#I'll add the source links in a second

[underthehedge]

Quality birds here. Bad quality. If I may suggest some additional lesser known terrible birds because I love this subject:

Magpie goose - it's a very basal member of the duck, swan and goose family and it has unwebbed feet that look Upsetting.

(source)

Wattled brush-turkey - a relative of the Australian brush-turkey, there's nothing wrong with this bird's head apart from everything. But it's meant to look like that. Fun fact, I couldn't choose a single worst photo of one of these, google it and see!

(source)

Horned guan - why? The proportions, the crest, the everything, just bad.

(source)

bonus upsetting horned guan photo

(source)

Northern shoveller - a duck found across northern Eurasia and America. Bad to look at because of the proportions. Genus name is Spatula though, which is fun.

(source)

Special mention to crested guineafowl and lesser flamingos for just looking fucking weird.

top five most fucked up looking birds imaginable. just absolutely thrashed. complete garbage cans with wings

This was a ton of fun and the result of an hour long phone call with @elwingflight, narrowing down the Worst Birds. We’ve tried to skip over the most obvious selections (Ocellated Turkey, Jabirou, Shoebill, all vultures, Marabou Stork, Frogmouths, and Potoos) for some truly underrated garbage creatures. As usual, sources are linked:

1. Helmeted Hornbill

2. Red-naped Ibis

3. Helmeted Friarbird

4. Capuchinbird

5. Horned Screamer

[backmarkerr]

please....can u speak on the conspiracy

So the conspiracy (more like a theory, really) is that Kimi was pushed out of the team starting in 2008 to make way for Fernando, who was more appealing to the big sponsor coming in. Before you click out thinking "Max, that's stupid, no team would throw a championship for a sponsor." I agree! But keep in mind that they didn't throw the championship, they fully expected to win the WDC with Felipe (and almost did) and did in fact win the WCC in 2008 with Felipe and Kimi despite everything. But there were really suspicious things going on. So with that in mind...

It's 2008. Kimi has just won Malaysia, the second race of the season. Three days after his win, there's this:

.

Ok, kinda weird, but whatever. F1 runs on rumours, right? Suggesting that Kimi might retire when he's doing so well is silly. And in the article they seem to be pretty ambivalent over whether it would be Felipe or Kimi to leave.

Fast forward to Spain two races later. Kimi scores his second win of the season and takes the championship lead. The season is shaping up pretty well for the defence of the title, you’d think this would be a good time for him, but again, the story du jour is Ferrari wanting Alonso in Kimi’s seat for 2009.

[x] I guess now we know at least Massa's seat is secure...?

If you’re like me, that sounds stupid. The reigning champion just won the last GP and his contract runs until the end of 2010, so this media narrative makes no sense. Something pretty catastrophic would have to happen for that to ever come to fruition, right?

So anyway, he gets a first row start in Monaco. Great, that's almost a surefire win/points, right? Wrong, he got a drive-through penalty due to the team not fitting the wheels to the car on time before the race start. Not a great race and he ends up outside of the points. Lewis is now ahead in the WDC by 3 points. Not really a disaster, but...

[x] what on earth...

[x] again the talk of retirement.... I mean, it's weird, right?

Zero points in Canada due to being rear-ended in the pitlane, which the team can’t control. Then he’s back to being neck to neck with his teammate and Lewis by the time the British GP is done in early July, with all three drivers on 48 points. Good news, right? Just gotta stay on track and not fuck it up somehow.

[x] sigh... (this one's a little harder to source as it was printed media, but I've seen this exact interview quoted in different pages)

So anyway, they change his front suspension for the next race in Germany. Kimi has always been very sensitive to changes in the car, so he knew something was wrong. Ferrari (via Michael, who was then head of development) say he's just not adapting well to the upgrades. Maybe, sure, but why aren't you bringing upgrades that are geared towards your world champion?

(an interesting remark from Mark Hughes here if you scroll down to the comments, which adds weight to Kimi not being listened to when it came to car development in 2008)

Bar a podium in Hungary, Kimi scores 0 points in 4 out of the next 5 races. It takes until either Monza or Singapore (hello crashgate!) for Ferrari to put his suspension back as it was.

He proceeds to get 3 podiums in the remaining 3 races but it’s not enough to catch up. By Singapore he was already 27 points behind his teammate (reminder this is the old points system) and very much expected to play the supporting role. In the penultimate race in China he very obviously gave up P2 to his teammate:

"I know what the team expects." [x] / [x]

Yet the narrative in the media and from Ferrari themselves is that his motivation is bad and he's not assertive. It was so pervasive that to this day people still parrot it and say he just didn’t care after 2007, despite Kimi always stating he was fully committed and clearly getting annoyed whenever journalists asked about his motivation even years later.

Montezemolo at the end of 2008 even 'joked' that "Kimi in the recent races was replaced two or three times by a friend, but next year he'll be back." Basically saying that Kimi wasn't really present, you know? An interesting thing to say when this absent driver scored 18 points in the last 3 races (three consecutive P3s), while the one who was amazing and had the team's full backing scored 20 (P7, P2, P1).

A whole 2 points' difference, maybe someone should hire that "friend"...

So why did they do this?

Well, the theory is that Santander (I promise this isn’t like the dumb Sainztander takes) wanted a Spanish-Brazilian lineup due to financial interests (Spanish bank, big market in South America with a looming IPO in Brazil), so Kimi was basically being pressured out of the team from early 2008 onwards. Like I said at the start, the team weren’t really throwing away 2008, as they expected to win the WCC with both drivers (they did) and Massa to be able to win the WDC, which would of course be beneficial for their new sponsor. And he almost did. Almost.

[x] they're not in charge of driver selection but this specific driver line-up would good for them. (this archived copy of the article is from 2010, but the text makes it clear it's from 2009)

Of course at this point we have to wonder if a team like Ferrari would bow down to a sponsor's demands. I can't tell you what the internal considerations were or how much money was on the line, but it's also not like Santander were telling them to get rid of Kimi for a bad driver, you know? Fernando is a great driver, so from Ferrari's perspective they were just trading a great driver for another great driver who also appealed to this huge sponsor, and an Alonso-Massa line-up would be solid. And with the previous talk that Ferrari and Alonso had already inked a deal in 2008... It's just difficult to believe there isn't a grain of truth here.

So the alleged initial plan of having Alonso in 2009 was foiled when Kimi activated the renewal option in his contract. It was then that he was bought out of his last year (apparently paid for by Santander).

[from the book The Unknown Kimi Raikkonen]

As we can see, by the end Kimi was also fed up with what was going on, especially people pointing the finger at him and at his motivation, and his frustration is very clear in interviews like here at 2.35 and here:

Publicly, Ferrari said they wanted someone more in line with how Michael used to be (ironic since Montezemolo allegedly didn’t like how Michael made the team his), who could communicate with the team and give better feedback (ironic when Todt, Dyer, Stella and others said Kimi was very clear and precise.) Kimi himself has always stated that he wasn’t the issue, that his motivation was never lacking and that the real reason he was pushed out was politics and money.

[x]

[x]

If it had only been the mechanical stuff, I’d be willing to chalk it up to just bad luck and incompetence. Shit happens. But with all the rumours around it even before things went bad on the track and Kimi stating that his work and performance weren't the reason he was let go it becomes impossible for me to think there wasn’t an actual push going on to replace him.

Hell, even famed Ferrari fanboy Sebastian Vettel didn't think it was realistic for Kimi to return to Ferrary in 2014 precisely because Kimi isn't one for "bullshit" and "politics". Why would he choose to say that specifically? And according to Finnish media Kimi’s 2014 Ferrari negotiations included Montezemolo personally apologising to him. Now why would he apologise if they hadn’t done something wrong?

Personally I think Kimi's "certain people did certain things" refers to this. He never trashed anyone and always said he had no ill-feelings. And I believe him. But it doesn't mean nothing happened, lest we forget how well he handled Lotus not paying him.

The thing that really bothers me is that Kimi got the reputation for having low motivation and not caring about what he was doing (I heard that take just last month from an F1 youtuber, how Fernando was hired in 2010 because Kimi had mentally checked out 🙄), when obviously someone who wasn’t motivated and didn’t care would have simply called it quits under these circumstances. Instead he got P3 in the standings in 2008 (I know he’s talented, but he must have been trying at least a little), trained hard to lose enough weight to use KERS in 2009 (why would he do that if he didn’t care) and took the team’s only win that year despite the car being shit. Interestingly, pundits acknowledged his good performance complicated things when it came to Ferrari’s rumoured hiring of Alonso. So imagine how much more complicated things would have been had Kimi done better in 2008?

Anyway, this is long, but if you want something longer then I definitely recommend this post here. You might not agree completely with the original authors (there are parts where I wish there was more info), but I think they offer a lot of good research and information regarding the overall situation back in 2008/2009, and it's a good jump-off point for your own research.

But yeah. 2008 could have been everything. Or at least better.

[holidayking102]

CHRISTMAUS 2024 SUBMISSIONS

Today I am proud to announce ChristmAUs 2024! As you may have seen earlier, I have taken the reigns of ChristmAUs from @fmsdraws / @ut-poppy-askblog (with his permission). Unfortunately, I can not make a game like ChristmAUs 2023 (which you should really play Link here)! However, I do have a big plan for ChristmAUs 2024, and that plan is: Animated Christmas Card!

That's right! Unlike most of the other ChristmAUs collabs, this one shall be animated! Give your AU characters animations to bring them to life for all to see! Of course, animation is a hard, time consuming process. But with over 2 months to work, and with the simple rules on how the characters should be animated, it shouldn't be too difficult to get your character in in time!

RULES: *Submissions are open until Sunday, December 8th, 12 AM! Meaning that they are open through out December 7th and then they close! *Submissions must be in the style of Undertale and Deltarune! *No limit on the amount of characters you can submit, but I may ask you to slow down if I feel you are submitting too many. *The AU character(s) you submit must come from a publicly revealed AU that must have some content behind them other then this ChristmAUs. This includes: Art, Audio, Comic, Animation, Photography, Game, Sprites, Written Sources, or any combination of them. *No content that would be 18+. This is a family-friendly ChristmAUs! *No content that would be harmful or hurtful to anyone. ChristmAUs should be a joyous time, and hate and harm have no place in it. *No content that would violate the TOS of the majority of websites, including Youtube, Reddit and Tumblr. *You must have permission to submit the character, if you did not create them yourself! (UT and DR canon characters excluded; just link UT or DR for them.) Submission Rules: 1: Make sure you've read all the rules! 2: Give your Handle; how you want to be credited in the public. I do not accept anonymous contributions! 3: Share your characters name(s) and AU(s), along with link to the AU/those AUs! 4: Share your characters sheet(s); this should include every frame individually used for the animation, and I will add them in myself. Character Sheets should be 1x1 (meaning a pixel is just 1 pixel). Animations should be based on 12 Frames Per Second and Frames should be based on Multiples of 6! (6, 12, 18, etc.) 5: Share where you wish for your character(s) to be placed on the map. Keep in mind that while I will try to place them where you wish, I may move them slightly to fit the environment better. 6: Optionally, if you wish, include a GIF of the animation so that I can get an idea of how they should look in action! 7: Additionally, for those who can't animate, or for those who want to go above and beyond, there are also opportunities to add static content to ChristmAUs. These include: +Ornaments (20x20 max) +Gifts (30x30 max) +Table Set Pieces (45x45 max, 13 Max) +Pictures (30x18 or 17x18, 15 Max) 8: Characters should not be placed in areas that obviously would not fit them; like a massive character in a tiny area, for instance. 9: No walking animations, or animations that move characters from their standing point. This is to ensure there's no collisions and for a maximum amount of characters on the map. 10: All animations should loop into themselves. No animations should simply end. 11: All art submissions should include your handle/credit name!

SUBMISSION LINK:

I hope everyone has fun with this ChristmAUs! And I hope doing it in animated form works wonderfully for everyone! One last shout out to @mickonline1 for his wonderful ChristmAUs tree submission! I'll see you again through out the month, and ChristmAUs will see you on Christmas!

[scuderiabutch]

What to ask for at a barber's shop, a butch guide

As promised, here's the ultimate butch guide to what to ask to your barber when asking for a specific haircut! A few premises: I'm not a barber, this means that everything you'll find in this post is purely based on my personal experience. If you're a barber and you see I explained something wrong, please correct me! I'll update the post asap. Furthermore, I won't cover up haircuts for black folks, because I'm not an expert on that topic, however I would love to link external and trustable resources on that so If any of you has them let me know and I'll add them! My intent is helping as many butches and studs as possible (: Second thing is that this post is more about short and really short haircuts, I won't talk about wolfcuts, middle part, mullets, however if you want I can make a post about them if requested! I think this is all I had to say, so let's start!

When visiting a barber, it’s important to know how to articulate what you want to ensure you leave with the perfect haircut. Understanding the difference between taper and fade, as well as the most common hairstyles that pair with them, can help you communicate effectively with your barber. Here’s what you need to know:

Understanding the Basics: Taper vs. Fade

Taper and fade haircuts are versatile and can be paired with various hairstyles, depending on the desired look. The terms "fade" and "taper" are often used interchangeably, but they refer to different haircut techniques:

Taper:

Subtle Transition: A taper gradually reduces the length of hair from the top down to the sides and back, but the change is subtle. When talking about "tapers," it's important to know that they can vary in style depending on how subtle or pronounced the transition is, where it begins, and how it complements the overall hairstyle.

Low Taper: The low taper starts lower on the head, around the ears or just above them, and gradually shortens down to the neckline. It offers a gentle, natural transition that’s less noticeable than other tapers

Mid Taper: A mid taper falls between the low and high taper, starting around the middle of the head. It offers a balance between subtlety and definition.

High Taper: The high taper begins much higher up on the head, typically around the temples. The hair shortens more quickly as it moves downward.

Tapers, source: Jimmythehairdresser on Tiktok

Fade:

Bold Contrast: A fade, on the other hand, involves a more noticeable transition where the hair gradually becomes shorter as you move down the head, often going down to the skin. As for the Taper, the fade starts at varying levels as well (low, mid, or high) depending on your preference.

Low Fade: The fade starts low on the head, just above the ears and around the nape of the neck.

Mid Fade: The mid fade starts slightly higher than the low fade, around the temple level.

High Fade: The fade begins high on the head, around the temples or forehead.

Fades, source: jimmythehairdresser on Tiktok

Bonus Fades:

Burst Fade: The burst fade creates a circular fade around the ear, leaving the hair longer at the nape. It resembles a "burst" around the ear, with the fade extending outwards.

Drop Fade: The drop fade follows the natural curvature of the head, "dropping" behind the ears towards the nape of the neck. It creates a more rounded silhouette compared to the straight line of a traditional fade.

The main difference between a fade and a taper is that the taper requires less maintenance. In order to keep the fade clean and neat you must go to the baber shop every two or three weeks.

Common Hairstyles to Pair with Tapers and Fades:

Once you’ve decided between a taper or a fade, the next step is choosing a style for the top. Here are some popular options:

French Crop: is a classic and timeless men's hairstyle characterized by short hair on the sides and back, with slightly longer hair on top that is usually styled forward. The defining feature of a French crop is its fringe (bangs), which is cut straight across the forehead or slightly textured, giving it a clean look.

Edgar: the most defining characteristic of the Edgar cut is its blunt, straight-across fringe (bangs). The fringe is cut very short and is typically styled straight down across the forehead. The sides and back are usually kept very short, often with a high fade or a sharp taper that contrasts significantly with the longer hair on top.

Textured Fringe: is a type of hairstyle where the bangs (fringe) are cut and styled to have a messy, layered, or choppy appearance, rather than lying flat or being uniformly cut. This style adds depth and movement to the hair. Sometimes is also referred as "fluffy" fringe on Tiktok.

Faux Mohawk: is a modern and versatile hairstyle that mimics the look of a traditional mohawk but is less extreme. Instead of shaving the sides completely as with a classic mohawk, the sides of the hair are kept shorter but not shaved, and the hair on top is styled to create the appearance of a mohawk.

Side Part: is a classic and timeless masculine's hairstyle that features a distinct parting on one side of the head, based on personal preferences or the natural hair grow pattern. The side part can be combined with different types of fades or taper with longer hair on top.

Slick Back: The defining feature of the slick back is that the hair is combed straight back from the forehead towards the back of the head. The goal is to create a smooth, uniform flow of hair. To achieve the slicked-back look, styling products like pomade, gel, or wax are typically used. The sides can be kept short with a fade or taper, creating a contrast with the longer hair on top.

Fringe Down: A fringe down hairstyle refers to a look where the bangs, or fringe, are styled to fall naturally down onto the forehead, rather than being swept to the side or styled upwards. The fringe can be cut in various lengths, from just grazing the eyebrows to longer, covering the forehead. The fringe down look can be combined with various fades, tapers or even longer sides, depending on the overall desired style.

Two Blocks: The two-block haircut is a hairstyle known for its distinct structure, featuring two contrasting sections of hair: a longer top section and significantly shorter sides and back. The style is versatile, easy to maintain, and can be adapted to suit various hair types and face shapes.

Styling:

When it comes to hairstyling, there are several key products that are commonly used to achieve different looks and hold styles in place. Each product has its own unique properties, making it suitable for specific hair types and desired outcomes. Here’s a breakdown of the most common styling products:

Pomade: Designed for more combed looks, such as side parts. It will give your hair a varied degree of shine and hold depending on the strength of pomade used. Pomade should be applied before you start styling your hair. It helps to shape and define the hair, making it easier to achieve your desired look by using a comb.

Wax: Hair wax is one of the most versatile hair styling products. Basically there are two types of hair wax, water based ones and oil based. It can give you a matte or high shine finish, depending on that.

Clay: Compared to Wax, Clay is usually dryer and a bit more stiff compared to a regular hair wax and that is what gives the product its hold and matte finish. For people with thinner hair a hair clay can be an option for some more volume when you apply it in damp hair before blow-drying.

Gel: Hair gel is somewhat similar to water based pomades. Both are relatively wet products, but hair gel is slightly wetter. The downside is that it is not very versatile. Furthermore, cheap hair gels are pretty chemically and they can leave white flakes in your hair when the product dries and  you touch it too much.

Styling Powder: is a product you apply directly at your roots and then you piece it into your hair. This kind of product is great when you like to get some more volume in your hair and make it appear thicker and fuller. You hair will get more body, especially when you add it to your roots directly. Compared to other styling products, you need to apply them on already dry hair.

Sea Salt Spry: Sea salt spray mimics the effect of ocean water on hair, adding texture and volume for a beachy, tousled look. It’s ideal for creating casual, undone styles with a matte finish. It’s particularly popular for enhancing natural waves and curls.

Some final small tips:

When talking to a barber, clear communication is key to getting the hairstyle you want. Here are some final practical tips to help ensure you and your barber are on the same page:

Show a Picture: If you have a specific look in mind, showing a picture can be incredibly helpful, even better if it's a 360 video.

Ask for Advice: Your barber is an expert, so if you’re unsure, ask for their recommendations based on your hair type and face shape.

Mention Your Styling Routine: Let your barber know how much time you spend on your hair daily and what products you use. This helps in choosing a cut that fits your styling routine and maintenance preferences. Furthermore, if you have a specific lifestyle (e.g., active, formal work environment), let your barber know. This information helps them recommend a style that fits your day-to-day life.

Ask About Maintenance: Inquire about how often you should get the haircut maintained and any specific care instructions. This ensures you know how to keep your style looking its best.

Provide Feedback: If you notice something you don’t like during the haircut, give feedback politely and promptly. It’s easier for the barber to make changes if they’re aware of your concerns early on.

This is it, hope it can be helpful for some of you guys!

[saintarmand]

gonna post some screenshots from a particular user in the vampterview community and the users liking their garbage posts, just in case some of you haven't heard. should become obvious why i'm highly suspicious of anyone who interacts with any of these users.

please just read the posts. sorry i'm not providing image descriptions, please dm me if you need them and i'll add them when i can!

the first post is just one example one of many on this blog, the second one might seem innocuous if you see it on your own but in combination with the others, not so much. please pay attention to the people liking these.

then we have an anon complimenting the wisdom and maturity of this person, who then replied with several paragraphs:

and got likes from two of the same users and two others.

then they self reblogged one of the posts from earlier and continued:

obviously this last post is the most egregious, and not everyone is bold enough to press like knowing that likes are public and could affect their reputation in the fandom. but i am going to assume that the people liking the other posts, which weren't all in public tags, are this person's followers and have seen all the other posts and believe this kinda shit is acceptable. and that speaks volumes about them as people.

i'm personally not going to assume that everyone who's ever liked or reblogged from any of these users did it knowing what kind of people they are (i didn't always know that either, and have probably reblogged from at least one of them before i did) but i am highly suspicious of anyone reblogging from them or interacting with them in a friendly way, and if i see people i follow doing that, i am going to unfollow unless i have very good reason to believe they genuinely had no idea, in which case i will message first.

i hope none of my followers need me to actually explain why what they're saying is absolute garbage but if you genuinely don't get the problem, dm me and i can find you some links about racism 101 i guess

EDIT/UPDATE:

someone asks nalyra what's going on

she later adds this, linking to a post that links back to this very post you're reading right now

track you UNliking something? GIRL WHY DID YOU LIKE IT IN THE FIRST PLACE?

i do love how if you read this and don't bother clicking the link she sounds kind of reasonable, and even like she's taking accountability (she's not denying anything! she's linking to a source so people can judge for themselves!) just not SO much accountability that she'll actually say what she did. gotta click those links to find out, and let's face it, the majority of the people who see her post are simply going to assume she's being unfairly targeted again. i mean, she posts about it all the time! why bother even checking, it's not like she would ever link to, say, screenshots of her liking a post that says affirmative action is the only system of oppression based on race and anti-white racism is real

EDIT #2:

another screenshot i forgot to include from the same day of nalyra liking another untagged post from cosmic

[beatingdrumspouringwine]

Personal Dionysian Ritual

This is the ritual form I use for my Sunday worship (or, in this case, first-day-of-Anthesteria worship). I think this may hit closer to Catholic or Christian formats than historic Greek pagan ritual formats, at least if the book Hellenic Polytheism - Household Worship is to be believed. But this format is just a bit easier on me in terms of supplies, time, and ability to keep it semi-covert. I don't have the ability to light fires in my current space, but when I do, I usually include a prayer to Hestia at the beginning and end.

Dionysian Ritual (for Sundays) (Usually) (It's not set in stone)

Approach the altar or worship space. With you, there must be:

A bowl or other vessel filled with water (can be small).

Optionally, you may have:

Wine

Barley

Sea salt

Divination tools (I prefer tarot, or Sappho/Homeromanteions when I can get my hands on it).

A candle or other source of heat/light/incense (smells, basically)

Place the bowl of water either in front of your statue of Dionysos, or, if no statue is available, in a central spot in your space of worship. The wine and extra supplies may be placed anywhere else. Begin:

Orphic Hymn to Dionysos (Apostolos N. Athanassakis translation) I call upon loud-roaring and reveling Dionysos, primeval, two-natured, Thrice-born, Bacchic Lord, savage, ineffable, two-horned and two-shaped. Ivy-covered, bull-faced, warlike, howling, pure, You take raw flesh, You have triennial feasts, wrapped in foliage, decked in grape clusters. Resourceful Eubouleus, immortal God sired by Zeus when He mated with Persephone in unspeakable union, Harken to my voice, O blessed one, and with your fair-girdled nurses, Breathe on me in spirit of perfect kindness.

After the Orphic hymn, consecrate the bowl of water to make khernips. You may add salt if desired.

Dionysian Khernips Prayer (In between each verse of the Khernips Prayer, I move from just having the bowl on the altar, to holding the sides of the bowl, to holding the bowl up for the last verse.)

After the Khernips Prayer, I pray to Hagios as I actually ritually wash myself with the newly made khernips.

Hagios (For every verse of Hagios, I start with washing my face, then move to washing my hands, and finally sprinkle khernips on my feet, especially if I'm planning on dancing. This isn't actual washing, but more like lightly splashing water on the different parts of me that I wash.)

After Hagios, if there is wine, then I consecrate that, which I'll link my prayer for below. If there isn't, then I libate clean water (will be writing a prayer for that at some point soon), and move on to the next part of the ritual.

Wine Consecration to Dionysos (From the part where I say "This is the gift that..." through to "on the slopes of Mount Kithairon", I raise the wine towards my statue Dionysos as though toasting Him, which is inspired by art showing Maenads serving Dionysos wine.)

After the wine consecration, I pour out a libation of wine to Dionysos while praying my prayer to Dionysos Theoinos:

Theoinos

After the prayer to Theoinos, whatever happens next is up to you. If I'm doing any divination, I'll say a prayer to Dionysos Mantis before going ahead with it. Otherwise, I may dance, or talk about my day, or simply do prayer after prayer after prayer until I've kind of exhausted my talking point. Since most of my rituals are done at night, however, the consistent part is frequently the end, which is my second prayer to Dionysos Nyktelios:

Nyktelios II

And there you have it! I definitely finished this a bit later than I was planning, but that's okay - I got it out, and that's all that matters! I hope everyone has a good night and a beautiful Anthesteria, and that this was helpful to some degree :)

[gatheredfates]

Good morning all, happy Sunday! 🌸 I am pleased to announce there are a couple of resources added to Sea's Community Compendium for XIV Creatives. A huge thank you to some of the members in SEAFLOOR who helped in their sourcing!

As of today (05/19), you can find the following new additions:

LORE

Hingan Alphabet — Compiled and translated by @forever-halone, this guide assists in the understanding of the Hingan alphabet as a derivative of Hiragana and how it can be used for Far Eastern characters.

MISC

A Fisher's Guide to Eorzea — An absolutely massive guide on how to catch every single fish in Eorzea (and beyond!), created by @fisherfruity.

Fonts Of Etheirys — Created by bulletbill4l on Reddit, this font transforms your text into its Eorzean or Hingan equivalent, depending on what language you use!

Want to submit? You can either fill out the google form here, send me an ask with the relevant information contained on the Compendium, or join my Discord at SEAFLOOR (21+ only)! If you'd like more information about my server, you can click through to this handy-dandy post.

Is my space suitable for the Compendium? Most of the time, yes! Below the read more is some more information/stipulations. Again, all accessible on the document! 🌻

Below are the following things I do not accept on the Compendium:

Personal/Single-Character LFC ads.

Content intended for or can be used for bullying, harassment and OOC gossip. E.g. ‘Secrets’ blogs, receipts, callout posts, etc. This does not include in-character tabloid blogs used to generate RP.

Communities that do not have an RP/writing element (large-scale exempt).

Anything I find personally distasteful or goes against the spirit of this project.

Common-sense rule applies.

FAQ.

I want to put my community on the compendium but we have an application process. Is this okay?

Yes! Just note somewhere in your application that's a requirement. The only thing that is mandatory for the Compendium is that you must be open to new members or have a public-facing/accessible facet. There's no point advertising a community if no one can join it in some way!

I want to put my community on the compendium but I only have x number of members —

Also totally okay! People don't start with large communities. Activity is a must but, whether your server has two or two thousand members, if you're looking for new people to join, I'd love to help you find people.

I want to put my community on the compendium but I worry its too niche?

Okay, and? If your Eorzean Fishing Alliance has four members but you roleplay every second weekend, I still want to know about it.

What resources/communities can I add if I'm not the owner of them?

Mutual consent is extremely important to me, so anything that isn't a large-scale community OR a publicly accessible resource must be endorsed by the owner/admin/moderators in order to be added to the compendium. I operate under the assumption that a resource posted to a public space (tumblr, googledocs, youtube, etc) is open to all. A large-scale community is one with a significant member count or openly advertises itself as being accessible to everyone for whatever purpose it serves. If in doubt, please get in touch with me. I'm happy to contact your community owners for you!

How active does a community need to be?

If you find a community has not been active in about two/three months, send me a message and I'll take a look at it. Communities have ebbs and flows, especially event spaces that may take hiatuses depending on member interest/life events. I'm not strict in my implementation provided a space isn't dead. If a link or anything is broken, absolutely contact me about that.

I have [insert a question not stated here]?

No drama! Send me an ask or use the #Compendium channel in my Discord!

[mcytrecursive]

How DO I sign up for this?

We have had to squeeze the sign-up form until it screams to make this work, so buckle in. Here is an example of how to sign up on Ao3 for the recursive exchange, step by step.

I have an idea for a side story for Etho and Iskall in This Is About A Stuffed Bird, by bee_4. So, to start with— that's a hermitcraft fic.

So I select Hermitcraft on the Fandoms part of the sign-up. Note that as we add more fandoms to the list, potentially this will become a drop-down menu instead of checklists. You still select the fandom you want in the same way.

Next is Gift Style. We're using the "characters" tab for that one.

I'm good with my gift being an art, a fic, or a web weave, so I can select all three of these! If I only wanted a fic, or an art, I would only select one.

Next is the Relationship tab, which we're using for characters (told you that we were having to squeeze the signup form until it screamed).

This is a drop-down menu, and I select the characters I want— in this case, Iskall and Ethoslab. Note that possibly I will only match on one character, as we couldn't do relationship matching this time, so I try to keep that in mind when it comes to my requests!

Next is Additional Tags, which is where I select the fic that I'm actually asking for a gift about! In the future, as more fics are added, this will be a dropdown menu, but right now it's tickboxes.

Next is categories. This is our shipping on-off switch.

I've decided that I am good with shipping or not with this one, so I've selected BOTH Gen and M/M. But now that I'm on the page I'm like "I wouldn't mind it if they were lesbians either" so I have selected F/F as well.

Next is rating, which is the NSFW on-off switch. I'm good with smut or no smut, so I've selected both options.

If I wanted no smut whatsoever I could do just Gen (which could also lead to a Mature or Teen work, but excludes E-rated work), and if I definitely wanted there to be dicks out I could select only Explicit.

Then we get to the major archive warnings. This is where you opt-in to archive warnings— it doesn't mean I will necessarily get them, but I'm okay with them! The matching says you might get any one of the things you select here.

Given the source material, I'm opting into Violence and Death as options, and I'm also selecting no warnings apply to show that I'm also good with no major archive warnings!

Now on to the actual request!

There's a space where I could link a letter if I wanted to go into detail with my request, but I think I can fit it in the text box today! I had to put my DNW on the Ao3, and because I said I was open to smut I included a NSFW DNW.

Okay, on to request two.

As you can see, for request two I'm doing a DSMP fic this time, and I specifically want art or web weaves! I selected emerald duo, and the fic I want. And I just want this one to be no shipping, so I only selected Gen for the type of relationship.

I opted out of explicit for this one, and I did say graphic violence was okay OR no archive warnings apply.

On to request three!

This is much like request two, except I only want fic for this one! But it's Dream SMP, Fic requested, the characters I want (techbur twins), the fic I want (catbag), I want it to be Gen and no shipping, no NSFW, I'm okay with graphic depictions of violence, and my prompt!

Now on to my offers.

I'm gonna start with Stuffed Bird again.

So it's a Hermitcraft fic, I am only able to make fic for it, but you know what, I'll write literally anybody in this world. Hit me. I selected any relationship (which in this case means any CHARACTER). And I selected any TYPE of relationship too— yes I'll write any type of shipping or non-shipping. I can't write smut though, so I only selected General for the rating, and I will absolutely do violence but I am not good with MCD or noncon, so I didn't select those.

For my second request, I opened up catbag.

That's a Dream SMP fic, but this time I only wanted to do specific characters. I set it up so that I'd write any combination of SBI, Beeduo, and Quackity. No shipping for me with this one, and no smut, but yes I'll do graphic violence.

And then on to odaigahara's fic!

That's a Dream SMP fic, and I think I could make a web weave for that one, so I selected both fic and web weave. I only want to write Emerald Duo for it, so I just selected them. No shipping, only Gen for this one, and no smut, only gen as well. I don't feel like doing graphic depictions of violence for thisone, so I just selected no archive warnings apply!

For my final one, I really want to make sure that I'm matchable on femslash, so I did a bit of a basket offer.

I selected both Hermitcraft and 3rd life, and selected that I would be making fic. I selected all the ladies (+iskall, for stresskall), and when it came time to select an additional tag, which is what fic I'm saying I'll match on, I selected any. With that and the F/F tag selected, it means that I'll be matchable to any Hermit-Traffic femslash request, no matter which story or art it's attached to. Cause I figure I can read the source material and make something in the creation time period!

So that is 3 requests and 4 offers done, and I have a full sign-up! I'm ready to go! That is how you sign up! Over the course of the sign-up period I might keep an eye on other people's sign-ups (available at the Ao3 automagic app) and tweak my sign-ups so that I'm matchable with someone (or several someones), but for right now, I'm good to go!

[browniefox]

Undertale/Deltarune FanComics

I put out a post for some UTDR comic recs, and I've decided to compile them all here, both so that I can easily access them as I make my way through, and also so that anyone else who is interested in it can also check it out :D I've provided brief descriptions next the ones I could uh quickly find descriptions for or knew personally, so if you notice one you know that's lacking a descriptions, tell me and I'll add it.

Also if you think this list would benefit from further categorization in some way, let me know! Right now it's a bit of a mess and overwhelming lol.

I'll also be updating this with new (or old lol) comics if anyone has more suggestions!

Edit: I’m making a collection blog, @utdrlibrary, that way one can go through the posts for which comic sounds interesting, instead of scrolling through a messy list lol. I’m still working getting the comics from this post up on the blog

(a 🌟 next to a comic means that I have personally read and recommend it ^-^ )

Undertale

Aftertale by @loverofpiggies - Complete.

🌟 Darker yet Darker and the sequel Second Son of Gaster by @sansybones - Sans' creation, how he came to be and find his abilites, and his relationship with Gaster and Papyrus. Complete.

🌟 Over the Void by @undertale-over-the-void - Post-Undertale. Frisk, Asriel, and Monster Kid end up travelling to a strange alternate universe where the war with humans seems to be ongoing. In Progress.

🌟 Dogs of Future Past by @lynxgriffin - Post-Undertale. Trying to find Gaster for Sans' sake, Frisk travels to the past with Flowey, and stuck in the body of one of the dogs that make up Endogeny. Complete.

Under/source by @slylock-syl - In Progress.

Ask Fallen Royalty by @askfallenroyalty - An Everyone Lives au. In Progress?

Ask Frisk and Company by @chamomilekitten and @comikatva - In Progress?

Ask Chara and Friends by Miamouse - In Progress.

The Thought by @tratserenoyreve - Sans uses the souls. Complete.

Mercy by @renrink - Frisk, Sans, and Chara during the San fight? Complete.

You Are Not Welcome by @rumay-chian - Based on the ending of a neutral run? In Progress.

Shifter Au by @audaciousanonj, @leshyleaf, and @wilwoo (I think? There's a lot of names on this blog) - Papyrus (the older brother in this au) gives up his form to a shapeshifter who he hopes will raise Sans better than he is. In Progress?

Inverted Fate by @megaderping - A roleswap au. In Progress.

Underline Au - okay so I remember reading some of this, but the blog (@/underlineau) pulls up strangely and my browser says there's something weird about it? If anyone knows why that is let me know.

Ghost Switch by @clevercatchphrase - Switches Narra-Chara with uh someone else? In Progress.

Fallen Flowers by @tarableart​ - In Progress.

The Old Monster of the Ruins by @knking​ - Asgore Dreemurr, an old monster that take cares of the Ruins and the humans living in it. Complete?

Name the Fallen by @namethefallen - Papyrus went to sleep in a race car bed and woke up in a flowerbed and is trying to find out what happened. In Progress?

Storyshift by @ut-storyshift - I was unsure exactly what to link for this, or if it is even currently a comic? I think it's a fic now. In Progress?

Altered Destiny by @altereddestinyau - Discontinued?

Entity Neo by @entityneo - In Progress?

🌟 Unexpected Guests by @undertalethingems - Papyrus summons the full form of his Blaster and can't get it to go away. Shenanigans ensue. In Progress.

They Say He Shattered by @emilyparagraph - Neutral Routes start colliding with each other. Discontinued.

The Bar of Sanses series by VanGold - A bar for various Au Sans to visit? In Progress?

Heart and SOUL by @auroragriffon - Sans' and Toriel's daughter ends up in the Underground of the past. In Progress.

Duotale by @ask-duotale-b2fc - An au where it's a different child who is the 7th child? In Progress.

Horrortale by @horrortalecomic - Post-Empress Undyne Neutral Route. A new child has fallen into the Underground, and things have gotten bad. In Progress?

🌟 Handplates by @zarla-s - Papyrus and Sans, creations of Gaster, from creation to and through canon (I'm still catching up lol). In Progress.

Deltarune

🌟 Paper Trail by @lynxgriffin - Canon-Divergent take on Deltarune after Chapter 1 of how the story could've gone. Complete.

The Chara Timeline by @lilybug-02 - Chara is Asriel's college roommate. They're both in Hometown visiting from college. In Progress.

Looking Glasses by @ferronickel - Susie, Ralsei, and Lancer, two years after Deltarune. In Progress.

🌟 Gaster's Great Escape by @moldyjunk - Gaster trying to get back to reality, in Deltarune. In Progress.

🌟 Twin Runes by @akanemnon - Frisk somehow ends up in Deltarune. Mostly rn funny shenanigans but seems to be heading towards story.

[shamelessbigbang]

Round 12 is here!

Hey guys! Hope you are all doing well here in Tumblandia and out in the real world. It's been a minute but we are happy to announce another round of the Shameless Big Bang! There have been some updates that we're excited to share as we kick off another turn.

Since I have been quite busy and don't want to spread myself too thin this time around, @wehangout is back to help keep things running again this round, and @whaticameherefor is joining as well. I am so happy to have them on board so that we can keep the tradition alive <3

As a reminder, we are sticking with the original format of completing your work before posting. If you plan to participate, please try to be mindful of that when you commit. Also, while most people are good about staying in touch, we have people every round who have issues with communicating and responding to emails. We are going to continue to take a more strict approach with that if people aren’t responsive, especially once authors and artists are paired off and the posting dates get closer. We will not be confirming your sign up until the last day, so please wait until after then to reach out if you don't hear from us.

Please consider these things before signing up. Without further ado, here’s the timeline for the next round.

August 8 – Sign-Ups open

September 18 – First author checkpoint and LAST DAY TO SIGN UP

October 23 – Rough drafts due

October 30 – Summary previews for artists

November 3 – Artist claims open (authors and artists will be paired up on a first come, first served basis)

December 1 – First artist and second author checkpoint 

December 15 – Second artist and third (and FINAL) author checkpoint

December 22– Posting Schedule will be announced

January 1 – Posting begins!

You can sign up to participate here!!

Don’t forget that there are a few different ways to keep up with us:

The Shameless Big Bang Tumblr page is the primary source of information. If you’re new around here, you can find out more info about the Big Bang at our Info & FAQ page. You can find links to the art and stories from previous rounds, and the home page even shows our commonly used tags, which you can use to filter through posts.

The Twitter account! Our Tumblr posts automatically feed there as a convenient way for you to keep up to date on either platform. Follow our Twitter account if you’re active there!

We also have a Discord! If you provide your Discord information during sign-up, I'll add you automatically.

As a reminder, the Big Bang is a collaborative effort between authors and artists. Please be mindful about your time and how busy you are when you sign up. We don’t want you to have to drop out and leave someone in the lurch if we can avoid it.

If there are any questions, you’re always welcome to send me an ask or an email! Reblog and spread the word!

[shinysmolivgarden]

I'd like to preface this post by saying

I think the toxic chain theory was interesting, and no hate to the people who believed it, but...

I find it kind of funny that SO many people believed it.

MY FIRST POINT:

That would have been a very big plot point. And that would be kind of weird considering the Indigo Disk was obviously about Terapagos and not "Dokutaro", as it was named at the time. A thing I've seen is that people thought taking the championship title from Kieran is what would "reveal" that he had been possessed or whatever, but like... Kieran was the most important non-player character in the DLC. You'd think that if he had actually been possessed by Dokutaro, that would be the main focus of the Indigo Disk. But it clearly wasn't. Pecharunt (up until the epilogue) was only found in the files and hidden when Kieran's grandpa tells us Ogerpon's story, which is something that'd be weird to do for a legendary so important to the DLC's story. Even with Ogerpon, despite the fact that it was a reveal that it wasn't evil and a reveal to the characters in the story that it actually existed, we knew it existed because it was announced BEFORE the Teal Mask came out. And, I was right about that! Pecharunt was announced BEFORE the epilogue was released! (Again, no hate to people who thought this, I just think it's a bit weird.)

MY SECOND POINT:

A big piece of "evidence" for the theory was that the trailers for the indigo disk showed that he "dyed" his hair purple. (And that's the same color as Dokutaro! :0) Like... that was always his hair color. The underside of his hair was always purple. He just tied his hair up. You can still see his black hair from behind. I guess it made sense if you already believed the theory, but if you didn't (like me) it is easily explainable.

MY THIRD POINT:

Another theory I've seen going around (especially on tumblr) is that Kieran was not outright possessed by Pecharunt but was still influenced by it as part of his descent into... I don't want to say madness but basically madness. (This would also explain why Ogerpon did not go with Kieran during the Teal Mask. I've already created a post on MY opinions on that, but you can read that later.) A reason for this I've seen is that "there must still be some poison under the Loyal Three's grave even though their bodies have decayed" (yes I still call them the Loyal Three and not the Lousy Three, cry about it /j). Which... what? How would that poison get up to Kieran after he punched the grave? Poison is weak to ground for a reason. And as to why he wasn't fully possessed is because Pecharunt's dex entry says that its mochi draws out desires and capabilities, and Kieran of course didn't have any mochi so he wasn't outright possessed- stop. Listen to what you just said. Pecharunt's mochi draws out desires and capabilities, and Kieran didn't have any mochi. Are you beginning to see the problem? tbh toxic chain believer copium /j (I'd like to say again, I. HAVE. NOTHING. AGAINST. THESE. PEOPLE. I just think the THEORY is a bit wack. Please don't hate me.) (I will add the people who made the posts I'm referencing once I find them again.)

References:

@jadeazora for one of the posts.

https://www.tumblr.com/2oul2ilver/753739784490532864/yes-i-was-just-thinking-about-writing-a-post-on?source=share for the other.

BONUS POINT:

One of the people I saw supporting the theory before the Indigo Disk came out (It was a yt video but I can't find it again so I'll link it if i find it) said that Kieran might be possessed because "he looks crazy". That's it. That was their evidence.

IN CONCLUSION,

The toxic chain theory is a theory that I believe to be fine in concept, and I think it is an interesting idea. But, as with any theory, it had its faults and I personally didn't believe it because a majority of its evidence I believed (and still believe) to be just a tad bit wack.

Thank you for reading!

[hoovesandfloorpaws]

an ode to RBB and SBB 🧸🏳️‍🌈🧸

inspired by this beautiful post by @holyshit 🌈

i just rolled around in bed again yelling to myself out loud, because THIS ALL HAPPENED!!

So I want to talk about Rainbow Bondage Bear and Sugar Baby Bear (RBB and SBB) for a little bit. (link leads to a post of all pictures of them that had been posted to their twitter account @Rbbsbbofficial, before it was deactivated)

A timeline for RBB and SBB going up to Dec 12th, 2015 can be found here: Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3 (i might add links here, because I'm sure a timeline post with screenshots exists here on Tumblr, too)

The second picture?? I had forgotten there weren’t just blue and green stickers with the daily emojis :) or :( on it, but also always TWO GIANT BLUE AND GREEN LIGHT BEAMS POINTED DIRECTLY AT THEM. like, you see how dark it is pre-show start. and those blue and green beams shine down there on those queens in the fur like the second coming of gay jesus - that was so iconic!

and then THIS happened???

and then the official RBB and SBB Twitter account tweeted this??

and then the number remained active for years!

PR-Louis: "Honestly, i'll tell u nao, hOnEsTlY! god's honest TrUth [...] no, honestly! i don't fink i've ever seen it in the.. in the flesh?" LMFAO Louis, love, if you say honestly 3 more times you might summon HIM:

but for real real -- i will never get over RBB and SBB and everything connected to it and this post is absolute emotional whiplash in the BEST way.

Harry and Louis (and everyone who helped them with it), y’all are legends for that. They knew we support them and they did ALL THAT and went those extra miles all the time to communicate back to us - to people who see them; understand the signs they send; who love them for who they are and support them through it all, in whichever small or bigger ways we can.

and I want to highlight, that sourcing all these different small props while almost constantly being on tour in different cities, countries, and continents took time and dedication. knowing tour life myself, the people who usually have the most (but still not much!) free time, are in fact the artists, not the crew. I want to make a point of this, because I saw some people back then saying Harry and Louis "wouldn't have time to do all this". They did.

In the entire context of Harry&Louis' relationship and within the inner workings of who and what One Direction was back then and still is - the queer legacy of RBB and SBB needs to be remembered.

The bears were so obviously something only between Harry&Louis and us. It was always clear who the bears wanted to communicate to. If you watch interviews of them being asked about them, you quickly realise -to this day-, they don't want to discuss them in this way.

Always ask yourself really why.

Always look for the things that are not being said; not being done.

Ask why the bears were clearly visible and there at so many shows and ALL of 1D completely ignored them, when they were so busy reading fan signs and picking up on writings on arms or flags in the crowd, making lighthearted jokes about it all, or Harry reading the "LARRY" on the arm of a fan and signalling his own arm to them like 'this, here!' and then giving multiple thumb ups? Harry and Louis (who were still very active on Twitter in 2014 and 2015) didn't Retweet or Like a single one of the bears' tweets, even though RBB and SBB were clearly linked to their shows, their locations, personal friends, live band members.

Most importantly, on Twitter and at shows, RBB and SBB were always referencing things that demonstrably exclusively tied to Harry&Louis' interests and personal lives. Sometimes even before it was made public.

RBB and SBB were an enigma that conveyed a powerful message. And they were one of the most fun and sweetest ways for Harry&Louis to communicate with us. I'm really grateful for their existence.

It should remain their personal choice to address them. I personally don't ever need to hear Harry and Louis publicly explain them to the world.

The people who know, know.

We know. 🧸🏳️‍🌈🧸

[intercal]

here's your computer post ya freakin nerd

tl;dr hash algorithm art

left: sha512 empty string, using the nibbles (4 bytes) choosing a color from a 16-bit color palette right: sha384 empty string, using the openssh "randomart" algorithm choosing a color from a 16-bit color palette

technical stuff below the cut

problem

one of the common issues in computer science and systems administration is comparing hashes. but the problem arises when you, the human being, have to compare two hashes. hashes come in the form of a very long hexadecimal string. It might look something like this:

da39a3ee5e6b4b0d3255bfef95601890afd80709 (sha1)

e3b0c44298fc1c149afbf4c8996fb92427ae41e4649b934ca495991b7852b855 (sha256)

cf83e1357eefb8bdf1542850d66d8007d620e4050b5715dc83f4a921d36ce9ce47d0d13c5d85f2b0ff8318d2877eec2f63b931bd47417a81a538327af927da3e (sha512)

these strings of text can be very long, and expecting a human being to check the exact match of 128 characters in a row (in the worst case) is unreasonable. it is unlikely to happen, but you can also get very very very close hashes. I remember seeing a twitter post (can't find it for the life of me) that showed two hashes that were different, but a cursory glance at them made them look extremely similar, eg:

e3b0c44298fc1c149afbf4c8996fb92427ae9800998b934ca495991b7852b855

versus

e3b0c44298fc1c14d41d8cd89961b204e9800998ecf8427ea495991b7852b855

it's pretty hard to tell at a glance that these are different. they have the same start and end prefixes, and there are some parts in the middle that are the same. but they're different! that's important! that means you've hashed different data, but it looks the same!

proposed solution

generate some art.

openssh does this. when you generate an SSH key, they give you a "randomart" (which is one of the algorithms I used above) of the key. From the comments:

If you see the picture is different, the key is different. If the picture looks the same, you still know nothing.

(source)

which I would say imparts some wisdom already. all you can use this for is determining if a hash is different. you cannot use it to determine if they're the same. what I've done is added a new dimension for what determines something being "different": a color palette. if you take the two extremely similar hashes from the example and generate a piece of hash art using the nibble method, they look like these:

first on the left, second on the right. they look pretty similar, but then you add the element of a color palette and you get visibly different images.

this is not a perfect solution by any means. I completely made up the two example hashes, and actually ran into an issue where my program chose the same color palette for both of them - I had to tweak them. but I think it adds some more value to it.

methodology

this is just an explanation of how this all works. I'm going to avoid posting source code for now because it has my real name attached and I don't like that. maybe I'll strip my name and post it later.

image generation algorithms

there are two image generation algorithms that I have chosen: direct representation using each nibble of the hash, and the openssh "randomart" algorithm (linked at the bottom).

nibble algorithm

the "nibble" method takes each nibble (hex digit) of the hash, laying them out on a grid, and choosing the color that it should use on the selected palette. since all palettes are 16 colors, each value 0x0..0xf is represented. for example, taking the sha1 hash da39a3ee5e6b4b0d3255bfef95601890afd80709, the first row of the image would start with palette indexes 0xd, 0xa, 0x3, 0x9, etc. if we are using the red palette, the first row would start with blocks of these colors: #dd0000, #aa0000, #330000, #990000, etc. it's a direct representation of the hash, and completely lossless. the main downside is explained above - if you have two extremely similar hashes, it will yield two extremely similar images.

randomart algorithm

this has been derived using the openssh randomart algorithm. when you generate an SSH key, you will get some kind of "randomart" that looks like this:

the algorithm is as follows:

start a pointer (called a "worm") in the center cell of a 0-valued matrix (in our case, the matrix is 9 rows by 17 columns).

look at the bottom two bits of the first byte of the hash.

if the bottom bit is 1, then move the worm right - otherwise, move it left. if it cannot move in this direction without exiting the matrix, then don't move left or right.

if the top bit is 1, the move the worm down - otherwise, move it up. if it cannot move in this direction without exiting the matrix, then don't move up or down.

wherever the worm lands, increment the value of that cell.

continue this through the value of the hash, two bits at a time.

this is your output matrix. assign colors (or ascii characters) as you see fit.

I think this is a neat way of doing it, provides a simple piece of art, and two different hashes will, usually, look different.

the main weaknesses that stand out to me: this is a lossy algorithm that could create ambiguities - there are sequences of bytes that could hypothetically produce the same image twice (I am too lazy to come up with these, so that is an exercise left to the reader). additionally, I have noticed that this algorithm tends to drive the worm into a corner, and creates lots of diagonal streaks on its journey. unless the worm hits a wall, it can only ever move diagonally, for better or worse. it looks okay, but I think we can do better.

overall, I think this is a good basis for a new image drawing algorithm, and I might play around with that in the future.

sizing the output image

the images are just a matrix, each cell treated as a pixel, and then I size it up to 32x32 pixel blocks. the number of rows and columns are determined by the art algorithm used, and maybe the hash type (depending on which algorithm is chosen).

for the randomart algorithm, I just use 9 rows by 17 columns - this is what they use in openssh, but I want to play with this because you get pretty boring/dark randomart for hashes with fewer bytes. md5 hashes usually just look like black rectangles with a few lighter blocks, not very useful.

for the nibble algorithm, I tried to make the art as square as possible. for example, sha1 hashes are 160 bits long, or 20 bytes, or 40 nibbles (each nibble = 1 block in the art). 40 nibbles can be sized as a 40x1, 20x2, 10x4, or 8x5 matrix. I opted for the 8x5 matrix, but I want to make this customizable in the future. here are the image sizes I choose for all the hashes I support:

md5 - 128 bits, 16 bytes, 32 nibbles - 8x4

sha1 - 160 bits, 20 bytes, 40 nibbles - 8x5

sha224 - 224 bits, 28 bytes, 56 nibbles - 8x7

sha256 - 256 bits, 32 bytes, 64 nibbles, 8x8

sha384 - 384 bits, 48 bytes, 96 nibbles, 12x8

sha512 - 512 bits, 64 bytes, 128 nibbles, 16x8

choosing the color palette

each palette is 16 colors. there are 8 base color palettes: red, green, blue, black, cyan, yellow, magenta, and white. red palette is #000000, #110000, #220000, ... #ee0000, #ff0000. blue is #000000, #001100, etc. Black and white are the only ones that I think may introduce some ambiguity - black goes from #000000, #111111, etc to #ffffff. white goes in the reverse order, #ffffff, #eeeeee, etc to #000000.

the color palette is chosen by taking the sum of all the bytes in the hash, mod 8. for example, the sha1 hash da39a3ee5e6b4b0d3255bfef95601890afd80709 is broken into the parts 0xda, 0x39, 0xa3, ... 0x07, 0x09. These are added together to get 0x92e, or 2350 in decimal. 2350 % 8 = 6, so we choose the 6th color palette (zero indexed) of RGBBCYMW, magenta.

more ideas

rotating or reflecting the image based on the input hash might yield useful results

adding more color palettes may ensure fewer "similar" images

doing something using a noise algorithm (perlin noise, simplex noise) to generate image matrices using the hash as the seed.

further reading and sources

Hash Visualization: a New Technique to Improve Real World Security (Perrig, Song, 1999)

openSSH randomart algorithm (fetched 2024-05-23, commit hash fc5dc092830de23767c6ef67baa18310a64ee533)

thanks for reading!

[jamtlandsarkiv]

After seeing your post about Sweden's human name, do you mind explaining what your favorite human names for the other Nordics are and your reasoning?

Especially Norway -- I'm still rather fond of Lukas for familiarity's sake, but would love to have a better alternative! I understand why people don't like Bondevik after a quick search. I've seen people use Thomassen recently and have started using that instead

Sure! I'll also add links to posts made by users from these countries if you need a more reliable source (except Iceland, I haven't seen an Icelandic Hetalian on Tumblr yet).

Norway

If you're looking for infomation about anything relating to Norway, not limited to names but also history, traditions and modern culture, YOU NEED TO TALK TO OUR RESIDENT NORWEGIAN @ifindus. They have done university-level research in Norwegian history and I am constantly learning new things about Norway from their posts, which says a lot as someone who has half his family from Norway. It's thanks to Findus that I learned about a very common misconception about Norwegian names that I will explain below!

Unlike people from English-speaking countries, Danes, Swedes, and Finns, Norwegians do not use "middle names" in the sense of "alternative first names that are mostly ignored except on official documentation". It's very common for creators to give Norway a name like "Lukas Øyvind Haugland" with the idea that he goes by Lukas in daily life, and Øyvind is a mostly unused middle name. But that's not how it works in Norway! Instead, both Lukas and Øyvind will be recognized as his first names of equal priority, and he will be referred to using the double name Lukas Øyvind. Findus can explain this better than I can, but you cannot simply smash two names together to form a Norwegian double name, as many name combinations, such as Lukas Øyvind, sound ridiculous. Paraphrasing Findus' words, there are no definite rules that make certain double names realistic or silly, it's mostly a feeling that the name "sounds good". There are however common patterns, such as the first half having less than or equal syllables to the second, both names having the same "vibe", and not having too many consecutive consonants.

Thanks to Findus' advice, I recently changed my name for Norway to drop the "middle names", cutting it down to Sigurd Fjellanger. Sigurd, an Old Norse name meaning "victorious guardian", is the most popular first name among Norwegian creators because of its uniqueness to Norway and use in all time periods. Fjellanger is my personal choice, as I want a nature name for Norway that refers to his home region. Nature names in Norway often indicate where a person's ancestors were from as they were historically chosen from names of towns and farmland. Fjellanger means "mountain fjord" and is associated with coastal western Norway, which is where my Sigurd's hometown is. Findus uses the last name Nordvik which means "northern bay" and is not associated with a specific region (their Norway moves around the country and does not have a fixed hometown). Patronymics (names ending in -sen) don't have strong regional associations and Thomassen is a common, neutral-sounding name.

It seems like I have unintentionally written a long post again. Other characters under the cut.

Sweden

The other Nordic countries use "middle names", but like in real life, these extra names will never be seen outside of these name posts. My full name for Sweden is Björn Axel Johan Stjernqvist because he's my country and I can make fun of him. Björn is a very Swedish Old Norse name meaning "bear" while Stjernqvist, meaning "star branch", is a lame reference to his Hetalia name that also contains the word "star". 95jezzica is from Sweden and recommends the classic Svensson as his last name, but I personally avoid giving very common names to characters in case I know or will meet someone with that name. I also prefer to choose nature names unless there is a meaningful (parental) connection to the name in the patronymic. Double names are also used in Sweden, but they are much rarer and are associated with the older generation. Swedish double names are connected with a dash rather than a space, like Lars-Erik.

Denmark

My beloved Denmark has the name Søren Mathias Holgersen. Mathias is not an Old Norse name. It originates from Latin and means "gift from God", which is what he is to me. Holgersen is a reference to the legendary Danish hero Holger Danske. Some creators think that the name Mathias is inaccurate for Denmark in all periods, but that's only true for the pre-Christianization era. There are 22,7k people currently named Mathias in Denmark in 2023 (this is not including the alternate spellings). In fact, none of the popular alternative names for Denmark that begin with M, Mikkel and Magnus, are of Old Norse origin either. But that's alright, because Denmark was the most strongly influenced by continental Europe culturally and has the weakest Norse influence out of the Scandinavians. This post by someone-you-do-not-know from Denmark discusses what's wrong with the Hetalia name suggestions for Denmark and offers additional suggestions. The OP has a personal reason for disliking the name Mathias, but the name is otherwise alright to use.

Finland

I unfortunately don't speak Finnish and don't know much about Finnish naming traditions, so I use a name that has been personally recommended by Finns and is quite close to the Hetalia name: Timo Kalevi Väisänen. The middle name Kalevi was randomly mentioned by ask-finny from Finland and I'm not particularly attached to it either, so I'm open to changing it. Nordickies is also from Finland and has made two very helpful posts about analyzing Finland's Hetalia name and resources for researching Finnish names.

Iceland

Iceland has a very strict naming law which could make choosing his name easier or more difficult depending on how you look at it. The first name Emil is permitted on Iceland, but it's a modern trend name that doesn't have an Icelandic history, its use began after the release of Astrid Lindgren's book Emil i Lönneberga. Steilsson is illegal as it would mean that Iceland's father was named Steil, which is not a permitted name (nor did it ever exist in the Nordic countries). Like Finland, I kept his Hetalia initials and gave him the name Eiríkur Stefánsson.

[oakiyo]

you've probably already been asked this before but how did you start out making cc and where did you learn to make it?

Hi! Learning CC can be a pretty daunting task and can seem really overwhelming, but the best/most effective way that I learnt was by watching speed meshes from other creators, and reading tutorials. Easier said than done, I know.

I think my first piece of advice before actually creating any content is familiarising yourself with the different programmes involved and how to navigate them. Blender, Photoshop (alternative photo editing programmes will work) and Sims 4 Studio are the essential tools to make custom content - there are a plethora of tutorials out that covering the UI, navigation, and shortcuts to move around and do certain things.

My second piece of advice is to just go for it - start with whatever knowledge you may have. This might be cropping a t-shirt or adding bangs to a hair - really simple mesh edits. Then, when you encounter an issue along the way, find a fix for that specific issue, whether that might be cuts, or UV textures.

It would be pretty hard to just make a singular tutorial on how to make custom content as it is a fairly complex 'thing' and there are so many unique ways of doing it. I'll list some helpful sources and tutorials under the 'keep reading' that I have read or made over the past couple years.

Tutorials:

SimLaughLove made huge masterlist post of tutorials and tips for creating custom content, which is where I read the majority of tutorials I used to get started.

Aharris00britney has quite a few speed meshes on their YouTube channel that I used a lot when understanding more complicated stuff like proportional editing and making textures.

About a year or so ago I made a weight tutorial for hairs that I still use to this day and has not failed me since.

Actually, I have a whole tutorials tab on my blog if you see anything there that interests you!

myshunosun has a lot of helpful resources and tutorials for build and buy custom content, if that's more your thing (link 1, link 2)

Other people on YouTube such as illogicalsims have some amazing beginner friendly tutorials for all sorts of content creation.

Useful links:

Sims4Studio

Blender 2.76

Photoshop

S4CASTools

Nvidia Texture Tools Exporter

If there is anything you don't think I have covered of think is worth me including, please let me know and I'll be sure to add it here! Creating custom content can seem really overwhelming and it is inventible to get frustrated and angry along the way - believe me I have had many a meltdowns over issues with my CC. Another point I want to mention is to never feel scared or as though you are being annoying when asking other people (myself included) for help. I am more than welcome to help you with your CC issues, just shoot me a message and I'll do my best to explain what your issue is and how to fix it.

If there are any areas you want to see covered in a tutorial please let me know and I'll try my best to write one.

[gatheredfates]

It's been a little while since I've prompted my server! With Sea's Community Compendium not needing an update this week (unless...?), I thought it might be the perfect opportunity. ⭐

What is SEAFLOOR?

SEAFLOOR's purpose is two-pronged! The first focuses solely on my community projects including, but not limited to; Compendium support, question-drive updates, miscellaneous resources and other bits and bobs. We also have dedicated channels for user sourced/submitted content including:

Resources, prompts and commissions! Every time I see a commission post, gpose prompts or resources that I think will benefit the community at large (especially if it doesn't fit in the Compendium due to time constraints), I'll add it there.

An affirmations channel! Exactly what it says on the tin. You can link positive words and encouragement to people and they can look in the channel if they need a boost.

Fics, drabbles & asks! If you want to promote your writing/work, especially from my question drive, you can do that there.

There are also a few channels specific to the social role.

An events channel! I try to link any upcoming events I see on the dash, though event owners can promote their own specific venues if they want.

Character profiles for RP and writing!

GPosing, LFG and modding discussions. ✨

The second purpose is what's implied above — a social aspect! I struggle with a lot of one on one conversations, so this server lets me reach out to lots of people without the pressure of missing messages. You do not need to join the social aspect to have access to my projects. It is entirely optional and there for people who want to say hi or meet other people in the community. If you just want to be pinged when a question drive is open or I have updated the Compendium, you're more than welcome to utilise the server just for that.

However, because of my time constraints, I have a series of rules that must be adhered to in order for people to participate fully in SEAFLOOR. Though they're explored in more depth in the server, the main crux are below —

SEAFLOOR is adults-only, 21+. This is entirely because I don't have the time to moderate a server that is friendly towards minors and I generally don't allow them in my space. This is for my own comfort, sorry! You're still welcome to utilise my projects.

As this is a server for adults, I expect you to act like adults. This includes, but is not limited to; enacting your own media literacy in muting, blocking and disengaging with people/topics you don't like; doing your due diligence to protect yourself and others with proper content warnings, spoiler tagging and triggers; keeping to Discord's ToS and respecting people's boundaries and privacy. If I have to moderate, I will be harsh in implementation because I don't have the time for it. Like all my projects, if it becomes too much of a chore or detrimental for my mental health, I will delete it without hesitation. This might be a 'public' server, but it is still my server. I won't hesitate.

In sum: 'Be excellent to each other'. Treat others how you want to be treated, don't start discourse and sort your shit in private. Use your common sense and don't be creepy/weird.

If this sounds like something that might be up your alley, you can give the server a shot here! There's a lot of fun, supportive people and I really enjoy the little community that's been cultivated. I hope you will too!