#Python difference from other languages

[tccicomputercoaching]

Python vs Other Languages: Why It's the Top Choice for Beginners – Learn why Python is the best programming language for ease, flexibility, and career growth.

[anheliotrope]

Rambling About C# Being Alright

I think C# is an alright language. This is one of the highest distinctions I can give to a language.

Warning: This post is verbose and rambly and probably only good at telling you why someone might like C# and not much else.

~~~

There's something I hate about every other language. Worst, there's things I hate about other languages that I know will never get better. Even worse, some of those things ALSO feel like unforced errors.

With C# there's a few things I dislike or that are missing. C#'s feature set does not obviously excel at anything, but it avoids making any huge misstep in things I care about. Nothing in C# makes me feel like the language designer has personally harmed me.

C# is a very tolerable language.

C# is multi-paradigm.

C# is the Full Middle Malcomist language.

C# will try to not hurt you.

A good way to describe C# is "what if Java sucked less". This, of course, already sounds unappealing to many, but that's alright. I'm not trying to gas it up too much here.

C# has sins, but let's try to put them into some context here and perhaps the reason why I'm posting will become more obvious:

C# didn't try to avoid generics and then implement them in a way that is very limiting (cough Go).

C# doesn't hamstring your ability to have statement lambdas because the language designer dislikes them and also because the language designer decided to have semantic whitespace making statement lambdas harder to deal with (cough Python).

C# doesn't require you to explicitly wrap value types into reference types so you can put value types into collections (cough Java).

C# doesn't ruin your ability to interact with memory efficiently because it forbids you from creating custom value types, ergo everything goes to the heap (cough cough Java, Minecraft).

C# doesn't have insane implicit type coercions that have become the subject of language design comedy (cough JavaScript).

C# doesn't keep privacy accessors as a suggestion and has the developers pinkie swear about it instead of actually enforcing it (cough cough Python).

Plainly put, a lot of the time I find C# to be alright by process of elimination. I'm not trying to shit on your favorite language. Everyone has different things they find tolerable. I have the Buddha nature so I wish for all things to find their tolerable language.

I do also think that C# is notable for being a mainstream language (aka not Haskell) that has a smaller amount of egregious mistakes, quirks and Faustian bargains.

The Typerrrrr

C# is statically typed, but the typing is largely effortless to navigate unlike something like Rust, and the GC gives a greater degree of safety than something like C++.

Of course, the typing being easy to work it also makes it less safe than Rust. But this is an appropriate trade-off for certain kinds of applications, especially considering that C# is memory safe by virtue of running on a VM. Don't come at me, I'm a Rust respecter!!

You know how some people talk about Python being amazing for prototyping? That's how I feel about C#. No matter how much time I would dedicate to Python, C# would still be a more productive language for me. The type system would genuinely make me faster for the vast majority of cases. Of course Python has gradual typing now, so any comparison gets more difficult when you consider that. But what I'm trying to say is that I never understood the idea that doing away entirely with static typing is good for fast iteration.

Also yes, C# can be used as a repl. Leave me alone with your repls. Also, while the debugger is active you can also evaluate arbitrary code within the current scope.

I think that going full dynamic typing is a mistake in almost every situation. The fact that C# doesn't do that already puts it above other languages for me. This stance on typing is controversial, but it's my opinion that is really shouldn't be. And the wind has constantly been blowing towards adding gradual typing to dynamic languages.

The modest typing capabilities C# coupled with OOP and inheritance lets you create pretty awful OOP slop. But that's whatever. At work we use inheritance in very few places where it results in neat code reuse, and then it's just mostly interfaces getting implemented.

C#'s typing and generic system is powerful enough to offer you a plethora of super-ergonomic collection transformation methods via the LINQ library. There's a lot of functional-style programming you can do with that. You know, map, filter, reduce, that stuff?

Even if you make a completely new collection type, if it implements IEnumerable<T> it will benefit from LINQ automatically. Every language these days has something like this, but it's so ridiculously easy to use in C#. Coupled with how C# lets you (1) easily define immutable data types, (2) explicitly control access to struct or class members, (3) do pattern matching, you can end up with code that flows really well.

A Friendly Kitchen Sink

Some people have described C#'s feature set as bloated. It is getting some syntactic diversity which makes it a bit harder to read someone else's code. But it doesn't make C# harder to learn, since it takes roughly the same amount of effort to get to a point where you can be effective in it.

Most of the more specific features can be effortlessly ignored. The ones that can't be effortlessly ignored tend to bring something genuinely useful to the language -- such as tuples and destructuring. Tuples have their own syntax, the syntax is pretty intuitive, but the first time you run into it, you will have to do a bit of learning.

C# has an immense amount of small features meant to make the language more ergonomic. They're too numerous to mention and they just keep getting added.

I'd like to draw attention to some features not because they're the most important but rather because it feels like they communicate the "personality" of C#. Not sure what level of detail was appropriate, so feel free to skim.

Stricter Null Handling. If you think not having to explicitly deal with null is the billion dollar mistake, then C# tries to fix a bit of the problem by allowing you to enable a strict context where you have to explicitly tell it that something can be null, otherwise it will assume that the possibility of a reference type being null is an error. It's a bit more complicated than that, but it definitely helps with safety around nullability.

Default Interface Implementation. A problem in C# which drives usage of inheritance is that with just interfaces there is no way to reuse code outside of passing function pointers. A lot of people don't get this and think that inheritance is just used because other people are stupid or something. If you have a couple of methods that would be implemented exactly the same for classes 1 through 99, but somewhat differently for classes 100 through 110, then without inheritance you're fucked. A much better way would be Rust's trait system, but for that to work you need really powerful generics, so it's too different of a path for C# to trod it. Instead what C# did was make it so that you can write an implementation for methods declared in an interface, as long as that implementation only uses members defined in the interface (this makes sense, why would it have access to anything else?). So now you can have a default implementation for the 1 through 99 case and save some of your sanity. Of course, it's not a panacea, if the implementation of the method requires access to the internal state of the 1 through 99 case, default interface implementation won't save you. But it can still make it easier via some techniques I won't get into. The important part is that default interface implementation allows code reuse and reduces reasons to use inheritance.

Performance Optimization. C# has a plethora of features regarding that. Most of which will never be encountered by the average programmer. Examples: (1) stackalloc - forcibly allocate reference types to the stack if you know they won't outlive the current scope. (2) Specialized APIs for avoiding memory allocations in happy paths. (3) Lazy initialization APIs. (4) APIs for dealing with memory more directly that allow high performance when interoping with C/C++ while still keeping a degree of safety.

Fine Control Over Async Runtime. C# lets you write your own... async builder and scheduler? It's a bit esoteric and hard to describe. But basically all the functionality of async/await that does magic under the hood? You can override that magic to do some very specific things that you'll rarely need. Unity3D takes advantage of this in order to allow async/await to work on WASM even though it is a single-threaded environment. It implements a cooperative scheduler so the program doesn't immediately freeze the moment you do await in a single-threaded environment. Most people don't know this capability exists and it doesn't affect them.

Tremendous Amount Of Synchronization Primitives and API. This ones does actually make multithreaded code harder to deal with, but basically C# erred a lot in favor of having many different ways to do multithreading because they wanted to suit different usecases. Most people just deal with idiomatic async/await code, but a very small minority of C# coders deal with locks, atomics, semaphores, mutex, monitors, interlocked, spin waiting etc. They knew they couldn't make this shit safe, so they tried to at least let you have ready-made options for your specific use case, even if it causes some balkanization.

Shortly Begging For Tagged Unions

What I miss from C# is more powerful generic bounds/constraints and tagged unions (or sum types or discriminated unions or type unions or any of the other 5 names this concept has).

The generic constraints you can use in C# are anemic and combined with the lack of tagged unions this is rather painful at times.

I remember seeing Microsoft devs saying they don't see enough of a usecase for tagged unions. I've at times wanted to strangle certain people. These two facts are related to one another.

My stance is that if you think your language doesn't need or benefit from tagged unions, either your language is very weird, or, more likely you're out of your goddamn mind. You are making me do really stupid things every time I need to represent a structure that can EITHER have a value of type A or a value of type B.

But I think C# will eventually get tagged unions. There's a proposal for it here. I would be overjoyed if it got implemented. It seems like it's been getting traction.

Also there was an entire section on unchecked exceptions that I removed because it wasn't interesting enough. Yes, C# could probably have checked exceptions and it didn't and it's a mistake. But ultimately it doesn't seem to have caused any make-or-break in a comparison with Java, which has them. They'd all be better off with returning an Error<T>. Short story is that the consequences of unchecked exceptions have been highly tolerable in practice.

Ecosystem State & FOSSness

C# is better than ever and the tooling ecosystem is better than ever. This is true of almost every language, but I think C# receives a rather high amount of improvements per version. Additionally the FOSS story is at its peak.

Roslyn, the bedrock of the toolchain, the compiler and analysis provider, is under MIT license. The fact that it does analysis as well is important, because this means you can use the wealth of Roslyn analyzers to do linting.

If your FOSS tooling lets you compile but you don't get any checking as you type, then your development experience is wildly substandard.

A lot of stupid crap with cross-platform compilation that used to be confusing or difficult is now rather easy to deal with. It's basically as easy as (1) use NET Core, (2) tell dotnet to build for Linux. These steps take no extra effort and the first step is the default way to write C# these days.

Dotnet is part of the SDK and contains functionality to create NET Core projects and to use other tools to build said projects. Dotnet is published under MIT, because the whole SDK and runtime are published under MIT.

Yes, the debugger situation is still bad -- there's no FOSS option for it, but this is more because nobody cares enough to go and solve it. Jetbrains proved anyone can do it if they have enough development time, since they wrote a debugger from scratch for their proprietary C# IDE Rider.

Where C# falls flat on its face is the "userspace" ecosystem. Plainly put, because C# is a Microsoft product, people with FOSS inclinations have steered clear of it to such a degree that the packages you have available are not even 10% of what packages a Python user has available, for example. People with FOSS inclinations are generally the people who write packages for your language!!

I guess if you really really hate leftpad, you might think this is a small bonus though.

Where-in I talk about Cross-Platform

The biggest thing the ecosystem has been lacking for me is a package, preferably FOSS, for developing cross-platform applications. Even if it's just cross-platform desktop applications.

Like yes, you can build C# to many platforms, no sweat. The same way you can build Rust to many platforms, some sweat. But if you can't show a good GUI on Linux, then it's not practically-speaking cross-platform for that purpose.

Microsoft has repeatedly done GUI stuff that, predictably, only works on Windows. And yes, Linux desktop is like 4%, but that 4% contains >50% of the people who create packages for your language's ecosystem, almost the exact point I made earlier. If a developer runs Linux and they can't have their app run on Linux, they are not going to touch your language with a ten foot pole for that purpose. I think this largely explains why C#'s ecosystem feels stunted.

The thing is, I'm not actually sure how bad or good the situation is, since most people just don't even try using C# for this usecase. There's a general... ecosystem malaise where few care to use the language for this, chiefly because of the tone that Microsoft set a decade ago. It's sad.

HOWEVER.

Avalonia, A New Hope?

Today we have Avalonia. Avalonia is an open-source framework that lets you build cross-platform applications in C#. It's MIT licensed. It will work on Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android and also somehow in the browser. It seems to this by actually drawing pixels via SkiaSharp (or optionally Direct2D on Windows).

They make money by offering migration services from WPF app to Avalonia. Plus general support.

I can't say how good Avalonia is yet. I've researched a bit and it's not obviously bad, which is distinct from being good. But if it's actually good, this would be a holy grail for the ecosystem:

You could use a statically typed language that is productive for this type of software development to create cross-platform applications that have higher performance than the Electron slop. That's valuable!

This possibility warrants a much higher level of enthusiasm than I've seen, especially within the ecosystem itself. This is an ecosystem that was, for a while, entirely landlocked, only able to make Windows desktop applications.

I cannot overstate how important it is for a language's ecosystem to have a package like this and have it be good. Rust is still missing a good option. Gnome is unpleasant to use and buggy. Falling back to using Electron while writing Rust just seems like a bad joke. A lot of the Rust crates that are neither Electron nor Gnome tend to be really really undercooked.

And now I've actually talked myself into checking out Avalonia... I mean after writing all of that I feel like a charlatan for not having investigated it already.

[catt-nuevenor]

The Future

Time to establish what's going to happen from this point forwards.

The vast majority of you have been exceptionally patient this last year, and for that you have my deepest thanks. You've given me the time to not only write a book, but edit it, and send it off to literary agents, something I would have long given up on doing without the continued support of those who enjoy my writing.

Now that the book is off doing the rounds independently, it's time I got back to Myrk Mire.

Originally Myrk Mire was built in ChoiceScript, a scripting language created by the Choice of Games company. Choice of Games control what is done with their script, understandably, they own it. This does pose some restrictions. I can't, for example, release any paid material built using ChoiceScript unless it is directly through their publishing label. If I do publish under their label, I maintain IP or Intellectual Property Rights, however I also grant them the exclusive rights under perpetual license to publish the multiple choice game 'electronically'.

Source: Choice of Games.com

As you can see from the outline above, they do make exceptions for stories published in non-competing formats, and for sequels, prequels, and spin-offs. However, traditional publishing houses might require stricter control over IP, distribution, and exclusivity. It will only become more and more complicated as things progress, and being locked into a perpetual license agreement of any nature is not a decision to make lightly.

As some of you may be sensing from the tone of all this so far, I'm going to be moving Myrk Mire away from Choice of Games and ChoiceScript, and into a new medium/format.

After tinkering, and trialling with a few alternatives, I've decided to go with Renpy. Renpy, while largely used for visual novel style games and stories, provides a very workable framework for interactive fiction, and is an Open Source script, it isn't beholden to publishing contracts, licence cost, or exclusivity.

I'm not going to be diving into transferring Myrk Mire right away, it's a huge piece of writing, in an entirely different scripting language, and as previously stated, there are a lot of changes I want to implement with the cast. Instead, I'm creating a trial story: One Háḟest Day. My Patrons have been aware of all this for about a month or so, and have already seen some previews.

One Háḟest Day takes place in Aldmirham before the events of Myrk Mire, around the time the Main Character and the Wanderers first arrived in town. The reader will have the choice to follow one of the romanceable characters through a single day, with opportunities to explore their lives and relationships before the Main Character and Child come along. I hope it will provide a proving ground for the changes that previously caused debate, and an opportunity for people to try out the new format and interface.

My plan is to distribute One Háḟest Day through Itch.io, working with their early access framework and voluntary payments for such as soon as one of the character routes is ready to play from beginning to end, updating regularly with the other characters as they too are completed, and with additional features as required. Once the full game is complete, I will release a separate full build with a set minimum price that can be discussed with the community as we move forwards.

At the second, I'm aiming for a web hosted format and a desktop/laptop downloadable format, with phone compatibility to come later down the line once things are stable.

I will post production updates and info when I can to tumblr, though a lot of what I'm doing now is very python coding heavy, so perhaps not that interesting?

I've included some screenshots below of very early development, featuring a Character Log and Word Log that I hope will allow readers to more easily navigate the story. I'm toying with the idea of having a Mysteries Log as well that will keep track of snippets of information gleaned from each character's route, but that can be a tinkering feature for now.

Let me know your thoughts, concerns, or excitement, though do keep all messages objective and polite.

[destinationtoast]

hi! research question I'd love your input on:

do you know how to generate size-of-fandom stats? I'm researching the Ghost fandom and while I know from the This Week in Tumblr posts about what their size is *now,* I'd like to try to compare it to past years, and be able to make statements like "x% of the fandom is reblogging explicit content."

I'm also looking for deeper info on how tumblr works if someone deactivates - do their notes vanish too?

It sounds like you want to gather Tumblr information only -- is that right? I don't have a lot of expertise with Tumblr data (I think I last gathered some over a decade ago), but it looks like their API still lets you retrieve posts with a certain tag and specify a timestamp, if you're willing to do a bit of programming. So you could, e.g., retrieve the last N posts of each month that use a particular fandom tag. And then you can compare those samples of posts to see how the content has changed over time. If you want to do that, there are libraries in Python and probably other languages that can make it easier to work with the Tumblr API.

I believe the posts retrieved this way don't include reblogs, so you'd also have to look at the post notes to get info about how many reblogs different types of posts are getting. As to your question of deactivated accounts within those notes, I'm not certain of the answer. I frequently see reblog chains where some accounts in the chain have deactivated, so those notes are not entirely gone. But I don't know if the replies/likes from deactivated accounts disappear from post notes. Anyone else know?

[anisespice]

tall fem reader?

tall fem reader!!! thanks for the request, anon :)))

hq ver.

pairing: college!tr x tall!fem!reader

warnings: mature language, MDI, suggestive language, reader mentioned in chifuyu’s but not present, mild mild mild cat-call in hanma’s - just crack overall, honestly lol feel free to let me know if i missed anything!

notes: planned to make this a whole x whoever you want type beat, BUT figured just doing a headcanon broken into different heights would be more efficient lol plus MORE CONTENT - gonna make a pt. 2 with some hq men, but for now — t.rev! :))) hope you enjoy <3 !!

tagged: @fantasycantasy , @illegalspacecow

small — ♡

When it came down to a relationship, MIKEY wasn’t shallow enough to let physical appearances stop him from pursuing someone he wanted—He liked what he liked, fuck what anybody else had to say about it. The blonde never had issue with your drastic height difference, seeing it as more of a perk than anything else. His best friend was tall, so why not his girlfriend? It just meant whenever he walked down the street, he’d look like a total badass with his two attractive beanpoles at his side.

However, a lot of the buzz on campus mostly centered around Mikey’s height rather than yours. It never bothered him, but it certainly got you tight anytime someone tried to uplift you whilst putting him down in the process.

“A shrimp like him wouldn’t know how to handle all that leg of yours, mama. Lemme take you out tonight, show you a good time with someone who’s more on your level, whaddya say?”

Barf.

Mikey would merely give them a dead-stare; unbothered king. You, on the other hand, didn’t hesitate to knock them down a size or two.

“First of all, your busted-looking ass could never be on the same level as me. Second of all, where my man lacks in height, he makes up for elsewhere, so he handles me very well, thank you. You’re probably the type to just shove it in without any sort of technique, thinking that’s enough to get a girl to finish. My man won’t bust once until I’ve came up to four times, the fuck can you offer me besides being six-foot? Hm? That’s right, not a damn thing. Remember that next time you talk shit, dirt-neck.”

Read him straight to filth. And God forbid Mikey had his gang with him anytime some scrub tried to spit game, best believe they’d dog the guy until he scurried away in humiliation. It always filled him with great adoration for you wherever you checked someone in his defense, your entire relationship giving off the same energy as that one meme with Kevin Hart’s character being protectively held by the lady. It’d been put in the groupchat a number of times just to tease the delinquent, but he’s unashamed at the fact you could easily pick his ass up. If anything, he was all for it, even requested piggy-back rides from you more often than his right-hand man—Draken’s back appreciates your sacrifice.

Now let someone try and spit game at him.

“Yeah, normally guys feel emasculated when their girlfriend’s taller than them, y’know? I’m surprised you don’t, though. No offense, [_____] just doesn’t seem like a good fit for you. I mean, must be tough to lay in the same bed, or even put her in your lap without feeling smothered or crushed. Wouldn’t it be much better to have someone a little smaller-”

“She could sit on me until my pelvis collapsed, and I would thank her. And, full offense, if I was single, still wouldn’t pick you even if you put a gun to my head. Keep my girl’s name out your mouth, you don’t deserve to breathe the same air let alone be on first name basis. Now, quit wasting my time—Do you have the notes from yesterday’s lecture or not?”

You don’t play about him. He don’t play about you. Period.

And as far as sharing a bed, cuddling or otherwise, Mikey was a sucker for being held like a damn squishmellow. Didn’t matter if you took up most of the leg space, dude would be wrapped around you like a python, so snug and warm you’d be lucky to even escape his grasp for food or the bathroom. Once he’s sleep, he’s SLEEP, and then you become the squishmellow.

“Mikey, I will be right back, turn me loose-”

“Zzzzzz…” out like a light. Drooling and everything, face smushed up against your boobs, just content. You’d think he’d been working the graveyard shift. And God forbid he ended up laying on top of you, sprawled out starfish style…you for sure weren’t going anywhere then.

Even if you expressed this dilemma after he woke up, the blonde merely yawned. “Just pick me up and carry me with you…”

“You’re smoking crack if you think I’m gonna haul your ass with me into the bathroom. I love you and all that, but we ain’t at the stage where I can comfortably use it with you in room.”

He shrugged. “Mm. Guess you don’t have to go that bad. G’night.”

“Mikey.”

“Shh, I’m sleeping…”

A gremlin. But, your gremlin. ♡

—

medium — ♡

CHIFUYU still can’t believe he bagged you, frfr.

There’d be moments where you’d catch him staring, as if he figured you’d disappear the second he took his eyes off you.

It’d get a little creepy sometimes, but it was endearing all the same. He wasn’t the shortest guy, though he wasn’t the tallest either, and standing next to you was a constant reminder of that. Not that he held any resentment toward you for it, he absolutely loved your height. However, there was always some form of insecurity that would resurface anytime someone called attention to it.

And today, his best friend and co-worker, Baji, would not only be the culprit, but an unlikely source of reassurance.

While they were stocking up inventory, the ravenette couldn’t help but notice the stool his friend was using to put a box in a particular high place. Wearing a mischievous grin, Baji pointed. “Oi. You should take that home with you. That way your girl won’t have to strain her neck when she kisses you.” He snorted, thinking he was the funniest man alive.

Normally, something that lame wouldn’t phase him, but guess today he was feeling a little more sensitive. With a grunt, the former blonde coolly spoke, “Maybe you should shut the hell up, and stock the damn shelves.”

“Whoa. What’s up your ass?” Baji furrowed his brows, walking over to lightly kick at the stool’s metal leg, making it jerk. Chifuyu sharply gasped, latching onto an empty shelf to steady himself. He exhaled, relieved, then shot a glare. But, Baji wasn’t perturbed.

Chifuyu sighed. “Nothing. I’m fine...”

“Fine my left nut. You don’t get short like that unless there’s something on your mind,” not the best way to phrase that, but at least he was genuine. Chifuyu rolled his eyes, coming down off the stool to brush past the ravenette.

“Not in the mood, alright?”

Baji was left standing there, dumbfounded.

The entire vibe had been thrown on its head, and he didn’t understand why. Awkwardly, he went back to assorting through the contents within the nearest box, bottom lip stuck out in thought as he briefly glanced at Chifuyu’s back mere feet away. It was like an itch he couldn’t scratch. He knew not to pry, but curiosity always won gold in the end. Baji replayed the conversation in his head, using his impeccable deductive reasoning to draw his own conclusions.

And then suddenly, an epiphany.

Without a hint of warning, the ravenette quickly walked over and slapped his friend in the middle of his back. Chifuyu yelped, nearly dropping the box in his hands before whipping around to fix Baji with a wide, incredulous look. “T-The hell?!”

“So. She dumped ya, huh? [Sigh] Look man, don’t beat yourself up, a lot of guys fumble the bag from time to time. If ya need a shoulder to cry on…don’t use mine, but ‘tora might let you-”

“Hah?? What are you—[_____] didn’t dump me, dumbass!”

Baji blinked. “Oh. My bad, jus’ figured that’s why you’re in your feelings.”

“And you thought the best thing to do was to hit me, then tell me to cry on someone else?” Chifuyu squinted when the arsonist gave a shrug. He sighed again, carefully setting the box down. “It’s not about [______]. Well, technically. The other day we had lunch with a few of her friends. They apparently have been dying to meet me for some time. And things were going great until…”

Chifuyu trailed off, leaving Baji in suspense.

He grunted. “‘till what? Jus’ say it, bet it isn’t even that bad-”

“They were shocked to see her with someone who barely came up to her elbows.”

Silence filled the storage room. Chifuyu continued to keep his eyes trained elsewhere while his counterpart merely stared for what felt like hours, but only seconds. And then…

“Pfft.”

Chifuyu looked up and sneered, blushing furiously as he threw a chew toy from one of the boxes at the fiend. “Hey! Don’t laugh! Do you have any idea how humiliating that is??”

Baji, to his dismay, effortless caught the toy, even squeaking it a couple times just to annoy him more. Taking a moment to collect himself, the ravenette still wore his sharp grin as he spoke through airy giggles. “So? Who cares what they have to say?”

“I do! They’re [_____]’s friends, everyone knows their approval is just as crucial to the relationship as the parents…if not more.”

“Mm. Pretty sure you’re overthinking this.”

Chifuyu gave a sarcastic laugh, “Pretty sure I’m not.”

“Alright. Lemme school ya on how women operate when they get in their little cliques.” Baji dusted off his hands, missing the eye roll the former blonde gave once again. With his pointer held high, he declared, “If majority of the friend group is taken, they’re just being protective. No doubt they’ve been there for every heartbreak, every fight, ‘nd jus’ don’t think anyone’s good enough for [_____]. Jus’ gotta keep your head down, and don’t give ‘em any reason to be weary. Simple.”

With a slow, skeptical nod, Chifuyu pursed his lips at his fellow delinquent. It wasn’t unlikely, so at least he’s correct in that regard. However, the line between facts and feelings began to blur the further Baji continued.

“But, if majority of them are single, then you’re screwed either way —Damned if you do, damned if you don’t.”

“Wow, that’s so helpful. You sure schooled me, Baji-san.”

“‘m serious. You gotta watch out for the single ones in the friend group. They’re all passive aggressive, try to get under your skin, push your buttons. Then, before you know it, they’re in your head, get you so worked up only for them to turn around and play victim, saying you can’t take a joke, and now you’re the fucking bad guy! Classic textbook emotional manipulation—Don’t fall for it. ‘cause they’ve got it down to a science, I’m telling ya.”

Chifuyu’s eyes widen at the sudden intensity that overtook the room, taking a small step back when Baji jabbed his finger at him, as if he were warning him of some conspiracy. “Uh…you good?”

Baji took a moment’s pause. Then, he cleared his throat.

“Sorry, got a little carried away. All’s I’m saying is, don’t sweat. Lotta chick’s pick on the best friend’s new fling, t’s like a war tactic—Poking at our fragile egos ‘nd all that. But, seems like you did fine, otherwise you’d be crying all over ‘tora right now.” Baji shrugged.

Chifuyu blinked, now his turn to be dumbfounded. “Huh.”

He frowned. “‘Huh’? I jus’ gave you some killer, black-pilled insight on cracking their code of conduct, and all I get is a dry-ass ‘huh’? Tsk. I’m charging you next time, goddamn freeloader.”

Chifuyu glared, but softened soon after. After taking his words into consideration, the former blonde couldn’t help but feel lighter. “It’s just... didn’t expect that to actually make me feel better.”

Baji scrunched his nose. “The fuck’s that supposed to mean? Oi, don’t ever doubt my knowledge. It may be selective, but I got it when it counts. Besides, thanks to me you won’t take that stool home after all.”

“I wasn’t planning to take it home in the first place.”

“Right. Keep telling yourself that, elbows.”

“Hey!”

—

large — ♡

“Hey, baby, those legs go all the way up?”

It was moments like this where you detested not being able to blend in with the average crowd. Attention always seemed to gravitate toward you no matter how hard you tried to avoid it, like being covered in honey while trying to walk in front of a herd of bears. And it didn’t help that you were currently wearing heels tonight, accentuating your legs even more in the little, black cocktail dress you sported. You were headed to a party a mutual friend of yours was throwing, and you wanted to surprise your man by wearing the new Jimmy Choos he bought you, knowing how much he loved how your legs with the extra height on them—Evidently, so did the prowling degenerate on the streets.

You had elected to ignore them. HANMA seemed to have other plans as he came to a complete stop in his tracks, slowly turning around to walk up on the moron who had the nerve to open his mouth. Low, golden eyes gazed down at the waste of space, face calm but a murderous aura oozed off him like pheromone, suffocating the slimy bastard into submission as he attempted to shrink away. But, he wasn’t about to let him get away so easily.

A wide, eerie grin spread across his face. “Could’ve sworn I just heard you cat-call my girl right in front of me. But, you wouldn’t be stupid enough to do that. Right?”

The guy nervously looked back for reinforcements but his buddies were already long gone. Hanma’s grin immediately dissolved from his face, kissing his teeth before grabbing the guy by the front of his collar and twisting. “Fuckin’ hate repeating myself.”

Hanma wound his arm back, dead set on knocking the guy into an early grave until you intervened at the last second. By grabbing onto the balled up fist, you brought it to your lips to place a tender kiss on the inked skin. You felt his muscles relax, but he still held the offender by his shirt, only slightly playing attention to you cooing in his ear.

“Baby, you promised no fighting tonight, remember?”

“I know, doll, but this fucker,” he shook the guy around in his tight grasp, unhinged grin making its appearance once more at the sound of him blubbering, “deserves to have his shit rocked for even looking at you. I’m just gonna teach ‘em a little lesson about manners, that’s all. I’ll be quick.”

You scoffed, “You and I both know you don’t do quick.”

Hanma snickered. “First time for everything, right?”

“Shuji.”

Tugging on his arm, you were able to redirect all of his focus onto you, sinister eyes melting into sweet caramel as his pupils dilated the second they locked on yours. It always did something to him whenever you came up to eye-level. Sure, you were already pretty tall but the heels nearly had you towering him. It gave him a weird sensation, one that made him want to drop everything and worship you like the deity you were. Especially in situations like this.

Hanma felt like the smaller one for once. It drove him insane.

You fixed him a stern look. “Drop him.”

Without a moment’s hesitation, he discarded the guy onto the pavement like an old can, wild eyes eagerly watching you and waiting for your next request. Taking his free hand into yours, interlacing your fingers, you led the rest of the way by pulling him from the nobody now cowering near a bush, no doubt rethinking his life choices while you kept onward to your destination. You didn’t get all spruced up to not be seen tonight, and you’ll be damned if any more time got wasted on some loser he’d put in a coma after one hit. After a short moment of silence, you expected Hanma to be mad at you for not letting him knock someone’s teeth loose. But when you glanced back at him, you should’ve known you’d be greeted with absolute smugness as you shook your head in mirth.

You elected to ignore the obvious tent in his pants…but he’d surely plan for you to do otherwise later on.

[haveyoulistenedtothisalbum-poll]

Tracklist:

40 Years Super Hot Body Ready for Party • Aries Taurus Gemini Cancer Leo Virgo Libra and Scorpio Sagittarius Capricorn Aquarius Pisces Fart Song • Butterflies Scared My Cat When I Was Burping in Your Face on Wednesday Morning • Drunk Log out with Spooky Music Settings on My Firm Tits Pictures • Grandpa Says Fuck While Grandma Screams What Repeated Several Times • Grumpy Trumpy Python Toddler Taxi with False News and Emotions • Hugging Blood Thirsty Vampires with a Transylvanian Accent and Slapped Butts • I Farted as an Official Statement Against Global Warming, Expressing My Worries! • I’m Handsome When Wearing a Bag on My Head, Said the Horny Motherfuckers Politely • Is That Cellulite or Just Your Ugly Face? • Kindergarten Farting Fanfare Discussed with Disgusting Asian Clay Warriors Terracotta Song • Leaking Ladies Xylophone Solo Learning with Lusty Lashes Song • Lisping on Penis Peyote Creaking Mirth Radio, Let’s Lisp! Song • Lowering My Filthy Boobs to the Height of Your Curly Chest Hair with Freckles • Mom’s Cleaning Closet Looks Like a Women’s Porn Stash • My Gay Expense Combination Password Gore Seeking Battle Was Sinning • My Hangover Got Hung over by a Hung Guy from Hungary • My Horoscope Sign Is Poop and Yours Is Farts • Nearly Touching Myself with Your Girlfriend’s Hands While Doing the Dishes • Peeing a Farting Swearing Shouting and Pooping in Different Languages Made Me Famous Song • Petite Girls Liked My Fat Farts in Skinny Jeans with Justice • Pooping a Masterpiece in the Little Boys Room on National TV Broadcast • Puerto Del Penis Summer Holiday with Topless Sun Bathing and Surfing Fun • Puking Girls Are Holding Each Others Hair While Selling Butter to Pregnant Vomiting Men • Real Sharks Was a Great Accessory for My Swimming Pool Party Massacre • Relaxing Music for Penis Boys and Vagina Girls, I Have Money Cash, Yes! • Rescuing My Penis from Your Vagina at the Last Minute, Whoah! • Scary Music and Naked Ladies Cemetery Collection Flickering Through Growth • Shaking Sausages in the Men’s Room and Dangling Coconuts • Short Temper Anus Removal with Lipstick on the Collar • Shouting Poopers to Girls While a Crying Man Is Pooping Poop, How Adorable Screaming Babies Are! • Silly Talking Childish Macho Man Thanking Prayers for God’s Food Yes Hello! • Skinny Bitch, Fat Bitch, Rich Bitch, Poor Bitch, All Bitches Poop! • Smelling That Pussy in the Air at the Private Night Club Farting Room • Smudging Chocolate over the Toilet, So Everyone Would Think I Pooped • Sneaking Beans into Your Butthole While U Talk to a Handsome Stranger • Snuggling in Satan’s Satin Sheets with Shattered Dreams and No Boner Song • Solitary Fighting My Big Toe with the Desolate Strangler • Spoiling Desert by Pulling Your Finger Thirteen Times in a Row • Strolling with Morning Wood in the Woods While Mourning to This Song • Stutter and Chinese Food Destroyed My Artwork in the Toilet Bowl Coffee Shop • Sunny Morning Boner at the Beach Gym Towel Rental Song • Surprisingly Soft Boobs on the Milf Statue in the Garden of Jugs, Oh It Was Your Mom Sorry! •

Taming My Daughter’s Boyfriend with Booze and Fists of Agony • Teleporting My Cock to the Urinals Hurts When Peeing Penis Action • That Penis Is Not Mine, Stop Accusing Me of Curing Your Cancer! What • The Brothel Cup Cake Dispenser Had a Variety of Chocolate Brownies Too • The Giggling Killer Was Invited for Tea and Mustard with a Former Laughing Idiot • The Headache Fuckers with Migraine Were Chopping Fucking Painkillers • The Itchy Vampire Vagina Was a Gothic Curse from Medieval Times Song • The Lying Bitch Hermit Ducking Group Was Insisting on Bitch Slaps • The Penis Teens Shouting Squad Declared War on the Vagina Milfs Departure • The Pussy Cock Was Meowing and Cock-a-Doodle-Dooing with Glance • The Singing Orgy Group Remembered My Fancy Birthday Party, Super! • The Sock on My Penis Shook the Genuine Spokesman While Crying Song • The Syphilis Motown Singers Were Blowing Deranged Adultery at Me Song • The Toy Collector’s Mature Attitude Otter Raised Homeland Security Breach • The Triangle of Pussy and Clipping Smoothies Burping Smootch • Typical Asian Food Poured into the Purse of an European Hooker Prostitute Igloo • Under Water Farting Wiz Nick Y Minaj Naked Twerking Shower Saloon Barf Thong • Updating My Profile Picture While Pooping Macaroni with Japanese Subtitles • Using Mother´s Panther Underwear Because of Broken Shopping Bag to the Store • Washing Hamburgers with Dirty Sauce in Leather Pants While Howling • What Ugly Shit on Your Finger! Oh, It’s Your Wedding Ring? It’s Very Nice! • Whistling and Farting a Heavenly Polyphonic Song for Dying Virgins • Violin Licking Sounds by a Hard Baritone Dick Song Licker • Young Girls Selling Old Men´s Boxers in Thongs with Soulful Tutti-Frutti • Your Butthole Swallowed My Telephone, Will It Come out from the Mouth Then? • Your Mom´s Butt Massage Seems Innocent at First, Before Handing out Religious Leaflets

Spotify ♪ Youtube

[queer-ragnelle]

Hi! I was wondering if you had any advice on how to craft a well-written, compelling Arthurian OC that isn't obnoxious or out of place but is still unique. I recognize the difficulty in doing so with so many different source texts (I'm most familiar with Le Morte, so that's usually my go-to) and the vast list of already existing characters. I'm just curious about your thoughts on the matter, since you're an author and also very knowledgeable about Arthuriana 💖

Hello there!

This is a tough question to answer! I think it's important to note that everyone will have a different opinion on this, but that shouldn't alter you writing your story how you want to. Some think adding any characters at all is too big of a change, while others write a full cast of original characters and then Merlin shows up randomly and makes the story "Arthurian."

I'm going to say something controversial.

Every Arthurian character is an OC.

Even King Arthur himself is an OC.

I'm going to elaborate on this quite a bit, as it's very important to me. But the TL;DR is that reading more will definitely help you conceptualize the boundaries of what's possible. Le Morte d'Arthur is a great start, but there's so much out there, both medieval and modern, that'll undoubtedly aid in your Arthuriana writing journey! :^)

While I do say things like "I love Arthurian OCs" as a means to convey that I view everyone's new creations as valid and interesting, I actually don't believe in a strong differentiation between Chretien de Troyes' Sir Lancelot or Marie of France's Sir Lanval and what you or I are writing today. We're participating in a tradition which can, at times, necessitate the creation of a new character or repurposing of an existing one. I think as soon as you create a character for your Arthurian story, they're an Arthurian character. Some refer to Lancelot or Galahad as "French OCs" or call Knight of the Cart or the Vulgate "fanfiction" as a means to degrade it's validity. Some seem to have an arbitrary timeline on which the full body of Arthurian works is measured, and the more recently something was written, the less authentic it becomes. I think they're wrong. I believe that whether or not we enjoy an installment in the ever expanding Arthurian tradition is irrelevant; it's all equally entitled to a measure of respect, even the new characters. No character or story is lesser than another by virtue of its age or language of origin or target audience or medium. I disdain the excess of scrutiny put upon certain arbitrary groupings of Arthurian tradition. Each story is full of original characters and building on the foundations of what came before. That's the nature of creative influence. Whether or not Arthur was a real person at some point in history is moot. The guy in the Mabinogion or the Vulgate or Le Morte d'Arthur or BBC Merlin is a character. He's a tool to tell a story. Such as your creation will be! Your brand new Arthurian character stands equally with all the rest who preceded them. :^)

Now, it can be helpful to distinguish between a medieval character and a modern one, sure, as they may represent different things depending on what point in history (or part of the world) they were created in. But Arthuriana isn't a franchise one must obtain express permission to contribute to, and it doesn't have a "canon," so therefore differentiating a character as "other" can be counter productive when developing a story. I don't believe Sir Robin from Monty Python and The Holy Grail (1975) or Brian from The Adventures of Sir Lancelot (1956-1957) are any less valuable as characters, even if they do draw on traits of existing Arthurian motifs in order to commentate on them or otherwise expand. In fact I think they're great characters and serve their narrative roles beautifully. One simple and one complex. I recommend watching those to see how it's done well and that may help you develop your own characters. But I'll delve into it a bit here to illustrate what I mean.

Sir Robin carries the coat of arms of a chicken, he's a cowardly knight followed around by a troupe of musicians that sing songs about all of his exploits. That is, the things he's run away from. Rather than use an existing Arthurian character and degrading them, Monty Python developed Sir Robin in order to tell their joke.

The flipside is Brian, a bona fide kitchen boy, who attaches himself to Sir Lancelot and desires to squire for him. Brian's narrative purpose is to deconstruct the nobility in a way that Gareth Beaumains, whom Brian is plainly inspired by, could not. Brian begins as a true serf forced to endear himself to Sir Lancelot to elevate his station. Merlin forges papers of nobility to convince King Arthur that Brian is worthy of this privilege. Even after that, Brian must face the brutality of his fellows while living in the barracks with them, as they don't take kindly to a "smelly kitchen boy" in their midst, plotting to get Brian to incriminate himself as a thief and get evicted from Camelot by Sir Kay. This role is incongruous with Gareth as Sir Gawain's brother, who was always noble, always a prince, and merely cloaked himself in the guise of poverty to prove a point. Gareth could return to the comforts of wealth whenever it suited him and his reason for going stealth was to intentionally distance himself from that privilege. The character Brian exists in order to commentate on the injustice of the upper class's oppression and dehumanization of the lower class in a way Gareth, or even Tor, could not, as they are of noble blood, even if it came by way of reveal. That's why Brian is a great addition to the Arthurian tradition.

Really, it comes down to treating the creation of your new Arthurian character like you would developing one for any other work, one entirely separate from the tradition. If they're a good character, they're a good character! Try not to get hung up too much on whether or not they're going to mesh well with the rest of the cast. For centuries, writers have transformed historical figures into Arthurian characters. (See: King Mark of Kernow better known as the Cuckhold King from the Prose Tristan, Owain mab Urien better known as Sir Yvain from Knight of the Lion by Chretien de Troyes, Saint Derfel better known as Derfel Gadarn from The Warlord Chronicles by Bernard Cornwell, etc.)

Speaking of Prose Tristan, would anyone consider Sir Dinadan an OC? Or Sir Palomides? They're characters added to a story drawing from a much, much older tradition, and I think they enrich the story. I feel likewise about the many Perceval Continuations, including the German Parzival by Wolfram von Eschenbach, which adds a half brother named Sir Feirefiz, or names Chretien's anonymous haughty maiden Orgeluse. What about Sir Aglovale's son Moriaen in the Dutch tradition? Amurfina in German Diu Krone by Heinrich von dem Türlin? Morgan le Fay's daughter Puzella Gaia in Italian La Tavola Ritonda? Not to mention the countless Middle English additions. The Green Knight and his wife? Dame Ragnelle and Sir Gromer? Or how about everyone's favorite Savage Damsel, Lynette of Castle Perilous? Is she not a late-era addition to the tradition courtesy of the man, the myth, the legend, Sir Thomas Malory himself? And then here comes Tennyson, who read Le Morte d'Arthur, and got to the end of dear Gareth Beaumains' story and had the same reaction we all did: "What the hell? He marries her sister?" And then he went about changing that in Idylls of the King. Speaking of Lynette, what's up with her niece Laurel? She's just a name on a page, the vast majority of retellings choose to ignore her, even if they do keep Lynette and Lyonesse. Laurel can scarcely be called a character, after all. She doesn't even have dialogue. So as I've gone out of my way to make her a prominent, fully developed character, with her own culture and back story and motivations, does that make her an OC of mine? And Henry Newbolt who included Laurel in his play Mordred: A Tragedy. And Sarah Zettel, who wrote from Laurel's point of view in Camelot's Blood. We did all the work, but we threw an Arthurian name on the character, so therefore, she isn't ours? But if we changed her name, she would be? Who gets to decide?

All of the Arthurian characters belong to all of us. That's the beauty of writing in a long-standing tradition, which exists apart from all other forms of writing. We have complete creative liberty to do what we want and refer to it how we want and no person or corporation or anyone can dictate otherwise. The intellectual property of Arthuriana belongs to the people. So invent a brand new wife for Gawain, and well, you're only the millionth author to do it! Just make sure she's an interesting character and that's literally the only requirement. Can't wait to meet her. (And all others you create!)

Have a great day!

[mika-thexd]

Do you have any headcanons for First Gen black dragons hanging out when they were younger?

Thanks for asking! And yes! I actually have quite a few!

He's a hopeless romantic. Like 20 confessions rejected? I like to think that he got so desperate for love that he started to go around the campus and declare his love to random beautiful women.

And he probably doesn't attend school a lot unless in rare times, and if he does? His classmates will probably say something like: "wow this is once in a lifetime! Take a picture!" Or something like that

I like to think he actually has abs beneath those loose clothing of his. I mean, he's literally a gang leader don't tell me he doesn't have abs underneath

And his god hideous hairstyle? Yeah he probably thought it was cool and got bullied a lot by it. Till this day he's embarrassed that he used to think that his ugly hairstyle was 'attractive'

He kinda knows how to fight, but he doesn't apply the things he learned (observed from others) to his actual fights so all that learning for nothing ig

And speaking of not knowing how to fight I think it's because panics internally that's why he stumbles a lot when fighting

He has a bellybutton piercing because he was dared by Takeomi that if he gets rejected again he has to pierce his bellybutton. Yeah that's probably why he stopped at the 20th confession

Definitely got tanned because he goes a lot outside a lot because of his gang business and he's trying to regain his whiteness back

Probably had an Emo phase and he definitely got teased by it from his friends

His love language is quality time and acts of service

To be honest I can imagine him getting a tattoo for something stupid, whether it'd be he lost a bet or got dared to

He's definitely a morning person, like I can imagine him getting up at 6 am in the morning and still be positive without coffee (I'm actually so jealous)

He read a lot of self defense books because of all the teasing he got for not knowing how to fight. And he still doesn't know how to fight

His favorite season is definitely summer, like he will argue with you that summer is the best season

Like Miley he has a little teddy bear in his room that he has an unhealthy attachment to and won't wash it unless it's actually so sticky that it envelopes the room whole.

Has dyed his hair with his favorite color before and got scolded by his grandpa because of it

He prefers savoury food than all the other flavours

He definitely learned how to fight because of all the action movies he watches and unlike Shin he ACTUALLY applies it to his fights

As chill as he might seem he's actually deathly scared of snakes and screamed like a girl when he saw a big python chilling in his bed one day

He's deffo a womanizer, he got flocked by tons of women once or twice before at school

That's probably why he doesn't attend school much, along with the fact that he doesn't care that he passes or not

Has a mole somewhere near his ear.

Takes great care of his hair and actually has a hair routine that he can't afford to mess up or else he would beat someone up in the streets

Actually had a bad hair day that traumatized him till this day. Like it was so bad that he cut it up and styled his hair different

Takes probably 1 hour to get ready

Not a morning person and had punched someone because they woke him up, and now whenever they had to wake him up they would play rock papers scissors and whoever loses has to wake him up

Is actually a great listener and would give (brutally honest) advice to people

Has a septum piercing, he had it because he got dared by Takeomi to do it if he lost a fight to him.

Also had a colorful tattoo but it faded out, but he misses his colorful little tattoo

He definitely listens to odetari and Tyler the creator SHOOT ME DOWN IF IM WRONG

This boy probably has multiple CD's of brutal fighting scenes and actually collects them

And he probably smashed a lot of his flip phones while fighting, like there were so many smashed flip phones that they made a bet on how many it smashed flip phones he had and whoever was closest to the truth would get free lunch for a week

Is actually pretty fashionable as a child like the amount of complements he got is immaculate

His love language is quality time

He's a gentle giant, like he might be a tough but to crack but it's actually worth it

He's darker than his friends, he's probably half black though, dyed his hair blond because he thought it was cool

His love language is giving gifts PROVE ME WRONG

He likes bitterness other than the other flavours, probably because he has coffee injected in his veins

Not really a morning person, also not a night owl, he's more like an afternoon person

Autumn is his go to season because of the coolness and the comforting falling of the leaves

He's definitely a planter, he collects different types of plants, herbs, and flowers. Sometimes even rare and tropical plants

He has a fear of heights and will actually swallow a bug then go up 5ft away from the ground

This man is probably like a mom figure among the friend group because of how protective he can be

This man had pulled 6 all nighter but he probably injected an unhealthy amount of coffee that could kill an Elephant

His favorite animal is a cat, and has stopped randomly in the streets to pet one. He almost got in an accident because of that.

He's a writer PROVE ME WRONG like he's got all these words in mind that he cannot express in words so he just writes it in a paper

This man probably got his growth spurt at age 6 years old and stopped at 20 when he was Already standing at 6ft

He learned how to fight because he had this older cousin that knows how to fight well and actually got personal lessons from her

A gentleman at heart

He loves spice, like you can throw 15 peppers in his food and he wouldn't even bat an eye, his spice tolerance is to not be underestimated.

He's got in eating competitions before and won.

He's actually pretty good at singing too. Like he got in a few choirs because of that (he got forced by his mother)

Has shaved his head before because of Takeomi, yes he got dared, and as much as he wanted to refuse he couldn't because he would've got $80 taken away from him

He dyed his hair into a leopard print before and is planning to do it again.

Is a fan of operas and has watched videos of people singing in an opera somewhere in his phone

He's a gold person rather than a silver

he had street smarts

Is the most competitive out of the 3 and started betting competitions because of it (he won)

Spends like hundreds of dollars on gel and takes 30 minutes getting his hair ready

Had started smoking at 14 and actually haven't stopped since, like I'm not surprised his lungs are going to go black from all his smokings

A silver guy rather than a gold

He cannot cook for the life of him, like he's burned water before

Has dyed his hair pink because he lost a bet and needless to say pink is his least favorite color now

He also likes spicy flavours but unlike keizo he doesn't have a crazy spice tolerance and will cry if he eats more than 3 peppers

He also survives on coke and soft drinks and will not live if he doesn't drink atleast 2 bottles of it

He's a night owl and pulled multiple all nighters but also stays awake through the day that it seemed like he has a perfect sleep schedule

Collects pokemon cards as a kid and still has stacks of it hiding somewhere in his room and he will not trade it actually

Is really good at playing cards or any getting games

Sucks ass at chess though like he can't win at chess no matter how hard he tries

His jokes are terrible also, like dad jokes typa terrible

His love language is quality time

He probably has thousands of CD movies that are comedy but really it's just filled with dad jokes and worst of all he laughs at it

Has a tounge piercing that he got at his 15 birthday

Is brutal at truth or dare and has started fights because of it

A/n

Omg I read that wrong and ended up giving you a headcanon of them altogether I hope it's okay for you if not I can rewrite it don't worry! Omg I'm so sorry 😭

[cyberstudious]

Tools of the Trade for Learning Cybersecurity

I created this post for the Studyblr Masterpost Jam, check out the tag for more cool masterposts from folks in the studyblr community!

Cybersecurity professionals use a lot of different tools to get the job done. There are plenty of fancy and expensive tools that enterprise security teams use, but luckily there are also lots of brilliant people writing free and open-source software. In this post, I'm going to list some popular free tools that you can download right now to practice and learn with.

In my opinion, one of the most important tools you can learn how to use is a virtual machine. If you're not already familiar with Linux, this is a great way to learn. VMs are helpful for separating all your security tools from your everyday OS, isolating potentially malicious files, and just generally experimenting. You'll need to use something like VirtualBox or VMWare Workstation (Workstation Pro is now free for personal use, but they make you jump through hoops to download it).

Below is a list of some popular cybersecurity-focused Linux distributions that come with lots of tools pre-installed:

Kali is a popular distro that comes loaded with tools for penetration testing

REMnux is a distro built for malware analysis

honorable mention for FLARE-VM, which is not a VM on its own, but a set of scripts for setting up a malware analysis workstation & installing tools on a Windows VM.

SANS maintains several different distros that are used in their courses. You'll need to create an account to download them, but they're all free:

Slingshot is built for penetration testing

SIFT Workstation is a distro that comes with lots of tools for digital forensics

These distros can be kind of overwhelming if you don't know how to use most of the pre-installed software yet, so just starting with a regular Linux distribution and installing tools as you want to learn them is another good choice for learning.

Free Software

Wireshark: sniff packets and explore network protocols

Ghidra and the free version of IDA Pro are the top picks for reverse engineering

for digital forensics, check out Eric Zimmerman's tools - there are many different ones for exploring & analyzing different forensic artifacts

pwntools is a super useful Python library for solving binary exploitation CTF challenges

CyberChef is a tool that makes it easy to manipulate data - encryption & decryption, encoding & decoding, formatting, conversions… CyberChef gives you a lot to work with (and there's a web version - no installation required!).

Burp Suite is a handy tool for web security testing that has a free community edition

Metasploit is a popular penetration testing framework, check out Metasploitable if you want a target to practice with

SANS also has a list of free tools that's worth checking out.

Programming Languages

Knowing how to write code isn't a hard requirement for learning cybersecurity, but it's incredibly useful. Any programming language will do, especially since learning one will make it easy to pick up others, but these are some common ones that security folks use:

Python is quick to write, easy to learn, and since it's so popular, there are lots of helpful libraries out there.

PowerShell is useful for automating things in the Windows world. It's built on .NET, so you can practically dip into writing C# if you need a bit more power.

Go is a relatively new language, but it's popular and there are some security tools written in it.

Rust is another new-ish language that's designed for memory safety and it has a wonderful community. There's a bit of a steep learning curve, but learning Rust makes you understand how memory bugs work and I think that's neat.

If you want to get into reverse engineering or malware analysis, you'll want to have a good grasp of C and C++.

Other Tools for Cybersecurity

There are lots of things you'll need that aren't specific to cybersecurity, like:

a good system for taking notes, whether that's pen & paper or software-based. I recommend using something that lets you work in plain text or close to it.

general command line familiarity + basic knowledge of CLI text editors (nano is great, but what if you have to work with a system that only has vi?)

familiarity with git and docker will be helpful

There are countless scripts and programs out there, but the most important thing is understanding what your tools do and how they work. There is no magic "hack this system" or "solve this forensics case" button. Tools are great for speeding up the process, but you have to know what the process is. Definitely take some time to learn how to use them, but don't base your entire understanding of security on code that someone else wrote. That's how you end up as a "script kiddie", and your skills and knowledge will be limited.

Feel free to send me an ask if you have questions about any specific tool or something you found that I haven't listed. I have approximate knowledge of many things, and if I don't have an answer I can at least help point you in the right direction.

[rain0tes]

(Happy you like the Goose!Hacker!Reader idea. And here's how I picture the interaction with Sir Pent goes.)

Reader: And yeah, all you need to do is close this line with a curly brace, and the computer should do the rest of the work for you. See? Congratulations, Pent. You just printed your first 'Hello, World!' Going from steampunk into the digital age. You're a natural at this!

Sir Pent: *Eyes widening* A-am I?

Reader: Sure? Anyway... I'll bring some 'Python for dummies' books up for you to read. I think that programming language would be very... fitting for you.

*A week later, the airship is being filmed flying over Hell. Shooting its death ray everywhere.*

Sir Pent: AH HAHAHA! COWER IN FEAR DENIZENS OF HELL! COWER, AT MY LATEST INVENTION! FOR I, THE GREAT SIR PENTIOUS, HAVE ENTERED A NEW AGE OF TECHNOLOGY!

Cherri: Okay Edgelord. But that won't make any difference, it'll still just be me versus you and your little egg minions.

Sir Pent: AH, that's where you're wrong, Missy! For I, have a new allie!

Cherri: *Chuckling* Oh really? WHO would want to team up with YOU?

Sir Pent: I'm glad you asked. BEHOLD! For I, Sir Pentious, future overlord and ruler of Hell, have teamed up with none other than the mysterious anonymous Hacker Demon, READER! *Holding up a photo of him and Reader holding up twin peace signs and a piece of paper with 'Hello, World!' printed on it.*

Cherri: Wait... You... and the Hacker Demon?

Sir Pent: Jealous? I know them personally, we're close, in fact. They even entrusted me with their secret identity! With their genius and generosity to help me, I'll be unstoppable! Thanks to them, my defenses are impenetrable! My death ray is far more powerful than before! Soon, we'll be able to take over all seven rings of Hell! TOGETHER!

*Hacker!Reader slowly curls into a ball of shame as Sir Pent continues to describe what will happen when 'they' take over Hell together, more embarrassed by what's going on than all of Hell now knowing their face.*

*Vox is pissed as he watches it all happen on TV. He watches as his ship with Hacker!Reader, TelePrograms, is no longer trending, and the new Sir Pentious and Hacker!Reader ship, PythonCoding, now is.*

OH MY GOD, THE SHIP NAMES HAD ME CACKLING THEY'RE SO CREATIVE.

I don't actually have anything to add to this, but oml😭 thank you, nonnie. I'll giggle about this as I fall asleep tonight.

[good-beanswrites]

Fe Aspec Week Day 1: Coming Out

WOO It's aspec week time!! 💜💚 To no one's surprise I'm starting off with Lukas :3 I know we have the wonderful support convo when he and Python sort of come out to each other, but I was always curious about the loose ends that it brings up -- how he comes out to/is treated by his family, the woman he's left behind, his fellow nobles, etc. This drabble doesn't really answer any of those questions sadfsadf but it's coming from that thought 😂

Father,

I am writing to you now, so soon after my previous letter, as there is something I have yet to confess. It may be difficult for you to hear, but

The sentence stops abruptly, a small dab of ink at the corner of the ‘t’ where the pen had rested a moment in contemplation.

A man sits back at his at a desk. His candle illuminates the page, displaying a few brief lines at the top. He dips his pen in ink time and time again, but the page remains mostly empty. 

At first, the man believes his problem to be a lack of words. No title exists for men like him. He’s well-educated and well-connected in the army; he has an extensive vocabulary for how the upper and lower class categorizes its people. Whether it’s a scholar’s dull terminology, vulgar common language insults, or the carefully chosen phrasing of a gossiper, none of the usual descriptors fit him. All he has are the distantly connected criticisms he’d heard his whole life: “heartless,” “cold,” “detached.” 

When the candle burns lower, however, he realizes the real issue. He has far too many words.

Where would he even start? Should he describe his contentment with his life here? How not one of his fellows ever brought up the lack of a woman at his arm, or how dinners with the King and Queen themselves were filled with pleasantries that never touched on his romantic endeavors? Whatever his father had been preparing for, it had never come.

Or should he begin earlier, when he was first accepted by this group of people? He wasn’t sure if he could properly convey all that he experienced on that fateful night, speaking softly with the unit’s archer – a man he’d come to call one of his truest friends. The man had heard for the first time in his life that there were others like him. He heard that they were content. They were whole.

He could go back further and describe the moment that the realization first hit him. How his father had been right in a sense. Just as he said, one day when the man was grown, he would be in the arms of another, and everything about himself would suddenly make sense. There was only one difference. He’d been forced to bury that clarity, since it wasn’t the same kind that everyone else came to.

Or should he start even further back? He could recount all little hints that haunted him across his youth. His dreams for the future never quite aligned with those of his peers. Nothing ever seemed to align. His choice of stories to read, of games to play, of jokes to make. He wouldn’t ever claim he was mistreated as a child, but everyone would agree that the signs had appeared even then.

The man sighs. Where is the beginning, when one has always been this way? 

The clock strikes on the hour. It is late, and he will need to be at his sharpest tomorrow for drills and meetings. He has no more time to fret over words about his past. 

The man tries a new method, and wonders what his friends may write about him. He can’t resist a dry smile. He knows that he can never, under any circumstance, allow them to exchange any correspondence with his family. 

But the exercise gives him an idea.

He writes out a single statement. Then he blows out the candle and heads to his bed. 

there is nothing broken about me.

Cordially,

Lukas

[tccicomputercoaching]

Python vs. Other Languages Why It's the Top Choice for Beginners

Introduction

If it's your first time learning to program, you may find that some aspects of this process can be outsourced. With so many choices, it can be hard to decide which is the best. Python vs other languages — here's why it's the top choice for beginners. Python's simplicity, readability, and a myriad of applications make it a perfect launching block for every budding programmer.

What Extra Distinction Does Python Enjoy?

Simple Syntax and Readability

Python syntax is especially beginner-friendly. It was created to be easily understood by new learners. Compared to other languages with abnormal amounts of complexity in terms of syntax, Python really looks like plain English.

Versatility With Applications Base in Domain

From web development to artificial intelligence, Python goes where you go. Building websites? Running data analysis? Script-building automation? Python's got it all.

Constant Global Community Support

This grant in great measure gives Python its days and years of survival. Wealth of tutorials, documentation, and online forums pour in to support beginner users.

So How Do Python and Other Popular Languages Compare?

Python vs. Java

Syntax: Far simpler than java. This translates to fewer lines of code in Python.

Performance: Java is faster, but Python is flexible.

Use Cases: Java is common in large enterprise applications, while Python is preferred for data science and automation.

Python vs. C++

Learning Curve: Thanks to its complex syntax and memory management, C++ has a steep learning curve.

Memory Management: Python does it automatically; C++ needs it to be done by the programmer.

Best For: C++ is great for system programming and game development, whereas Python is great for automation and AI.

Python vs. JavaScript

JavaScript is mostly limited in application to web development; Python has several applications.

Python is simpler and thus a better first step.

Both are in high demand; however, Python is gaining increased traction in AI and data science.

Python vs. C#

Both are object-oriented.

C# programming is usually employed in game development, while Python reigns in AI and automation.

Python is the best for the beginner due to its easy syntax.

Python vs. Ruby

Web Development: Ruby is known for Rails, while Python has Django.

Community Support: Both have strong communities, but Python has more extensive resources.

Learning Curve: Python is generally easier to learn.

Key Reasons Python is Best for Beginners

Readability and Simplicity

Python’s clear syntax makes learning programming less intimidating.

Extensive Libraries and Frameworks

Python offers countless libraries that simplify development, from NumPy for data science to Flask for web development.

Large and Supportive Community

Beginners can easily find tutorials, online courses, and documentation to help them learn Python quickly.

Strong Industry Demand

Python skills are in high demand across industries, including AI, data science, and finance.

Common Use Cases of Python

Web Programming: Frameworks include Django or Flask.

Data Science: Pandas and NumPy perform data analysis.

AI, ML: TensorFlow gets used in AI programming, and Scikit-learn means ML programming.

Automation: It works for writing scripts to automate repetitive jobs.

Game Development: Pygame for interactive game design.

Conclusion

The simple programming environments give Python great beginner appeal. It is also widely used in various fields such as web development, data crunching, or AI-based applications. Therefore, choosing Python is the right start for you!

Location: Bopal & Iskon-Ambli Ahmedabad, Gujarat

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Visit Our Website: http://tccicomputercoaching.com/

FAQs

Is Python faster than Java?

Java is generally faster, while Python is more flexible and easier to use.

Can I use Python for web development?

Yes, it makes web development easy with frameworks such as Django and Flask.

How long does it take to learn Python?

It can take a couple of weeks to learn basic Python with regular practice.

Which industries use Python the most?

AI, data science, web development, and automations-mandates Python use.

Do I need prior programming experience to learn Python?

No, absolutely not-Python is easy to get started with, even for a complete novice.

[rainesol]

Naga culture and customs for oc worldbuilding!

Decided to compile some things for any past or future Ksho fics!! Not all of these are identical to snake behaviour 🫵 don’t freak your pets out/j

Long post!!

Ksho typically stands between 6’5 and 7’. He adjusts his height depending on who he’s talking to. However, he always adjusts himself to be taller than whoever he’s looking at. This isn’t out of intimidation! Naga have poor eyesight, and it’s an old tradition to stand above who you’re talking to to cast a shadow on their face and see it better! Disrespect would be shown through standing above someone but not tilting the head down, and instead looking down their nose or tilting the head up and glaring down. You can have casual conversation laying or sitting though.

Naga houses are well decorated on the outside! The walls are adorned with colourful feathers, plants and murals. Once again, poor vision. If the buildings blend in with the trees, people walk into them.

Kissing isn’t often done. Especially on the head. Think about what a mouth on the head would mean to a snake. Very rude. A forehead bump is an affectionate alternative. Kisses, though rare, are normally planted on the shoulder.

Dancing is common! In the original Jungle Book novel, Kaa hypnotises prey through dance, not his eyes. It’s a reference to that.

The transition from infant->toddler->child is quicker in Nagas. It’s common to see little kids out alone with no adult supervision. They’re fine 👍

Surprisingly touchy! It’s commented on that Ksho is surprisingly comfortable resting against his parents could for someone of ‘his age’.

Another greeting- tongue flicking. It might feel weird if you’re not part snake, but it’s just so they can commit your scent to memory. It can range from something you do without thinking for someone you just met, to something vastly more intimate between friends, family or partners. Depends on how up close and personal you’re getting. Tongue in general vicinity/face: hey dude nice to meet you. Tongue out while cuddling, in neck or right up against skin: this dude likes you and wants to be able to pick you out in a crowd.

Aggression is similar to that of snakes. A huff (similar to a hiss, but smaller and quieter. A little squeaky puff of air): annoyance, could also be curiosity, could also be panic. A hiss (huge exhale. Lot of air coming out of a small hole. Spooky noise): actually anger, back off before you get bit. Tail wags: aggression again. Back off.

Zero waste community. Similar to the Na’vi in Avatar, every part of an animal gets put to use. The leader of Ksho’s village wears false wyvern wing ear cuffs, and Ksho has a bracelet made of crocodile teeth.

Very gender neutral. In an ask, I refer to some Naga kids by ‘they’ only. This is the complete standard for them. (Their language is also gender neutral, but still) Post hatching, you can’t really tell what sex a baby is. So all names in Serpentine are gender neutral!

Clothing is seen more as an accessory than something to cover you. They’re reptiles. Nothing on that torso to cover or support.

Body standards are different. Everyone has stretch marks. Everyone has fluctuating hip size. Also, python specific, but big=tough. In the book, Kaa takes any comments on his weight as a compliment. (At the end of book three, Ksho doesn’t actually get what’s embarrassing about the photo. Loads of people look like that.)

Shedding. Very personal. A vulnerable time. Very close people may allow each other to assist in removing shed skin from the scalp. Assisting in shedding is a close and intimate act. Ksho is pre-shed when first properly introduced and comes across as shy and sensitive.

Post shedding? Dude I look awesome. Common to compliment each other post-shed.

Sleeping. When you’re tired, you sleep. Even if you had work to do. Ksho had quite the culture shock because of this. Wdym it’s lazy to sleep first and do homework later? Surely my work will be better when I’m well rested?

Eating cycles. Be respectful of these. Just after eating=sleepy. Go away. Also very vulnerable. If you’re close, you may be allowed to hang out post-meal, though.

Don’t be shocked by the views on minor injuries. Broken ribs are as common as broken toes.

A lot of the body is not to be touched. Stomach? We’re not friends. Head? Don’t threaten me. Tail? That’s very not allowed. Consent is key. Don’t get yourself crushed in self defence.

Fight or flight is STRONG. No sneaking up on people.

Waving is best when making it very obvious. I can see best when you’re moving. Another thing to catch attention is vibrations. Hit the ground then beckon.

Serpentine sign language is a combination of tactile sign language and visual. The visual signs are wider and more obvious.

Common to bathe in groups. There’s a lot of you to wash and dry. Ksho doesn’t visit Pomefiore because he has to wipe his whole body before entering.

Kids are taught early to watch their strength.

Infant-> hatchling. Toddler/child-> snakelet.

I may rb with a part two should more ideas strike!!!

[moose-mousse]

A thing that still blows my mind is that C++ is an object oriented language.

And most do not know what that means! :D

So we have the abstraction paradime. Badically having private and public stuff. Public interfaces and private implementation with the interface being some sort of abstraction. I mainly mentions this because that is SEPERATE from object oriented.

And then we have object oriented. Basically inheritance.

As in, software can inheret other software and extend it.

So in C++ class DERIVED can inherentclass BASE. And that means class DERIVED can be used both as class DERIVED and class BASE

Many languages facilitates the use of object oriented design like this.

But some languages are also object oriented.

As in, C++ is build so it inherits C

So you can use C++ as either C or C++

And Python inherets C++

Yes. You can write a program only in C in Python

Kotlin inherets Java.

Many languages do this. Because different languages does different things. If the different things can be described as different abstraction layers then it might be smart to let the higher abstraction level ones inheret from the lower abstraction level ones

Well written Python contains C for the very low level stuff, C++ for efficient safe use of HAL layer above it, and python for the system stuff

But if your python program have only higher lever stuff, it only needs to contain Python!

It is so flexible and neat! :D

[foone]

Why are "Crabs" and "Brazil" different flag categories? Arent they both "some image centered in the middle of a maybe-patterned-maybe-not field"? What's the difference and why's it enough to split the categories? Also would Mexico be a Crabs or a Brazil

so, to explain crabs:

The way VGAPride works is that it has a simple vector drawing language which is used to compose almost all the flags. so, like, a simple pride flag like the pansexual pride flag, which is just three stripes, will be coded like this:

static GraphicsCommand pansexual_pride_flag_commands[]={ GraphicsCommand(Rectangle,Left(h_3_0),Right(h_3_1),RGB(255, 33,140)), GraphicsCommand(Rectangle,Left(h_3_1),Right(h_3_2),RGB(255,216, 0)), GraphicsCommand(Rectangle,Left(h_3_2),Right(h_3_3),RGB( 33,177,255)), GraphicsCommand(EndCommandList) };

It's basically just "draw a rectangle from here in this color", then another two stripes done the same way. Nearly every flag is done this way.

Now, the crab pride flags, are way more complicated. They are pixel art, technically: they needed manual dithering to fit into the right number of colors. That was tricky and involved a lot of me zoomed way in on an image, redrawing individual pixels and shit.

So instead of doing it like this with the vector commands, they're instead compressed as just pixels, but separated into multiple planes (because EGA is... weird) and then compressed with the LZ4 algorithm. So to display them, instead of doing a lot of vector shit, it just decompresses it into VRAM, job done. But they are in separate files because the "source code" for them is automatically generated by a python script, and I don't want it stomping on the manually defined vector commands.

And Brazil... Brazil is still a vector-defined flag. But it's one that's SO COMPLICATED compared to EVERY OTHER FLAG that I had to put it in a separate file to keep Borland Turbo C++ 3.0 from crashing trying to compile it.

Just about every other flag is some stripes and maybe a triangle or two. the Gay flag of Brazil is 6 stripes and a big diamond and a circle and a bunch of stars of different sizes and a white ribbon and some text. It's just SO COMPLICATED compared to everything else.

The second biggest pride flag is the Intersex-inclusive Progress Pride Flag:

(which I just realized the title doesn't fit on screen. Whoops. Gotta fix that!)

That complicated flag with all the stripes and chevrons and circles is an amazing 21 commands!

Brazil is FIFTY SEVEN commands. (I even added a "Star" command to the vector language just to make it simpler!)

The second biggest and third biggest pride flags could fit inside the brazil pride flag WITH ROOM TO SPARE.

Anyway, the real question: Mexico: Crabs or Brazil?

Given the complexity of the mexican flag, if I had to add a mexican gay-pride flag, it'd probably be a crab.

[izicodes]

Hiya!! I am taking a coding course at a University. While it's excellent for learning how to use a lot of complicated concepts in programming, we don't really get to do any projects or create anything yet. I was wondering how to get into that. Are there any resources you might recommend?

Hiya!! 💞

Goodie, you want to build your own projects! That's so good, I love project building! Now, it depends what you're coding (the languages + specific area) e.g. are you learning HTML/CSS/JavaScript (Website building) or is it like Python/Java/C# idk but you get what I'm asking for here, the projects you want to learn and build depends on what you're learning in the first place! But I will give some general advice!

🎥 YouTube

I love YouTube so much, there are thousands of videos on that site for any programming language to building pretty much anything! What I did when I started off was the simple search of "[The coding language] beginner project" and then I get to see what I can build. Now if you get stuck on a snippet of code, Google it and there are sites that will explain it for you. Now, don't fall for tutorial hell where you're watching tutorial after tutorial videos but watching them will give you a good foundation!

🔍 Google

Similar to what I said for the YouTube way, you can Google the same question and it will give you a bunch of project ideas, how to even do them and all you can do also is add more on top, what I mean is don't just watch or read about a project idea, see how you can twist it your own style e.g. recently I watched a React.js tutorial on how to make a to-do app! My twist was I styled it different by adding a frog theme. So the tutorial was my foundation and I just added on top of that to further exercise my skills!

🌐 GitHub

Have a hub for all your projects! After creating your projects, you don't just want it sitting on your computer, you can put it online! I use GitHub - it's a place where you can store all your projects, have a save history so you can go back on old code, even share the static webpages you make (using HTML/CSS/JavaScript) with other people online! The Site | How to use GitHub | Check out my GitHub for reference

📚 Online Courses

Many online platforms offer project-based courses. Websites like Udemy, Coursera, Codecademy and FreeCodeCamp can guide you through creating practical projects step by step. I use Udemy for learning and there are courses that are like "Build 9 web development projects blah blah blah" they're actually really good! BUT you do have to pay for them but if you can't find a good project on YouTube to follow or you can visualise or understand the articles online on how to build one, I suggest getting a course because someone teaches you how to make the project. Udemy is fairly cheap during their sales, going down from £59.99 to £10.99!

🤗 Collaboration

Reach out to classmates to build together, someone is bound to have an idea for something! Collaborative projects not only expand your skill set but also let you learn from others. Great skill to have! You can even collab on GitHub projects - which I am doing right now with people I've met through Tumblr (checkout our project)!

Remember, Rome wasn't built in a day! Start with small projects, gradually challenging yourself with larger ones. The journey of creating is just as exciting as the finished project itself. Happy coding! 😎🙌🏾💻💗