

Stelline's very passionate about her works and will get annoyed if something goes wrong. She's also a show-off and isn't really dramatic, but she can be if she wants.

She's dating a toad oc (I haven't finished her design yet-)

A director and actor at Shogun Studios!

She will drag the legion to act in her plays

In her own time, Stelline likes to walk around Autumn Mountain

Also gets the legion and the origami family to model some of the clothes she made!

She can sing well, but dancing? It just depends

Dusk

Dusk is very social and can easily make friends, but sometimes his niceness can be viewed as annoying depending on how they show/portray it.

Prankster (Chikame's the main victim to most of them)

Loves being a part of crimes and chaos!

Likes any genre of music as long as it isn't opera or classical music

Usually hosts parties that last the entire night

They work alongside Nix and Erin (DJ Toad and DJ Snifit) as DJ's!

Dusk isn't entirely dumb, he's aware that people are annoyed, but still remains nice unless people are starting to push boundaries

Vin

Vin's a tough gangster, but he's really a caring person towards his friends, family, and his gang.

He's dating Chikame

Commits crimes daily with his gang or with Dusk

Enters a lot of races and sometimes wins, but whenever he loses he tries not to punch the winner-

Vin's Voiceclaim is Juno, so yeah he has the accent

In his spare time, Vin skates or goes speeding (which he gets constantly scolded for)

He doesn't do this a lot, but he knows how to waltz

Chikame

Chikame's cold, he's only nice towards certain people. When it comes to battle he doesn't hold back and can become unhinged depending on how it's triggered.

He's dating Vin

Done with the legion's bullshit

Isolates himself from everyone or just stands in one place awkwardly (basically the loner)

Most times he overworks himself, which leads to him having a bad sleep schedule

Wears skirts rarely (It depends on skirt visuals, but it isn’t often that he wears them)

Jouster, ice skater, and can also do ballet (He gets flustered whenever someone mentions it)

Rivet

Rivet can be pretty clueless, and can get startled easily, but when it comes to battle he's tough!

He isn't comfortable being a weredog, so he stays in his human form

Can't talk, only barks and howls

Rivet uses sign language or writes to communicate

Rivet and Jean have a sibling dynamic

Whenever he's scared, he hides behind someone and whimpers in fear

Surprisingly gets along well with cats

[wionews]

A Canadian explains fighting in ice hockey for Indians

When I told my Indian colleague that in pro ice hockey players often punch each other in the face, he wouldn't believe me. I was amused, but understood his reluctance. Only one sport in the world allows fist fighting. Say what you will about relations between India and Pakistan, when it comes to cricket there are standards of behaviour.

Ice hockey is different. 

  In pro puck, fighting is supervised 

After two players “drop the gloves”—both a euphemism for fighting and also something literally done so players can connect fist to face—they sit in the penalty box for five minutes. Players from both teams tap their sticks against the boards in a show of support, the fans cheer, and the fighters catch their breath. The five minute penalty they earned is a “major penalty”, opposed to a two minute “minor”.

But since one penalty offsets the other, no team is actually handicapped. That fighting is on the one hand considered “major” enough to warrant a longer penalty, yet results in no actual punishment sums up hockey culture's acceptance of fighting.

Also revealing in this regard is the ease with which the announcer switches from narrating a hockey game to a fight. And how the ref doesn't stop the fight, he supervises it, only intervening after there is a clear winner or when one or both parties seem tired.

  Why do ice hockey players fight?

The basic logic: “Enforcers” protect skilled teammates. Ice hockey is an ultra-fast game played in an enclosed rink by rough men carrying wooden sticks. If a small, skilled guy can't score because players are hacking him, that's no good. Injuries and intimidation is built in to hockey. Formally, there are five ways a hockey stick can be used for assault: Cross-checking, tripping, slashing, hooking and spearing.

So if somebody messes with the skilled guy, the goon sorts him out. A dangerous man is a bigger threat than the referee's whistle. 

Historically, this worked. The mild-mannered ,140-pound Wayne Gretzky scored 2-3 points a game for the Edmonton Oilers in the '80s. Any punk who laid a finger on him dealt with a bloodthirsty animal named Marty McSorley. 

Fighting is like nuclear deterrence: Peace is maintained by keeping a lethal weapon inactive. Everyone knows nuclear warheads are dangerous, but no country wants to get rid of their own while other countries have them. Similarly, no coach wants to get rid of their fighter.

This explains why fighting is so hard to remove from the game, despite modern knowledge about the long-term effects of concussions. It also explains why each professional ice hockey team has at least one player who is noticeably bad at hockey. 

  The "staged" fight

In peacetime when fighting is unnecessary, so are fighters. So two enforcers will fight each other because they simply have nothing else to do. They need to remind the coach of their specialty. Indeed, their only purpose.

Sometimes, before a whistle you can see two players talking. The puck drops and immediately they go at each other. This is the staged fight, probably the fight most puzzling and unnecessary to outsiders. It seems like nothing has preceded the fight, but that isn't quite true.

Even totally useless, staged fights can totally change the momentum of a game. One team gets an adrenaline rush and the game is simply different after. This is sometimes reason alone to fight a guy. 

  Rivalries and score settling

Here is some accepted wisdom in hockey that makes no sense but still is basically a law: It's usually OK to slash someone, but if you slash someone back the ref will see and he'll whistle you for it. Retaliation is the sin, not the slash. So players will take down the guy's number and tag them good later.

It might be next period, it might be next season. It might be a nice legal open-ice hip check, a nasty illegal hit, or a fight. It depends. But what looks on the surface like only senseless violence may be just a reasonable, measured response to senseless violence.

  "Face washing"

Sometimes, two pretty skilled guys bump into each other. They might skate away, but sometimes one gives a shove or a hack. The other doesn't want to take this silently; It signals he can be pushed around. So he shoves back, and things escalate until maybe punches are thrown.

Perhaps they only reach the stage just before a fight, which is the "face wash". When a player wipes another player's face with his open hand, that's a face wash. It doesn't hurt, it's just meant to be demeaning, to goad other players into taking a penalty by protecting their honour. They're common in post-whistle scrums. At the 0:28 mark here is a decent face wash. 

  Sheer goonery:

Lest we think fighting is rough but rational, often it is just brainless goonery.

The retired enforcer Tie Domi--the prototypical meathead goon, bless his heart--used the term "old time hockey" to describe the time he punched a fan in the face. Video of this incident is posted below, as proof it happened and because it's insane. I watched this game live on TV, and while it seems incredible to me now on several levels, it made sense at the time, just a natural expression of my own hatred for Philly and their fans.

  Sport's parallel to nationalism 

I used to be a maniac fan watching games on TV by myself, screaming obscenities in response to grievances mostly imagined. I would stomp around and freak out. I've never punched anybody in my life, outside of ice hockey. I was a lunatic. Canada has many such lunatics.  

Athleticism can be valued for its own sake. Its elegance, imagination and skill is ravishing. The comaraderie as a team grows together and accomplishes their mission can be beautiful. Sports are great! 

But some fans support their team as rabidly and blindly as nationalists do their country. People form allegiance to their country and their sports team often for the same reason: They were born there. Rival countries interpret the same historical event in the exact opposite way, like opposing fans arguing about whether a play was offside after watching the exact same replay.

They both often have a superficial love manifested in the fanatic embrace of symbols (a team logo, a national flag, the myths of each). On the other side is hate for certain teams or countries. Both sides are toxic.

There's overlap in the underlying forces causing conflict between countries and sports teams. Self-identifying with a nation or sports team often carries a germ that warps perspective and creates endless antagonism. With countries it can lead to war. In hockey, to fist fighting.

  My derangement

I have experience being deranged. My Leafs met the Ottawa Senators in the playoffs four times in five years between 2000-'04. I mean it, I hated everything to do with Ottawa. When the Weather Channel reported a storm hit Ottawa, I cheered. This is not an exaggeration, I have a specific memory rejoicing at a weather report.

Being a hockey fan was the closest I've ever got to being racist. Until a few years ago I spelled Ottawa Senators without capitalising either proper noun. The improper grammar stung, but I could not show that team any respect.

I have grown up. Notice, I used capital letters back there. I let go of my hate. I don't "Other" players or teams. Now I have the good sense to understand that, just like people are people wherever country they're from, so every single NHL player is obscenely rich, disgustingly young and physically gifted.  

This past April I watched my Leafs play playoff puck for the first time in years. The hockey was great, but I was silent and enjoying it. I didn't want Washington Capitals players, our opponent, to die. I cheered for the Senators even. The Leafs lost, life went on.   

  Macho tradition vs modern science

If a hippie pacifist weenie like me can be brought to a near murderous rage by hockey, no wonder strapping farmboys brought up in a hyper-masculine war culture to value self-sacrifice and ferocity end up fighting people.

But hockey culture is changing. We know about the long-term impact of concussions now. Fighting is in decline. Even if it isn't entirely eliminated, "rock 'em sock 'em" hockey isn't in vogue. Fighting is less glorified and this is slowly changing the culture.

The rules have changed in recent years to promote skill, not brute toughness. It's welcome. The game has markedly improved. According to hockeyfights.com, in 2002 season, 42 per cent of games had at least one fight. Last year, this was down to 25 per cent. Progress! 

But call it nostalgia, I can't help feel some fondness for the old rough stuff. If today it seems crazy that hockey still allows fighting, 90s and early 2000s puck was really crazy. 

Here are a few wild, classic samples of NHL players dropping the gloves. 

  Exhibit #1-Goalie fights--Felix Potvin vs Ron Hextall, 1993

  Exhibit #2--Goalie + forwards + defenceman fight--Detroit vs Colorado, 1997

  Exhibit #3--"The Brawl", all Ottawa vs all Philadelphia, 2004

(WION)

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