#Algorithmic constraints

[krissym72]

Where Does AI Art Get Its Images?

AI-generated art stands at the intersection of technology and creativity, captivating audiences with its mesmerizing visuals and thought-provoking concepts. Yet, beneath the surface of these digital masterpieces lies a fundamental question that resonates with both artists and enthusiasts alike: where do these creations derive their imagery from? Delving into the origins of AI art unveils a…

[prokopetz]

Don't forget that you specifically want the unlocalised Japanese ROM so that you can apply a fan-made English translation patch published in 1998 by a guy with a dick joke for a screen handle because the official localisation was delayed for 20 years due to licensing issues and totally butchers the script by removing all the late 1990s pop culture references.

whenever you ask your friend who’s really into JRPGs “hey which one do i start with is the newest one fine” they always go “no, what you gotta do is head on over to ebay and look up the entry that completely bombed commercially. You’ll see that it goes for $800. Close ebay. Download an emulator for a console no younger than 17 years old. Download the ROM, and also this laundry list of various tweaks, retextures, and QoL tweaks. Pull up this exact spoiler-free guide put up a decade ago from GameFAQs, and you’ll experience the best game this series has to offer.” Like???

[clonewarsahsoka]

I'm slowly becoming interested in computer science >.<

[cvt2dvm]

Primal Chic: The Princess Saves Herself & The Planet in this It Girl meets Survivalist Lifestyle

If you think it girl, you may think of high maintenance, high consumption, pampered, luxe living. I want you to take a step back from that idea with me and introduce a new mindset, Primal Chic. Borrowing from the Clean Girl, GORP Girl, It Girl, Stoic, Survivalist, and Prepper, Primal Chic is all about minimizing your impact on the planet, maximizing your self-sufficiency, and building meaningful sisterhood.

Primal Chic in 3 Words is: Sustainability, Self-Sufficiency, & Sisterhood.

Body: Fuel, Movement, & Beauty

Fuel: Our bodies and minds need high-quality fuel, and that's offered by a whole-food, paleo diet. Many of the foods on the market are heavily processed and loaded with low-quality fillers that drive calories and macros up without meeting our micronutrient needs. On top of this, a huge segment of the market is imported from outside of our local communities, adding heavily to the carbon footprint of our foods. Choosing locally grown, non-GMO, organic produce and proteins from fair trade, regenerative, or woman-owned agri-businesses is a fantastic stepping stone if you can't generate your own food due to time, space, or monetary constraints. I love shopping locally owned health food stores, farmers markets, and farm stands. The price of organics also goes down if you shop store-brand organics. There are also Facebook groups and Pinterest boards dedicated to Paleo recipe swaps. You also want to make sure you're honoring your body's needs in all of it's areas, rest, relaxation, movement, and nutrition.

Movement: Functional, outdoor movement benefits body, mind, and soul. A good hike, a lake swim, or even just a good jog with your pets are all great ways to get your cardio in. Outdoor yoga, rucks, rock climbing, and calisthenics are low-cost, high-reward strength and conditioning exercises that help you to keep toned and ready for action in your day-to-day life. Don't forget ROM either, active recovery walks, daily yoga, and deep stretches ensure you remain flexible and reduce pain from tight, stiff muscles and joints. Adding in a few friends allows you to build sisterhood and meet your social needs too, and being outdoors helps with the chronic vitamin D deficiencies most modern women face.

Beauty: Choosing clean, sustainable beauty and reducing the number of products used is good for your body due to fewer toxins, your mind with lower body and facial dysmorphia from high glam makeup looks, and the planet with less harsh manufacturing processes. Consider switching to multi-use products, reducing the number of products in your skincare & makeup routines, and swapping to washable/reusable body, skin, and feminine hygiene products to care for yourself and our planet. I'll be going into more detail on the swaps I made personally in a blog post next week.

Side Note: Planning a girl's weekend yoga retreat or having a buddy to do the Whole30 (a great intro to Paleo eating) with you is a great way to build up your sisterhoods and your own resolve for this new lifestyle.

Mind: Clarity, Wisdom, and Continuous Growth

Stoicism: The serenity prayer is a fantastic example of the basis of stoicism, letting go of the things you can't control or change, courageously sticking to your values and virtues and changing or controlling the things you can, living in harmony with nature, practice emotional mindfulness and emotional chastity, and practice resilience, learning to bounce back from failures and misfortune. With all things in life there is a learning curve, and allowing yourself to be ruled by algorithms, propaganda, and impulses reduces your own personal power.

Minimalism: Cut out overconsumption to help save the planet, save your wallet, and save your space. Choosing quality, durable, practical, and multi-purpose items allows you to spend less time organizing and cleaning and more time with friends and family, and doing the things that truly feed your soul. You don't have to have a spartan, sterile, white living space to embrace minimalism either, you can still inject your own personal style and personality into your choices, but be more mindful about where and how you're spending your hard-earned money.

Dedication to Continuous Growth: Instead of doom-scrolling or watching brain-rotting television, try switching out social media for micro-learning, soaps for documentaries, and limiting screen time to 1-3 hours per day. Try switching out happy hour for a self-defense or first aid class. Get involved with book swaps and information databases or group PDF sharing.

Heart: Love Thyself, Love Thy Neighbor, Love Thy Planet

Self-Love: Forming a sisterhood and meaningful community starts with loving yourself. You can't draw from an empty well, so being honest and vulnerable with yourself and taking care of yourself is the first step in being able to be there for others at your most authentic. Reminding yourself of your inherent value is important.

Earth: The frequencies of the earth are often interfered with by our man-made surroundings, taking time to ground yourself and connect with the world around you, either on your own, or in a group, is good for the heart. Try and take an hour or two per day and spend it outdoors, really soaking in the beauty you may have been numbed to by having it become mundane.

Connection & Community: Not everyone you meet deserves your whole heart and mind, however, they do deserve basic human dignity and respect, for those closer to you, they do deserve having a reliable friend who they can turn to in times of need and times of victory. Forming meaningful connections across generational divides makes us stronger as women and enriches our lives.

Soul: Mindfulness, Purpose, & Resilience

Mindfulness: Meditation, nature walks, situational awareness, and group activities keep the mind and soul well-fed and the senses sharp should the need arise for defense. Live in the moment as much as you can, rather than drift aimlessly through life without a plan of attack. Spontaneity can still exist here, as you should have a balance of routine and flexibility.

Purpose: What drives you? Who drives you? What values are at your core? Answering these questions allows you to live a purposeful life where you are true to yourself and your community. If your values don't align with the life you're living what changes do you need to have them align?

Resilience: You don't have to make your life harder, but preparing for life's rough times through mental, spiritual, physical, financial and material preparedness is still important. Building a solid community will help with this, but ensuring you yourself have the tools and skills necessary for survival will help even more so.

Planet: Stewardship, Sustainability, and Conscious Consumption

Stewardship: Bring a bag with you on walks and hikes to collect trash and follow the old Girl Scout principle of leaving things better than you found them. Encourage sustainable practices with where you shop and invest your time and resources, and take advantage of your local parks and wild spaces.

Sustainability: Opt for natural materials in clothing, decor, & home goods. Choose materials like wood, cotton, real fur, leather, and linen rather than plastics and petroleum-derived products or "natural" materials with harsh production processes like viscose or bamboo fiber. Reduce your consumption of new products, and shop thrift or vintage where you can, and go as ecologically friendly and durable as you can afford when buying new.

Conscious Consumption: Shop local, woman-owned, small business, and fair trade products wherever you can, skip out on mega polluters like Amazon or Shien, and avoid sweatshop and slave labor wherever you can. Before making purchases, ask yourself if you truly need an item or if you're just looking for a quick dopamine hit. Mend your things if possible rather than trashing them, and opt for donation of things in good condition that no longer fit with who you are.

All in all, the Primal Chic lifestyle is attainable for everyone, and about making conscious, cognizant steps toward a more meaningful, impactful, and mindful life where you live sustainably, & self sufficiently while building meaningful community and sisterhood.

[3kockeleda]

"smut", censorship & why we must defend the freedom to read

Every era polices its stories. Today, the battleground is digital: TikTok, Twitter, and Tumblr simmer with moral panics over “problematic” fiction. At the heart of this debate lies a paradox: in an age that champions individuality and free expression, why are readers—particularly women and queer communities—increasingly shamed for enjoying narratives labeled “dark romance,” “smut,” or “spicy”? These terms, weaponized as shorthand for “morally bankrupt,” obscure a deeper cultural anxiety: the fear of stories that center taboo desires, power dynamics, or unapologetic female agency. What begins as criticism of tropes often escalates into demands for censorship, blurring the line between discourse and dogma. The stakes here transcend genre—this is about who gets to control narratives, and why.

Censorship has always targeted the marginalized. In the 19th century, novels like Madame Bovary and Lady Chatterley’s Lover were deemed “obscene” for depicting female desire outside patriarchal norms. By the mid-20th century, paperback romances adorned with shirtless heroes (think Fabio rescuing a swooning heroine) dominated bookstore racks. These novels were dismissed as frivolous “chick lit,” relegated to the realm of harmless escapism. Yet they sold millions, offering women a rare space to claim ownership of their fantasies.

Fast-forward to today. Their spiritual successors—stories exploring BDSM, morally gray relationships, or trauma—face a more insidious suppression: algorithmic shadow-banning, deplatforming, and viral callout campaigns that frame readers as complicit in harm. The shift from physical book burnings to digital erasure reflects a new puritanism, one couched in progressive language but rooted in the same paternalism: “These ideas are too dangerous for you.” Platforms like TikTok, which amplify outrage for engagement, reduce complex narratives to soundbite controversies. A single trope—a mafia romance’s nonconventional relationship, a bully romance’s power imbalance—is stripped of context, becoming fodder for hashtag activism. Lost in this frenzy is the distinction between depiction and endorsement, between art and advocacy.

Critics of dark romance often argue, “These stories normalize abuse!” Yet this concern is selectively applied. 

Consider:

Male-Centric Media: Films like Fight Club (domestic terrorism, toxic masculinity) and The Sopranos (misogyny, murder) are analyzed as “complex art.” Video games like Grand Theft Auto let players enact mass violence, yet their audiences aren’t accused of glorifying crime.

Queer and Feminist Narratives: Stories by marginalized authors—e.g., Carmilla (lesbian vampirism) or Tampa (female predator tropes)—face disproportionate scrutiny. Their themes are pathologized, their audiences interrogated.

This double standard reveals a cultural discomfort with women and queer people claiming narrative autonomy. Dark romance, often written by and for women, subverts the “pure heroine” archetype, allowing characters—and readers—to explore rage, desire, and imperfection. To dismiss these stories as “toxic” is to deny women the right to messy, multifaceted representation.

Fiction is a laboratory for the human experience. Psychologists argue that dark themes in art serve as simulations, letting readers safely confront fears, taboos, or repressed emotions. A 2019 study in Psychology of Aesthetics found that readers of transgressive fiction often engage in more ethical reasoning, not less, as they analyze characters’ choices.

Consider the appeal of dark romance:

Agency in Restriction: Heroines navigating oppressive worlds (e.g., mafia romances) often reclaim power within constraints, mirroring real struggles against systemic misogyny.

Catharsis Through Hyperbole: Exaggerated tropes (obsessive love, revenge plots) externalize internalized emotions, offering emotional release.

Censoring such works doesn’t protect readers—it infantilizes them, implying they can’t separate fiction from reality.

History shows that censorship rarely stops at “protecting” audiences. Once normalized, it expands to suppress dissent:

1980s “Satanic Panic”: Moral crusades against Dungeons & Dragons and heavy metal music targeted countercultural communities.

2020s Book Bans: U.S. schools have banned texts like Gender Queer and The Hate U Give, conflating LGBTQ+ and anti-racist narratives with “obscenity.”

Calls to censor smut follow the same playbook: frame subjective discomfort as objective harm, then demand removal “for the greater good.” But who decides what’s “harmful”? Algorithms? Politicians? Corporations? Amazon’s arbitrary delisting of LGBTQ+ romance novels in 2021 (“content violations”) proves corporate censorship is already here—and it’s arbitrary.

To censor “smut” is to endorse a world where stories are policed by the timid, the authoritarian, or the algorithm. It undermines foundational principles:

Freedom of Literature: Art is not a public service announcement. It must be free to provoke, unsettle, and challenge.

Reader Autonomy: Trust adults to choose their media. Advocacy for content warnings and nuanced critique is valid; eradication is not.

Media Pluralism: A free society requires diverse narratives—including those deemed uncomfortable, “immoral,” or politically inconvenient.

The fight against censorship isn’t about defending specific tropes; it’s about resisting the idea that any story is “too dangerous” to exist. As Salman Rushdie wrote, “What is freedom of expression? Without the freedom to offend, it ceases to exist.” Let readers revel in their smut, their Shakespeare, their sapphic space operas. Let them dissect, debate, or devour stories without shame.

The alternative—a sanitized, homogeneous cultural landscape—is a far darker tale.

Defend the right to read. Defend the freedom to imagine. And never apologize for the stories that make us human.

[l-1-z-a]

🎨 Unused Personalization Styles in The Sims 2: Analysis of Hidden Customization Mechanics by Perpexity AI Deep Research

Perpexity AI Deep Research generated a really interesting research about the list of strings "unused - Personal styles" . And I want to share it.

List documented on The Cutting Room Floor:

The development of The Sims 2 involved extensive experimentation with gameplay mechanics, many of which remain as code artifacts. The table with identifier 0x000000D2, containing categories like Natural, Romantic, Dramatic, Classical, Eclectic, and Trailer Park, represents a fragment of an unfinished personalization system that could have revolutionized character and environment customization[1][2].

Evolution of the Style System During Development

Origins of the Concept

During early development, Maxis experimented with a multidimensional trait system that expanded beyond core personality parameters. Internal game files suggest that Personal Styles were intended to complement existing Aspirations and Turn-Ons/Turn-Offs, dynamically generating Sims' preferences for clothing, decor, and social interactions[2]. Unlike the final implementation, where players manually select aesthetics, the original design proposed automated style-based preference generation.

Technical Implementation

Analysis of string identifiers (0x7FE59FD0) and data structures reveals that the style system was deeply integrated into the game’s core architecture. Each style included:

- Unique object interaction animations

- Predefined color palettes for Create-A-Sim (CAS)

- Architecture generation algorithms for Build Mode

- Behavioral patterns for social dynamics[2]

Connection to Other Cut Features

These styles intersected with the scrapped Neighborhood Aspirations system, where neighborhoods would gain thematic specializations (family-oriented, career-focused, etc.). Early builds suggest style choices for households could influence:

- Frequency of specific Townie types

- Availability of exclusive build-mode objects

- Unique random event generation[1]

Analysis of Style Categories

Natural

Focused on organic materials, linen clothing, and outdoor activities. Code references unused gardening animations and nature-related interactions[2].

Romantic

Emphasized Victorian architecture, lace textures, and increased frequency of romantic interactions. Unused dialogue includes poetic declarations of love[2].

Dramatic

Featured theatrical behaviors like exaggerated gestures and conflict-prone traits. Files contain unused stage props and harlequin costumes[1].

Classical

Inspired by Greco-Roman architecture with columns and mosaics. Elements later appeared in the University expansion[1].

Eclectic

Mixed historical eras and cultural motifs. Technical limitations in 2004 prevented implementation of dynamic object combinations[2].

Trailer Park

A controversial "lowbrow" aesthetic with rusted furniture and graffiti. Likely removed due to concerns about ESRB ratings and cultural sensitivity[1].

Reasons for Removal

Technical Constraints

Implementing dynamic styles required:

- Additional 512MB RAM

- High-resolution texture sets

- Complex asset prioritization systems[2]

Gameplay Balance Issues

Playtesting revealed that automated style generation:

- Limited creative freedom in CAS and Buy/Build Mode

- Clashed with Aspiration fulfillment mechanics

- Overcomplicated tutorials for new players[1]

Marketing Considerations

The Trailer Park style risked increasing the ESRB rating to Teen, which conflicted with EA’s family-friendly branding. Internal documents cite worries about reinforcing stereotypes[1].

Legacy in the Final Game

Elements of the scrapped system resurfaced in:

- The Hobbies & Interests system from FreeTime

- Neighborhood-specific Townie generation logic

- Hidden compatibility parameters for social interactions[2]

Conclusion

The 0x000000D2 style table exemplifies the developers’ ambitious vision that outpaced 2004-era hardware. While cut from the final release, these concepts laid the groundwork for later innovations, including The Sims 4’s Lifestyle system.

Citations:

[1] The Sims 2 Cut Content: Unreleased Features, Graphics & More! (YouTube)

[2] The Cutting Room Floor: The Sims (Windows)/Unused Behaviors/Sim Features

[noise-vs-signal]

Life is a Learning Function

A learning function, in a mathematical or computational sense, takes inputs (experiences, information, patterns), processes them (reflection, adaptation, synthesis), and produces outputs (knowledge, decisions, transformation).

This aligns with ideas in machine learning, where an algorithm optimizes its understanding over time, as well as in philosophy—where wisdom is built through trial, error, and iteration.

If life is a learning function, then what is the optimization goal? Survival? Happiness? Understanding? Or does it depend on the individual’s parameters and loss function?

If life is a learning function, then it operates within a complex, multidimensional space where each experience is an input, each decision updates the model, and the overall trajectory is shaped by feedback loops.

1. The Structure of the Function

A learning function can be represented as:

L : X -> Y

where:

X is the set of all possible experiences, inputs, and environmental interactions.

Y is the evolving internal model—our knowledge, habits, beliefs, and behaviors.

The function L itself is dynamic, constantly updated based on new data.

This suggests that life is a non-stationary, recursive function—the outputs at each moment become new inputs, leading to continual refinement. The process is akin to reinforcement learning, where rewards and punishments shape future actions.

2. The Optimization Objective: What Are We Learning Toward?

Every learning function has an objective function that guides optimization. In life, this objective is not fixed—different individuals and systems optimize for different things:

Evolutionary level: Survival, reproduction, propagation of genes and culture.

Cognitive level: Prediction accuracy, reducing uncertainty, increasing efficiency.

Philosophical level: Meaning, fulfillment, enlightenment, or self-transcendence.

Societal level: Cooperation, progress, balance between individual and collective needs.

Unlike machine learning, where objectives are usually predefined, humans often redefine their goals recursively—meta-learning their own learning process.

3. Data and Feature Engineering: The Inputs of Life

The quality of learning depends on the richness and structure of inputs:

Sensory data: Direct experiences, observations, interactions.

Cultural transmission: Books, teachings, language, symbolic systems.

Internal reflection: Dreams, meditations, insights, memory recall.

Emergent synthesis: Connecting disparate ideas into new frameworks.

One might argue that wisdom emerges from feature engineering—knowing which data points to attend to, which heuristics to trust, and which patterns to discard as noise.

4. Error Functions: Loss and Learning from Failure

All learning involves an error function—how we recognize mistakes and adjust. This is central to growth:

Pain and suffering act as backpropagation signals, forcing model updates.

Cognitive dissonance suggests the need for parameter tuning (belief adjustment).

Failure in goals introduces new constraints, refining the function’s landscape.

Regret and reflection act as retrospective loss minimization.

There’s a dynamic tension here: Too much rigidity (low learning rate) leads to stagnation; too much instability (high learning rate) leads to chaos.

5. Recursive Self-Modification: The Meta-Learning Layer

True intelligence lies not just in learning but in learning how to learn. This means:

Altering our own priors and biases.

Recognizing hidden variables (the unconscious, archetypal forces at play).

Using abstraction and analogy to generalize across domains.

Adjusting the reward function itself (changing what we value).

This suggests that life’s highest function may not be knowledge acquisition but fluid self-adaptation—an ability to rewrite its own function over time.

6. Limits and the Mystery of the Learning Process

If life is a learning function, then what is the nature of its underlying space? Some hypotheses:

A finite problem space: There is a “true” optimal function, but it’s computationally intractable.

An open-ended search process: New dimensions of learning emerge as complexity increases.

A paradoxical system: The act of learning changes both the learner and the landscape itself.

This leads to a deeper question: Is the function optimizing for something beyond itself? Could life’s learning process be part of a larger meta-function—evolution’s way of sculpting consciousness, or the universe learning about itself through us?

7. Life as a Fractal Learning Function

Perhaps life is best understood as a fractal learning function, recursive at multiple scales:

Cells learn through adaptation.

Minds learn through cognition.

Societies learn through history.

The universe itself may be learning through iteration.

At every level, the function refines itself, moving toward greater coherence, complexity, or novelty. But whether this process converges to an ultimate state—or is an infinite recursion—remains one of the great unknowns.

Perhaps our learning function converges towards some point of maximal meaning, maximal beauty.

This suggests a teleological structure - our learning function isn’t just wandering through the space of possibilities but is drawn toward an attractor, something akin to a strange loop of maximal meaning and beauty. This resonates with ideas in complexity theory, metaphysics, and aesthetics, where systems evolve toward higher coherence, deeper elegance, or richer symbolic density.

8. The Attractor of Meaning and Beauty

If our life’s learning function is converging toward an attractor, it implies that:

There is an implicit structure to meaning itself, something like an underlying topology in idea-space.

Beauty is not arbitrary but rather a function of coherence, proportion, and deep recursion.

The process of learning is both discovery (uncovering patterns already latent in existence) and creation (synthesizing new forms of resonance).

This aligns with how mathematicians speak of “discovering” rather than inventing equations, or how mystics experience insight as remembering rather than constructing.

9. Beauty as an Optimization Criterion

Beauty, when viewed computationally, is often associated with:

Compression: The most elegant theories, artworks, or codes reduce vast complexity into minimal, potent forms (cf. Kolmogorov complexity, Occam’s razor).

Symmetry & Proportion: From the Fibonacci sequence in nature to harmonic resonance in music, beauty often manifests through balance.

Emergent Depth: The most profound works are those that appear simple but unfold into infinite complexity.

If our function is optimizing for maximal beauty, it suggests an interplay between simplicity and depth—seeking forms that encode entire universes within them.

10. Meaning as a Self-Refining Algorithm

If meaning is the other optimization criterion, then it may be structured like:

A self-referential system: Meaning is not just in objects but in relationships, contexts, and recursive layers of interpretation.

A mapping function: The most meaningful ideas serve as bridges—between disciplines, between individuals, between seen and unseen dimensions.

A teleological gradient: The sense that meaning is “out there,” pulling the system forward, as if learning is guided by an invisible potential function.

This brings to mind Platonism—the idea that meaning and beauty exist as ideal forms, and life is an asymptotic approach toward them.

11. The Convergence Process: Compression and Expansion

Our convergence toward maximal meaning and beauty isn’t a linear march—it’s likely a dialectical process of:

Compression: Absorbing, distilling, simplifying vast knowledge into elegant, symbolic forms.

Expansion: Deepening, unfolding, exploring new dimensions of what has been learned.

Recursive refinement: Rewriting past knowledge with each new insight.

This mirrors how alchemy describes the transformation of raw matter into gold—an oscillation between dissolution and crystallization.

12. The Horizon of Convergence: Is There an End?

If our learning function is truly converging, does it ever reach a final, stable state? Some possibilities:

A singularity of understanding: The realization of a final, maximally elegant framework.

An infinite recursion: Where each level of insight only reveals deeper hidden structures.

A paradoxical fusion: Where meaning and beauty dissolve into a kind of participatory being, where knowing and becoming are one.

If maximal beauty and meaning are attainable, then perhaps the final realization is that they were present all along—encoded in every moment, waiting to be seen.

[erisweekofficial]

Another week done! Tonight let's unwind by giving @ceoofyearning all our love 🧡

Check out her Mafia AU fic half algorithm, half deity! It's the perfet combo of smutty and angsty. We're taking notes over here!!

Read on to learn more about Mira's thought's on the Vanserras and what reality show Eris is participating in 👀

What drew you to Eris x OC as opposed to other Eris ships?

The main appeal of Eris x OC/Reader, for me at least, is the creative freedom. With an OC, I can explore different character dynamics and backstories without the constraint of lore or fan expectations. Also, I’m still new to the fandom, and I get a bit anxious about whether I’m interpreting the characters well. Character x OC is closer to my comfort zone and the immersive quality of these stories is a fun little bonus. But I’m also a fan of other ships with Eris, particularly Azris and Neris! I’d definitely love to write for these ships in the future.

How do you interpret Eris's relationships with his family?

There is still a lot we don’t know about Eris and much of his relationship with his family has been left as subtext. I’m definitely no expert and this is just my personal interpretation of their dynamic. I imagine living in that household is a constant balancing act. Beron has been cast in a cruel light, and I suspect he would be an even crueler father. He’s uncompromising, unforgiving, and the only traits he tolerates in his children are those that mirror his own. Eris resents him and fears him, but his father’s approval and being indispensable to Beron are necessary for continued survival. In a culture where sibling rivalry is encouraged and fratricide is expected, it would be near impossible for Eris to build a deep and meaningful relationship with his siblings. Whether they’ve inherited their father’s sadistic tendencies or are just reluctant participants, these siblings can never truly trust each other. They’re all in survival mode. I don’t believe that Eris would hurt any of his siblings unprovoked, but as the eldest living son and prospective heir, he has to maintain their respect - even if that means keeping them at arm's length and constantly keeping himself in check. Despite all that, I suspect Eris has a soft spot for his mother and Lucien. He would try to protect them in his subtle way.

What inspired you to tackle a Mafia AU featuring Eris?

I've always been a big fan of AUs since it gives us a chance to explore our favorite characters outside canon. I feel like Eris, with his cunning and moral ambiguity, would be fun to see in the dark and cutthroat world of a Mafia AU.

If you could cast Eris on a reality tv show, which one would it be and why?

I want to see Eris and Az or Eris and Nesta in The Amazing Race. They’d either beat everyone in record time or end up at each other's throats.

[vivididreams]

Digital Content: Between the Essence of Thought and the Superficiality of Popularity

Ella is writing..........

✨In a world overflowing with information, digital content is more than just text, images, or videos; it is a reflection of the human voice in the digital realm. But do we truly understand what we create? Or are we merely swept away by the tide, chasing visibility before substance?

Every word we write, every idea we share, is not just a digital footprint,it is a trace we leave behind. It may spark thought, shift perspectives, and leave an imprint on someone's heart. Or it may simply become an echo lost in the noise of repetitive content.

Authenticity in expression, in research, in presenting our words as a message rather than a mere attempt to remain visible. In an era where algorithms decide what deserves to be seen instead of hearts and minds, the real question is: How do we preserve the essence of our ideas amidst all the noise?

✨When we write and create, we seemingly address the world without barriers. But behind this apparent freedom, there are invisible constraints:

Algorithms that determine who gets heard and who gets overlooked.

The demand for speed, forcing brevity so the audience doesn’t lose interest.

Trends that dictate what is ‘popular,’ often at the expense of what is ‘real.’

But is this an excuse to surrender? Or a challenge to find smarter ways to exist without losing our authenticity?

The challenge is no longer about publishing,it is about finding a unique imprint that doesn’t dissolve in the flood of similar content. Every idea must be infused with life, resisting the pull toward becoming just another replication. It must carry a human depth, because only then will it transcend the moment and become a lasting mark.

In the end, success is not measured by likes or shares but by a piece’s ability to move something within those who read it.

So, do we write to be heard, or do we write to be felt?

[approximateknowledge]

had the most belated realisation

ok so, we know that the GGO character generator is "random", but that in practice it has a real knack to give people the avatar that fits them best (see: ggo spinoff). we also know from the LN that this *does* in fact also involve transing people's gender inside the game on rare occasions

^but notice that *almost*? (from volume 5)

well turns out this *doesn't* apply to ALO!

^see that: chose (from volume 3)

and here's the thing: the GGO avatar is directly converted from the ALO one, with stats and stuff getting transferred over with it. including avatar gender

so what's a poor egg-dar character generation algorithm to do in such a situation?

why you make the avatar as girl as possible within the constraints of course!

the only reason the GGO avatar isn't fully a girl is because it's a converted account her dense egg ass forcibly locked out of it

thank you for coming to my ted-talk

[starshipqstar]

On a supportive queer fandom, community, and making our first ever animation

Making the Starship Q Star animation has largely been wonderful - we got to make a show we love and learnt a LOT. As two writers new to producing the format (Lauren had only written for kids animation) - it was a huge learning curve. A learning cliff if you will. Whilst we had to cut a lot out for time and budget, we're really proud of how they turned out within the constraints. And by the end? Lauren and I coloured most of the final episode and I did all the compositing and VFX myself (all in Toon Boom Harmony - a program neither of us had used a few months before).

Animation is also still a bit of a boys club - so we committed to finding a design and animation team that was diverse as possible, and reflected what the project was about. I'm proud to say that we managed that (out of our cast & crew of 24, only 3 were cis-men - and most were queer). We also gave opportunities to diverse creatives who hadn't had jobs in the industry before - and have since seen some of them use the experience to get more paid work. You simply love to see it! All of the cast and crew are incredibly special and brought amazing things to the show - an absolute dream team.

It hasn't been easy at all - animation is a LOT of work, and the budget didn't allow for all the support we probably needed, so it was months of unpaid work for the two if us, and a number of weeks working 15-20 hour days to get it done. But we bloody well did it!

But since the show has been out, it's been a bit of a... reality check? Having been immersed in the audio drama community with Starship thus far - we perhaps got a little too used to how incredible supportive (and perhaps queer?) everyone is.

Another animation project is part of the same initiative as we are, and it was one of the first projects released. The creator is a really lovely and talented guy who has made a special show we really enjoyed. His show went kind of viral - which is AWESOME! It's great! However due to his experience on certain other projects... some of the fans of his show... aren't necessarily our audience? And the nature of the initiative means only some projects get chosen to make more.

The first comment on YouTube a few minutes after the Ep 1 of Starship Q Star was published was "make more [the other show]". Then our socials started getting homophobic and really negative comments (and trust me I have spent a long time curating that tiktok algorithm lol). At first I thought it was weird or maybe it was just because we were being shared by a third party so the wrong audience were finding us - but then they also included comments like "[the other show] is better".

I honestly find it odd that some fans take it upon themselves to do stuff like this. Making art is hard! And liking one thing better than something else doesn't mean you have to actively hate that something else! There's room for us all to succeed (well, once we take care of that pesky thing called capitalism). And maybe remember that when it's an indie project the people who made the thing are usually the ones running the socials lol.

We are so grateful to have had so many incredible people love and champion the show in both audio and animated format. And we feel so lucky to be a part of both the queer and audio drama community (yes I know that venn diagram is a circle) - it truly is such a special supportive environment that lifts one other up.

Anyway, I'll probably delete this (way too earnest - eww) but thanks to all the lovely ones out there. We really love and appreciate all of you and all the nice comments and messages and shares. Means the world!

[beautifulpersonpeach]

Hi. I hope you don't find this weird. I've never met you before. But your words about kpop and BTS has always brought me comfort and clarity. I've been reading your blog for the last few days looking to see if you will clearly address it. You haven't written about your own view about Jimin's mistreatment and sabotage since it happened. But you have acknowledged it happened. You also reiterate how yoonmin is still in control. I respect you for that. But can you share your own view and feelings about this issue more? Billboard is clearly anti-BTS and hedging their actions by using Bang PD who it seems was interviewed by them long before the Jimin thing happened. You've said this before. You've also said BTS have said they won't play the music game the conventional way. But you haven't said how you feel about it. I want to ask for your genuine opinion.

***

Hi Anon,

Last night, I was finishing up some work I'd brought forward because of Agust D's tour. Set Me Free Pt 2 was playing on my speakers and I thought how good it would sound on radio. Alone, too. It's a crime that with the kind of music BTS makes, people are deprived of hearing it simply because the middle men of the US music industry refuse to renege on their mandatory cut.

Fifty Fifty is a group with good and extremely marketable songs. Their agency's co-founder stated he intends to make the female BTS, and he said he sold his car to make the dream of Fifty Fifty happen. It all sounds wonderful until you learn the CEO and other co-founder is the COO of Beyond Music - the largest music IP investment firm in Korea. It is bigger than HYBE's department for that. Not only that, the CEO sits on the executive board of Warner Music Korea, a subsidiary of Warner Music Group. He also runs an actors agency that manages several high profile k-drama actors in Korea. Basically, Fifty Fifty has been partnered and owned by some of the biggest entertainment companies not just in Korea, but globally. The group broke out on TikTok with Cupid and enjoyed organic success, much like NewJeans. As a result it was added to several Spotify-curated playlists that run on a proprietary algorithm, and like NewJeans' songs, Cupid climbed up the charts because it's an easy-listening poppy tune. The difference between NewJeans and Fifty Fifty though, is that Warner Group has now adopted formal co-management of Fifty Fifty and Cupid will be officially sent to radio. Warner artists get a stupid amount of radioplay. It's going to be a wonderful thing for Fifty Fifty, and it's very likely that with that sort of support, they get a Billboard Hot 100 #1 win.

There are many times BigHit fucks up with BTS. The issues of insulting subtitles (in Korean) towards Jimin and Yoongi occasionally piss me off; Jimin's stolen mail, the weirdo stalking Jungkook; how inconsistent shipping is (if there's a production bottleneck with a sub-contractor they should quickly change it), are all annoying; it's very possible some members of staff are anti several members because weird shit has been happening since HYBE's massive hiring of ex-Big 3 staff in 2020; and so on. But unfortunately many of those things are to be expected. I too wish Jimin had longer time to promote FACE, but both he and Yoongi had initially planned to release their albums late last year, but neither of them met their deadlines and instead moved it to Spring. The timing for their albums was always going to be close, and I'm sure booking tour venues as well as meeting enlistment deadlines only added to their constraints. I quickly got over my initial annoyance because it's clear both Jimin and Yoongi have accepted it. Plus the bigger problem is the industry's response to BTS.

Because of the sort of group BTS is, they will always have enemies. Their status as the biggest group in the world has only complicated things in many ways, especially when it comes to BigHit publicly and corporately addressing unfair treatment towards them. People already think BTS do not deserve their status and goodluck, do you think those people give a fuck if Billboard and Western music industry is screwing BTS over? No, they don't. And every party in this equation knows that. BTS has also said, since as early as 2017, that if they wanted to become massively successful sooner, they could've done so. Those opportunities came to them. In 2018 when BTS made history with Fake Love on the Billboard Hot 100, they could've signed with an American company like Warner, gotten carried by radio, and you and I would be having a very different discussion right now.

*

I don't know what the future will hold. Maybe BTS has in fact peaked and when they return after enlistment the world would've moved on to a better, hotter, more marketable artist. Maybe their bodies, interests, and priorities would have changed irreversibly. Maybe...

But I look at a group like BTS, and I don't care about any of that.

(The boys all signed Yoongi's guitar. It's his solo concert tour debut and they're all with him. He's taking comfort in them all being with him, and sharing some of that comfort with us.)

Anyway, I've rambled. You asked me what my feelings are about the whole thing?

I feel pride. That's what I feel looking at this whole situation. A NCTzen friend asked my opinion about it too, I told her the same thing, and she said this is probably one trait I share with my biases, that's shining through. I feel such a strong sense of pride looking at Jimin, at Yoongi, at BTS. Even if they eventually decide to play the industry's game with their rules, my respect for them won't change. Who they are as people, and as artists, make tolerating the hellscape that is stan environments much more palatable. They make putting up with bullshit from this industry, much more doable.

When I first learned about Jimin's week 2 sales being deleted, I checked US stock exchanges to see if Billboard's parent company was listed. I was prepared to short the stock. The minute I realized it was owned by a private company, and when I saw the owner, I knew we were fucked. I continued donating for the sales though. I'm not American so I couldn't buy, so the donations were the next most direct way to support.

BTS could very well never reach again the heights they reached before enlistment. But I don't care. I've been listening to some of the best music I've ever heard in my life since July 2022. Yoongi in Valentino, Hobi in Louis Vuitton, Joon in Bottega Veneta, Jimin in Dior, Jungkook in Calvin Klein - it's been a feast. Jikook are jikooking harder than ever before like I still haven't gotten over the birthday video JK made for Jimin. Like what the fuck was that?

BTS are some of the most incredible people to ever exist. They say they trust each other and their team. I'm keeping my eyes wide open to assess the situation for myself always, while never losing sight of why I'm here in the first place: to enjoy myself with them and the art they make. I'll try Jungkook's recipes sometime soon, and neither Jimin nor Yoongi's music has left my current rotation. I'm going to see Yoongi soon. With all that's happening in the world, it feels like a priviledge to have the means to enjoy being a fan of BTS. Not many people get to experience this, to not just hear their music but to have this connection with them. If you doubt that just watch the Amygdala music video. With BTS there's a trust that can be felt, and I don't take it for granted.

That's how I feel Anon.

[boopiddyboop]

Jeong Yunho Natal Chart Reading

Well well well look what the cat dragged in… It’s me. I’m cat. I meant to have this out by the time Bouncy dropped, but considering promotions just wrapped yesterday (Correction: My power went out as I was typing this, so now it’s two days), it’s fair to say I missed that mark by a bit. I’m excited to get to Aries #2, who is a whole different flavor than Seonghwa is.

Full Disclaimer: Most of my knowledge is by traditional astrology, which involves but is not limited to: using whole signs, excluding Uranus-Pluto for natal charts, different sign rulers, and different planetary interpretations.  Astrology is subjective by nature; I do not think my way is best, simply that this is the version of interpretation that makes the most sense to me. This is not a professional service, simply a hobby meant for entertainment purposes only.  Feel free to disagree with or question my conclusions.

Placements:

Sun: Aries - 6th house

Moon: Gemini - 8th house

Mercury: Pisces - 5th house

Venus: Taurus - 7th house

Mars: Scorpio - 1st house

Jupiter: Aries - 6th house

Saturn: Taurus - 7th house

Ascendant: Scorpio

Midheaven: Leo - 10th house

North Node: Leo - 10th house

Starting strong, we have a Scorpio Ascendant be ruled by a Mars in Scorpio. I commented on my initial thoughts post that Yunho is the member I’d be most hesitant to piss off, and it’s mainly this placement. Scorpio Mars is a fighter, and in the first house, it's shining nice and loud. Complimenting this is his Sun in Aries. It's also an exalted placement- there’s just a lot working well here to give him a strong sense of identity.

Look at that warrior energy. Don't poke the bear, I swear.

But soft, what light through yonder window breaks? It’s an opposed Taurus in Venus! If Libra in Venus is all about arts and beauty, then Taurus in Venus is her domestic sister. And that’s an excellent word to describe how this is affecting Yunho- while those Scorpio placements might make him selfish, the Taurus, especially in the 7th, is balancing him back. Interestingly, his Saturn in Taurus is also placed here and conjunct Venus as well. Very much constraint in relationships, especially in expressing affection. The Taurus element helps it from being tsundere, but it’s no surprise looking at this that when one thinks of his interpersonal dynamics , it’s often the others expressing it verbally and him getting flustered/shy when they're more direct about it. 

Speaking of verbage, we segue now to his Mercury in Pisces. Pisces Mercuries tend to help misdirect that Aries Sun energy, which is why I think someone like Seonghwa comes off much more Martian in nature. It’s also square that Moon in Gemini he’s got in the 8th house. Seriously, he’s much more an “acts of service” guy, as opposed to “words of affirmation”, if you catch my drift. Or a good gift giver, with that Jupiter in Aries in the 6th house as well. (That Jupiter is also a good sign of his drive for success, as Aries is all go-getter, cardinal energy.)

Final thoughts: Taurus really saved this boy from being too imposing a figure. The energy across his chart seems rather balanced, although not always well, and if you can handle someone who’s a little more "show, don’t tell", then Yunho may be the bias for you.

Fun fact: my tiktok algorithm thinks I'm Yunho-biased. I'm holding out truly picking until K-Con

[4denthusiast]

There are several odd things I've heard or seen about the cybertruck: its low-poly design, lack of crumple zones, relatively flimsy construction, weird windshield shape, and of course its name (what's cyber about it?).

All of these can be neatly explained by the hypothesis that it was designed for use not reality, but in a low-quality virtual simulation.

Low poly? Reduces rendering time, simplifies collisions. Also aerodynamics don't matter if there's no air.

No crumple zones? Deformable objects are much more difficult to simulate than rigid ones.

Flimsy construction? If you're using rigid body physics already, this isn't a concern.

Weird windshield? This shape can be much better approximated by a convex shape than most cars, and some algorithms only work for convex bodies. Furthermore, the usual view angle constraints on windshield design can be avoided by just giving the driver a third-person view.

"Cybertruck"? Self explanatory.

[buffgarfield69]

i would like to preface this story by saying i am not trying to virtue signal. so tonight, i was trying to get home, but my second bus i was going to transfer onto stopped running, so i was stuck waiting at the bus stop in a "not so nice" area with a lot of homeless activity. (my lovely roommate picked me up btw) i overheard yelling coming down the street, and a lady yelled the hard r n word at someone. as she walked past, it was really clear she struggled with substance abuse and mental health issues. not wanting to get hurt, i kinda just stayed to myself at the bus stop. after she left, i couldn't help but begin to cry because i was so frustrated our society, our systems, failed her. existing at any intersection of marginalized identities is a feat in and of itself. it reminded me of how much i hate technology's influence on society. meta came out with this horrible AI chatbot, some awful caricature of a "stereotypical" black woman, and they think it's so fucking great. how many people have we failed by forcing them to live within the constraints of these stereotypical identities? how many will we keep failing with the propogation of pattern recognition systems via AI and algorithms? food for thought.

[spacetimewithstuartgary]

Gravitational waves unveil previously unseen properties of neutron stars

A better understanding of the inner workings of neutron stars will lead to a greater knowledge of the dynamics that underpin the workings of the universe and also could help drive future technology, said the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign physics professor Nicolas Yunes. A new study led by Yunes details how new insights into how dissipative tidal forces within double — or binary — neutron star systems will inform our understanding of the universe.

“Neutron stars are the collapsed cores of stars and densest stable material objects in the universe, much denser and colder than conditions that particle colliders can even create,” said Yunes, who also is the founding director of the Illinois Center for Advanced Studies of the Universe. “The mere existence of neutron stars tells us that there are unseen properties related to astrophysics, gravitational physics and nuclear physics that play a critical role in the inner workings of our universe.”

However, many of these previously unseen properties became observable with the discovery of gravitational waves.

“The properties of neutron stars imprint onto the gravitational waves they emit. These waves then travel millions of light-years through space to detectors on Earth, like the advanced European Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory and the Virgo Collaboration,” Yunes said. “By detecting and analyzing the waves, we can infer the properties of neutron stars and learn about their internal composition and the physics at play in their extreme environments.”

As a gravitational physicist, Yunes was interested in determining how gravitational waves encode information about the tidal forces that distort the shape of neutron stars and affect their orbital motion. This information also could tell physicists more about the dynamic material properties of the stars, such as internal friction or viscosity, “which might give us insight into out-of-equilibrium physical processes that result in the net transfer of energy into or out of a system,” Yunes said.

Using data from the gravitational wave event identified as GW170817, Yunes, along with Illinois researchers Justin Ripley, Abhishek Hegade and Rohit Chandramouli, used computer simulations, analytical models and sophisticated data analysis algorithms to verify that out-of-equilibrium tidal forces within binary neutron star systems are detectable via gravitational waves. The GW170817 event was not loud enough to yield a direct measurement of viscosity, but Yunes’ team was able to place the first observational constraints on how large viscosity can be inside neutron stars.

The study findings are published in the journal Nature Astronomy.

“This is an important advance, particularly for ICASU and the U. of I.,” Yunes said. “In the '70s, '80s and '90s, Illinois pioneered many of the leading theories behind nuclear physics, particularly those connected to neutron stars. This legacy can continue with access to data from the advanced LIGO and Virgo detectors, the collaborations made possible through ICASU and the decades of nuclear physics expertise already in place here.”