A Guide to the Internet

she/they/31/bi Fuck man I dont even know anymore. Avatar by QueenRowlet

[stary-squirrel]

My commander Ashley Nondottir made by QueenRowlet (links to her Twitter and Twitch below)

I won a commission from in an Indie 500 in Marbles on Stream. Shes an amazing vtuber on twitch and has commissions open now if you want to snag one from her!

QueenRowlet | Linktree

🌱Hello! I'm QueenRowlet! Her royal highness, ruler of the Rowlet Kingdom 🌱

[aqours]

LET'S FUCKING GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

[jethroq]

[wettestwraith]

prev dont leave this in the tags

[silvergryphonart]

Literally the definition of imperialism and classism. Doesn’t matter how many peasants you sacrifice as long as the most powerful piece is left standing

[musicalhell]

Proximity of bishops to the rulers promotes theocratic oppression

[juh-was-deactivated19691231-dea]

the horse is so fuckable

[vigilantsycamore]

Tedd Verres from EGS has access to multiple ways of gender-based shapeshifting, gets to work with advanced tech and magic, and is in what I'm convinced is a poly relationship with two girls, one of which (the one they're canonically confirmed to be dating) is a shapeshifting alien-alien-human-squirrel hybrid, and there's also whatever she's got going on with Elliot, so what I'm saying is he's basically living my dream

Also they are literally me if I had access to transformation tech

[pubby-paws]

Final Fantasy XIV: Heavensward

[autisticadvocacy]

The Trump Administration Aims to Penalize Disabled Adults Who Live With Their Families

A rule change pushed by White House officials would slash benefits or end support for as many as 400,000 Supplemental Security Income recipi

The Trump administration wants to make a rule change that would decrease or end benefits for SSI recipients who live with their family. As many as 400,000 disabled people may have their benefits cut if this rule change occurs.

[thatdiabolicalfeminist]

It's worth noting as always that as things currently stand, the MAXIMUM benefit a person can receive from SSI is $994 a month.

If two people on SSI are married, the MAXIMUM they can receive is $1,491 a month, total, for both of them. (Meaning marriage to another SSI recipient reduces your maximum income possible to $745 a person each month.)

Could you live on that?

Could you live on that without living with family?

[karyukusu]

Calyx's Name: All Theories, Summarized

I worked so hard on this, I'm literally begging y'all to read it. I'M BEGGING.

Word Count: ~1250 words TLDR: Calyx's name forges connections with the Greek God and FFXIV character Hermes, squirrels in mythology, and Halmarut.

*Pictures included!

Hermes

Since his intro in 7.2, people immediately wondered if Calyx was a Hermes shard. Here are some interesting points:

Caduceus

This symbol is directly linked to Hermes both in FFXIV and in Greek mythology as his staff.

☤ The Symbol Image Itself

The symbol itself is the biggest stretch imo, but the staff/wing/snake-like pattern around the staff are all present in both designs and they could've been farther apart.

Left: Cadeuceus, Right: Alexandria's insignia, seen on Calyx's shoes and coat

☤ The Symbol's Meaning

It has two meanings and I think both pertain to Calyx. Caduceus is widely considered:

The symbol of a messenger/herald

The symbol of medicine/physicians

We'll dive into these separately. First, the symbol of messengers/heralds. The word caduceus itself comes from the Greek term karykeion, which is rooted in the word "karyx," which literally means messenger/herald.

Written in Japanese, Calyx's name is Karyukusu romanized, which could be simplified down into Karyx. It's basically the same word. So, Calyx's name basically means "messenger/herald" which is what Hermes is known for being, the messenger of the gods.

Secondly, it's very obvious why it's fitting for Calyx to be representative of medicine, given he wears patient scrubs and a physician's coat...which basically makes him representative of medicine as a whole, from both sides.

Responsibilities

Hermes the Greek God obviously has had many interpretations and iterations but something pretty universal is that he is a messenger between god and man, and also helps humans to get to the afterlife.

໒꒱ Messenger of the Gods

I think we can consider him a messenger of godly teachings through Preservation, especially if Halmarut was involved. This also might explain why Demetrius was so obsessed with him and wholly devoted to Preservation: Calyx was literally a herald of the 'gods' to them, bringing technology and ideas that saved and evolved Alexandria.

໒꒱ Guide to the Afterlife

Secondly, helping humans get to the afterlife...that's basically the Endless project, isn't it? Living Memory is his idea of a perfect afterlife for humanity.

Memory Manipulation

In Endwalker, we see that Hermes created Kairos to manipulate and erase memories.

Sound familiar?

Regulators used throughout Alexandria have similar functions, such as erasing the memories of someone collectively across society once they pass away.

Hermes / Fandaniel

I'm leaving out comparisons between the FFXIV Hermes himself and Calyx and keeping this to mythological lore. If anyone wants to add comparisons with Hermes from the game, PLEASE DO SO!!! I wouldn't feel qualified until I replayed Endwalker in its entirety looking specifically for Calyx connections (which I very may well do before EC).

Squirrels

Mica the Magical Mu

Though we don't have the complete history of Living Memory, it's clear it was shaped by Preservation's ideas which influenced Endless Sphene, inherently linking it to Calyx. Not only that, but we see him hanging out in Living Memory in 7.2.

And also have our final showdown with him in the Meso Terminal, which is located within Living Memory, where the last of the memories were being stored.

Calyx's connection to Living Memory is important here because the main mascot of the place is Mica the Mu.

Mica is a FATE that spawns in Living Memory, and is also all over Living Memory merchandise and branding.

A Mu is the Final Fantasy equivalent of a squirrel--here is one from FF9 (the game of which all of you I'm sure know was big inspiration for the Ninth, where Calyx is originally from).

As the one behind Living Memory, I think it's acceptable to link Calyx to its main mascot. Especially considering…

Mu Plushie Form

…It's revealed that Calyx has taken on the form of a mu plushie at the end of 7.4.

Though this plush is not Mica himself, it's a Calyx-ified version of it. This directly links Calyx to mus, and squirrels.

Ratatoskr

At NA Fanfest 2026, we got the first trailer for Evercold, along with a lot of concept art. The major influence everyone was quick to note was how much everything seemed to resemble Norse mythology.

In Norse mythology, there is the story of Yggdrasil, the sacred tree. Several animals are mentioned in this story, but the one of note here is the squirrel named Ratatoskr. There are many different interpretations and translations of this story that you can derive information from, but the general gist is that Ratatoskr is known to be a messenger of the tree.

He ferries messages from the eagle at the top of the tree to the dragon at the bottom of it. It's said he's delivering gossip and is stoking the flames between the two to cause drama.

As we already established, Calyx's name in Japanese, Karyx, means messenger. And, now he is literally a squirrel. A squirrel named Messenger in a Norse-inspired expansion...he's definitely got to be Ratatoskr!!

Plus, some people literally consider Ratatoskr to be "the Norse Hermes," because again, Hermes is strongly connected to the idea of being a messenger.

Squirrels in Celtic Mythology

Queen Medb is often depicted with a squirrel and bird on each of her shoulders. The squirrel in particular is a messenger of Earth to the Gods...basically Hermes, again, but switched around.

Squirrels in General

Squirrels have a reputation for gathering up a ton of resources ahead of time and preparing for the Winter. They are so overly prepared that they don't have to hibernate!

Calyx collecting Aether to sustain his Endless for hundreds of years in preparation for the Withering has similarities to squirrel tendencies! Especially because many people consider squirrels inherently greedy or selfish for taking these resources from others (parallels here to how the Scions saw Calyx's plan.)

Heralding at the End of 7.5

At the very end of 7.5, we get an unexpected visit from Calyx with some words about where they're going next, and some implications of the Winterer that's on that shard. Overall, he presents a negative view of the 4th's Winterer.

Obviously I don't know the future, but I have an inkling that 7.56 might give us a scene of Calyx talking badly about us to the Winterer of the 4th...thus fulfilling his role of a pot-stirrer lol. Even if he doesn't, it's still true that he delivered a message to us, at the very least.

Plants and Halmarut

Calyx

A "calyx" is a part of a flower.

It's not the flower itself, but the outer leaves that protect the bud of the flower while it grows and shield it from danger until it's ready to bloom.

The Barrier

We know that Calyx implemented the technology of putting up a dome around Alexandria.

In Tales under the Golden Sun (and 7.4), we find out that Tuphut made a deal with Preservation to get the technology for Treno on the Ninth, as well.

And we see this in 7.4 when we visit Treno.

In a way, the barrier dome is a lot like a calyx, protecting the bud, Alexandria or in this case, Treno!

Plants and Halmarut

Since his introduction in 7.2, folks speculated Calyx would be working with Halmarut the Sower (in charge of fungal and plant life) since he's named after a part of a plant.

Calyx and Simulant Sphene use plant-based words to describe his scheme.

His Necron creation also uses relevantly-themed attacks in 7.3 such as:

Soul Reaping

Crop Rotation

Seasons of Blight

In Conclusion

Calyx's name presents connections to karyx, the Greek word for messenger, is the base word for Caduceus, Hermes' staff (and thus Hermes himself, who is also a messenger) and the symbol of medicine, Ratatoskr the messenger squirrel, squirrels and plant life in general, and Halmarut, the Ascian in charge of plant life.

[cryohydra]

Tossing in one other (very minor) tree connection, he (through Preservation) is heavily tied to Alexandria itself whose form and story has some minor parallels to FFIX's Iifa tree.

[kuken-i-buken]

im kinda getting addicted to sandwiches

[kuken-i-buken]

death to the united states of america

[arcolan]

11 year old border collie: gets a special shot for his chronic back pain this morning

2pm: "where's the dog he can't possibly have jumped over the fence"

3pm: "hi i live in [another village]! I got your dog here, if you can come fetch him?"

"well at least that new medication is working 💀"

[emcapi]

[planeyboys]

Lugia chewing undersea cables

[dreamsy990]

i saw someone say nobody needs to know what a .txt file is anymore. what the fuck is the world coming to

[dreamsy990]

unironically i think we need to bring back computer labs because APPARENTLY some people WERENT taught basic computer literacy and internet safety in school

[dreamsy990]

things about computers/the internet i think kids should be formally taught in schools because theyre important to know and the amount of soon to be grown adults i know who know NOTHING about any of these is quite frankly almost all of them (and resources to learn if you dont know these things, because its never to late to get better with computers)

how to troubleshoot by yourself when you have a technical problem

what common file types are

some very basics on how to use ""developer tools"" on your computer (because i cant think of a better way to refer to them) like task manager and command prompt (and their mac equivalents, terminal and activity monitor ofc)

how to read and understand a privacy policy and what your personal data is, as well as what it being collected actually means and steps you can take to keep it private

how to understand terms of service (hey. if you have trouble with reading legalese and worry about being able to understand these policies anyways, here's a site that gives basic summaries of privacy policies and ToS)

what a cookie actually is

internet privacy and your digital footprint!! seriously i dont know why we stopped teaching people that they shouldnt be putting their entire real identity online in a world where your online actions can ruin you irl

basic safety measures like antivirus software (and why you should use it or if the built in one on windows or mac is enough for you) and backing up your computer (also a mac guide)

common keyboard shortcuts (and on mac)

as an additional note: things i think everyone should know on computers and the internet but schools may bit hesitant to teach about for whatever moral/legal standards schools pretend to operate on

vpns and adblockers! (btw for most of these where you can pay for things im purposefully not recommending any specific software but seriously just use ublock origin for an adblocker)

how to not get a virus while pirating something

what a temporary email is and when to use one

red flags that you shouldn't trust a website (and how to quickly check the security of a site)

what javascript on a website does and how to disable it to get around paywalls

[dreamsy990]

ok one last addition! if you want to take it one level higher, i think learning the very basics of at least one programming language is good for people. it makes computers less scary and it makes you feel very cool, and a lot of people get discouraged about it because it seems overly complicated and hard to learn outside a formal classroom setting, so heres some resources for learning the very basics of python (because i consider it the easiest language to learn and knowing one language will make it easier to learn others)

an online compiler so you dont need to download anything or worry about running code directly on your computer if that makes you nervous

a basic video guide to introduce you to python and walk you through beginner steps

a guide to some syntax and commands you should know (this was literally my lifeline in my first CS class)

some performance tasks to give you things to code to practice and assess yourself

[r--g--b]

[r--g--b]

for those unaware, it also means this guy is the creative director of infowars now

[serinemolecule]

A lot of people don't realize just how much space car infrastructure takes up. So I've decided to provide everyone a visual aid!

I've presented two maps at the exact same zoom level, as indicated by the big red arrow. They also each have a red area circled, of approximately the same area.

In the first image, I've circled one of eightish parking lots at a US mall. A normal amount of distance for even Americans who drive everywhere to walk through.

In the second image, I've circled:

a subway station

a park

like twenty apartment buildings

like twenty restaurants

three convenience stores (which, being Japanese, can also handle banking, copying/printing, and a variety of governmental paperwork)

one grocery store (another two right outside the circle)

seven medical clinics, two pharmacies

a fire station

a post office

two preschools and three cram schools

a Shintō shrine

a Buddhist temple

multiple parking lots

This wasn't even a particularly cherry-picked part of Tokyo! I just picked the area around my house.

In case anyone thinks by "a park" I'm talking about the green area not circled, I'm not, I'm talking at this area at the southeast end of the circle:

Here's another angle on the area I circled, with a lot of the things I mentioned in view.

The shrine, just because I have a soft spot for Tokyo neighborhood shrines:

Anyway, I suppose I'll end on what the mall parking lot looks like.

Remember, this is one of eightish parking lots at this mall.

[shadytail]

We also figured out—the hard way—that the ancients probably cut each layer of linen to the proper shape before gluing them together. For our first linothorax, we glued together 15 layers of linen to form a one centimeter-thick slab, and then tried to cut out the required shape. Large shears were defeated; bolt cutters failed. The only way we were ultimately able to cut the laminated linen slab was with an electric saw equipped with a blade for cutting metal. At least this confirmed our suspicion that linen armor would have been extremely tough. We also found out that linen stiffened with rabbit glue strikes dogs as in irresistibly tasty rabbit-flavored chew toy, and that our Labrador retriever should not be left alone with our research project.

[krakenartificer]

I love this in every way possible. What is it from? Where can I read more?

[blackcatphysics]

The pitfalls of experimental archaeology and puppies.

[shrewreadings]

link to source:

“Unraveling the Linothorax Mystery, or how Linen Armor Came to Dominate our Lives.”

https://jhupress.wordpress.com/2013/04/24/unraveling-the-linothorax-mystery-or-how-linen-armor-came-to-dominate-our-lives/

[biggest-gaudiest-poltergeist]

holy shit read the article. it’s short but wild

[mounmantaka]

We found that even more of a threat than rain was one’s own sweat on a hot day. So, yes, it does need waterproofing, both inside and out. We did a number of experiments along those lines, and found that rubbing a block of beeswax over all sides of the armor provided nice waterproofing. It also makes the armor smell nice! When you wear it for a couple hours, your own body heat softens the glue a bit and makes it conform to your body shape, so it is much more comfortable to wear than rigid types of armor. Our reconstructions weighed about 10 pounds–about one third the weight of bronze armor that would provide the same degree of protection.

Honey i gotta go to war… not to smell my bee armor or hang with the boys or anything no.. uhh we need to uh do war things?

[thefibrarchaeologist]

#i've definitely read this before and i've probably reblogged it before but like.#no one in this thread is mentioning that they actually shot someone with an actual arrow in this armor.#they were like 'we've got to test this in practice' and instead of getting a mannequin or something they had an actual person wear it.

They what?

[classicslesbianopinions]

from the article:

While all of this mayhem (both scientifically controlled and free-form) convinced us that our linothorax was ancient-battlefield-ready, we still felt compelled to try a real-life scenario, so Scott donned the armor and Greg shot him. And while we had confidence in our armor, our relief was still considerable when the arrowhead stuck and lodged in the armor’s outer layers, a safe distance away from flesh.

a good life-size mannequin is expensive but i guarantee it would've cost way less than they were spending on all that linen.

[dr-dendritic-trees]

Academics are just like that.

[captainhelion]

They wrote a book about it btw

Reconstructing Ancient Linen Body Armor: Unravelling the Linothorax Mystery - Gregory S. Aldrete, Scott Bartell, Alicia Aldrete, 2013. and here's the "they shot a guy" pic, with one of my favourite captions ever

[ineptshieldmaid]

WOW YAY thank you @captainhelion , one for this important update and addition to my tbr and two, because I remembered you didn’t have the username On Here that I met you under but had forgotten what you changed it to!

[perishrepublic]

happy 4/13! i only had time to draw something super basic

[ofantediluvian]

Happy birthday Homestuck and June bug 🌟🎉

[defstanis]

4/13