#find python developers

[dexterishere]

In the ever-evolving world of web development, the demand for versatile and highly-skilled professionals continues to grow. Full stack developers, who are proficient in both front-end and back-end technologies, are particularly sought after. If you're looking to embark on a fulfilling and well-compensated career in web development, becoming a Python full stack developer is an excellent choice. In this comprehensive guide, we'll explore the key skills, tools, and career prospects that come with this exciting role.

Chapter 1: Understanding the Role

What is a Python Full Stack Developer?

A Python full stack developer is a professional with expertise in both front-end and back-end web development using Python. They possess the ability to work with databases, server-side logic, user interfaces, and everything in between. This comprehensive skill set allows them to build, maintain, and enhance web applications from start to finish.

The Tech Stack

Python full stack developers typically work with various technologies, such as Python, Django, Flask, JavaScript, HTML, CSS, and front-end frameworks like React or Angular. They are responsible for creating the visual elements of a website, connecting them with the server, and ensuring seamless user experiences.

Chapter 2: Essential Skills

Proficiency in Python

As the name suggests, Python full stack developers must have a strong command of the Python programming language. They use Python for building back-end services, managing databases, and more. A deep understanding of Python's syntax and libraries is crucial.

Front-End Development

A Python full stack developer should be proficient in front-end technologies like HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. This includes creating responsive, visually appealing user interfaces and ensuring a seamless user experience.

Back-End Development

Back-end development involves server-side logic, databases, and the overall functionality of a web application. Python full stack developers should be skilled in back-end frameworks like Django or Flask, and they need to have a good grasp of databases such as PostgreSQL, MySQL, or NoSQL solutions.

Version Control

Version control systems like Git are essential tools for any developer. Python full stack developers need to be comfortable with Git to track changes, collaborate with other team members, and manage their code efficiently.

Problem-Solving and Debugging

A Python full stack developer should be a capable problem solver with strong debugging skills. Identifying and fixing issues in both front-end and back-end code is a critical part of the job.

Chapter 3: The Front-End Aspect

User Interface (UI) Design

Creating visually appealing user interfaces that are easy to navigate is a vital skill for front-end developers. Knowledge of design principles, responsive design, and user experience (UX) is crucial.

HTML, CSS, and JavaScript

Front-end developers need to be experts in these core technologies. HTML structures the content, CSS styles it, and JavaScript provides interactivity and dynamic behavior to web pages.

Front-End Frameworks

Many Python full stack developers work with front-end frameworks like React, Angular, or Vue.js. These frameworks simplify the development of complex web applications and enhance user experiences.

Browser Developer Tools

Proficiency in using browser developer tools is essential for debugging and optimizing web pages. Developers should be familiar with tools like the Chrome DevTools to inspect and modify web pages.

Chapter 4: The Back-End Aspect

Server-Side Logic

Back-end development involves creating server-side logic, handling data, and ensuring that the application's functionality works as intended. Python full stack developers often work with frameworks like Django or Flask to build the back end.

Databases

Database management is a key component of back-end development. Python full stack developers need to be familiar with various database systems and know how to design, query, and maintain databases effectively.

RESTful APIs

Understanding how to build and consume RESTful APIs is vital for integrating the front-end and back-end parts of an application. Python full stack developers often create APIs to communicate data between the client and the server.

Authentication and Security

Security is a top priority for web applications. Python full stack developers should know how to implement user authentication and authorization, as well as protect the application from common security threats.

Chapter 5: Development Tools

Integrated Development Environments (IDEs)

Python full stack developers often use IDEs like Visual Studio Code, PyCharm, or Sublime Text. These tools provide features like code highlighting, autocompletion, and integrated debugging.

Version Control with Git

Git is a crucial tool for managing code, tracking changes, and collaborating with team members. Git platforms like GitHub and GitLab are commonly used for hosting and sharing repositories.

Package Management

Python package managers like pip and conda are essential for installing and managing libraries and dependencies. Understanding how to use these tools is vital for efficient development.

Virtual Environments

Virtual environments, created using tools like virtualenv or conda, are used to isolate project-specific dependencies and avoid conflicts between different projects.

Chapter 6: Career Opportunities

High Demand

Python full stack developers are in high demand, and the demand is expected to continue growing. Companies of all sizes, from startups to tech giants, are actively seeking professionals with the skills to build and maintain full-fledged web applications.

Competitive Salaries

With their versatile skill set, Python full stack developers often enjoy competitive salaries. The compensation varies depending on factors such as experience, location, and the complexity of the projects they work on.

Freelancing and Remote Work

Many Python full stack developers have the flexibility to work as freelancers or in remote positions. This allows for a work-life balance that suits their preferences.

Career Growth

The role of a Python full stack developer provides ample opportunities for career growth. They can specialize in areas like DevOps, data science, or cloud computing, or move into roles like team lead or project manager.

Chapter 7: How to Become a Python Full Stack Developer

Learn the Basics

Start by mastering the fundamentals of HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and Python. There are numerous online courses, tutorials, and books available to help you get started.

Choose a Framework

Select a back-end framework, such as Django or Flask, and a front-end framework like React or Angular. Familiarize yourself with these frameworks to gain practical experience.

Build Projects

Practical experience is invaluable. Build personal projects or contribute to open-source projects to apply your knowledge and build a portfolio.

Stay Updated

The tech industry is constantly evolving. Keep yourself updated with the latest trends and technologies in web development by reading blogs, attending conferences, and participating in online communities.

Networking

Connect with other developers, both online and in person. Networking can open up opportunities for collaboration, mentorship, and job referrals.

Conclusion

Becoming a Python full stack developer is an exciting and rewarding journey. With the right combination of front-end and back-end skills, along with a commitment to continuous learning, you can position yourself as a valuable asset in the world of web development. Whether you aspire to work for a tech giant, a startup, or freelance on your terms, the demand for Python full stack developers is not slowing down. Embrace the challenge, build your expertise, and embark on a career that offers endless opportunities in the digital age.

[razadigitalmarketing]

Website development is the process of creating and maintaining websites. It involves various tasks such as designing, coding, testing, and launching a website to make it accessible on the internet. This process encompasses both the front-end (what users see and interact with) and back-end (the server-side processes that make the website function). Website development can range from simple static web pages to complex dynamic websites with interactive features and databases. It requires expertise in programming languages such as HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and server-side languages like PHP, Python, or Ruby. Additionally, website development often involves collaboration between web designers, developers, content creators, and other stakeholders to ensure the website meets its intended purpose and provides a positive user experience.

[arsanatomica]

Most people are aware that reptiles like snakes and lizards have two penises. Together they’re called the Hemipenes.

You would assume that they look identical.

They can... BUT NOT ALWAYS.

Usually they’re slightly different, one smaller or shorter than the other. But sometimes they can look EXTREMELY different.

I don’t know why.

This is one of those things that I see in dissections all the time and can’t seem to find any information for it.

These are from a young reticulated python I skinned last week. Look how different they are! I never see anybody talk about this, and as weird as it is, I personally find this really interesting.

From an anatomical perspective: Why are they so different?

Do reptiles have a handedness when it comes to using their penises? Like, do different individuals prefer one over the other?

Do they have different functions or are meant for different types of females?

Different mating strategies?

Are there variations on the female side where one shape is better than the other?

Could this be something that they’re not born with, but develops later from how they’re using them?

It seems more pronounced in some individuals versus others... why?

And also, this is one of those things you never see it reflected in media, I guess it’s too obscure.

I feel like this is something that the furry community and maybe the fantasy erotica community would be all over if it was more well known and better studied.

Dragon erotica is a HUGE genre on Amazon.

Look….I KNOW there’s a huge population of creature designers and other monster enthusiasts following me.

It’s time you guys stopped sleeping on this.....and not a just for erotic art.

Some animals have penises designed to remove sperm from previous partners, so they have a chance to father the child. Could something like this have a similar function?

Isn’t it possible that there could be different types of sperm being delivered?

Different types of females that need different approaches?

Different offspring types?

[im-an-apollogist]

I LOVE ur pest!Apollo AU! But just wondering, how is Artemis and Leto holding up after Apollo got sent to Tartarus? Does Apollo even remember them?

After Apollo was thrown into Tartarus, Leto in his desperation to save his son, she would beg for help from her niece Hekate to guide her to Tartarus itself in order to find him.

Ignoring the warnings of Zeus and her relatives, Leto would leave Artemis in the care of Hestia and depart for Tartarus as soon as possible.

This journey would take nine years of intense pain and despair where they had only each other; Leto, only standing by the desire to be reunited with his children, and Hekate by the desire to help her mother's beloved sister and her little cousin.

On the other hand, Artemis, feeling useless because not only had she not been able to help her brother defeat Python, but now her mother had left her behind so as not to put her in danger, developed a very strong inferiority complex and postponed her idea of forming her hunters until her brother's return.

With each passing year her fear for the safety of her mother and brother increases to the point where she decides to go into Tartarus herself to rescue them, being stopped by Zeus and Hestia in all her attempts.

He will never forget...

He just waits...

[variousobsessions]

Trials of Apollo where everything is the same except Apollo keeps the potted hyacinth from Cabin 7 and brings it along with him on his trials and after he reunites with Meg they find out she can commune with the spirit of Hyacinthus through it because Plant Powers. He's basically her own version of the Arrow of Dodona and they bond through how much of a loser (affectionate) Apollo/Lester is. The rest of the story is the same but they have the added stress of keeping this plant alive and away from harm (the Burning Maze was absolutely a nightmare). The angst potential of Hyapollo getting to reunite but only in a roundabout way through Meg and having to navigate their way through what their relationship means now and how they continue, especially once Apollo starts really getting character development is just *chefs kiss*. I imagine that before Apollo went to face Python he gave the plant to Meg, trusting that if he didn't return she would take care of his semi-dead plant boyfriend. (After he succeeded, they definitely remembered the Golden Fleece and brought him back)

[whereserpentswalk]

Humans are fundamentally rare in the multiverse. There are likely well over 2000 billion humans in the multiverse, but that means nothing when there are far more multiverses then there are humans, much less human civilization. There are a few pockets, but if you go to most habitable universes you'll find nobody is there, and if there is someone there they're mostly surrounded by nobody. And where there are humans sometimes they've changed themselves into things that aren't really human anymore.

For example, you'll end up in a universe that's a flat endless plane, covered in lush rainforests. And you'll hear that there's a human civilization of 14 million people there. But then you'll see that in the heart of that human civilization is a great city of about ten million people. And that great city is an amazing place, a civilization with countless great things, thousands of years of history, and multiple distinct cultures and ethnic groups living there. But then you realize that the majority of the humans in that universe live in one city. And then you learn that two million people outside the city live a day's drive from the city, most of them near one of the rivers intersecting the city. And beyond that there's an infinite plane, larger then humanity's first planet, and it has only two million to populate it, most of them so isolated they'll never know a multiverse, or even other humans, exist. Most of this "human inhabited" universe is continent sized stretches of forest no human has ever been, where only pythons the size of whales, eusocial monkeys, venomous tree cats, wolves that hunt by echolocation, and other such creatures lay. And with how far it is from any other human inhabited plane it is, they'll likely never know other humans exist in any sense other then vaugly knowing their origins.

Back when humanity's home universe wasn't lost, people thought the idea of empty land was a dream, that they could be the ones to populate it. But now there's so much of it, that it's useless trying to inhabit it all.

There's humans who've adapted harshly to their planes. For example, there's a universe where everything is filled with a poison gas. But it's where humans ended up, so they attempted by wearing skin tight rubber suits and gas masks while outside. After countless generations of multiple humans civilizations and nations existing in that plane, humans have entirely lost their skin there. At least they don't have skin like most people do, it's like it's all a sensitive second layer not meant to ever be exposed, sof moist and hairless. They don't need to eat when they inject nutrients, so their jaws have fused together, and their digestive system is gone. And since they have goggles on at all times no eyelids are needed. They wouldn't consider a human without their protective suit to even be naked, they'd consider them to be flayed. They only ever take off their suits when they grow out of one, or when they take on the painful burden of reproducing with eachother. They're all fine with how things work, none of them like the idea of having proper skin again. And the few times they've interacted with humans from other dimensions they treat them as one would a civilization of walking skeletons.

Sometimes things become incredibly strange just from how colonization happens is an example of humans who ended up on a near perfect copy of humanity's hone universe, but who lost a lot of their initial population and had to resort to unorthodox means to repopulate. They reproduced through artificial wombs, mixing DNA through blood instead of through natrual reproduction. And because of this they lost the ability to reproduce naturally through generations of evolution. For thousands of years, and countless civilizations and countries, they've been entirely sexless. The genes that cause them to develope secondary sex characteristics never trigger, and their genitals are basically nothing but holes for them to urinate through. Even the part of their arm where blood is drawn has naturally thinner skin and no pain receptors. They think of sex as just something animals do, and they find the idea that humans from other universes do it completely disgusting, like seeing a human with the traits of a wild animal.

There's also examples of humans who don't lose their bodies but they do lose their culture. For example, there's a group of humans who ended up on a plane of endless forests, inhabited by countless insectiod creatures, with several sapient species between them. The humans didn't have any land to take, so they became a middle man minority for most of the major civilizations there. There are no human kings or republics, no human armies, no humans cities. Humans there are a loose diaspora, with a culture that's built in the shadows of other creatures empires. The time since they had their own plane, and their own sovereign civilizations, is so long gone it seems strange to think of. They're entirely a people defined by serving other species, sometimes they're rich merchants and allies to the state, sometimes they're poor and destitute, sometimes they're equal and partially assimilated, but they are by their definition part of a greater whole. And most of them live without ever thinking of their species as one that can even have its own nations and cities.

There are ones which went the other way. For example on a cold and desolate plane, there's a human civilization that got sentient machines to do all their labor for them. On this plane every human is nobility, and infact their word for human and their word for lord is the same thing. There are no humans who aren't part of the ruling class, with countless sapient robots as their subjects. Some humans there won't even see another human outside of their family unless they're doing diplomacy with other noble houses. Of course, if a human loses their wealth, they're no longer considered humans, just being one of the countless robot subjects. And if a machine gains enough resources to be given a noble title, then they're considered human. There is no way that that society comprehends humanity without comprehending its ruling caste.

We've even found a few very far planes where humans have been stranded and forgotten they were from anywhere else. For example there's a colony vessel that became standed on a universe that's mostly a weightless void, but has a few habitable orbs. They luckily found an orb with the closest equivalent life to their homeworld, but by the time they got there they reverted to the stone age. They fought off the local demihumans that they later named the denisovans and neanderthals, but by the time they had technology to understand their history they just assumed they evolved from the local demihuman lines. They're at a high level of technology now, with some very interesting cold weather adaptations (including the unique trait of colored hair) but they don't seem to know about humanity's history at all. Wish them luck out there, it's very cold, and very lonely in this multiverse, mabye they're happiest to think it's as small as it is for them.

[lordprettyflackotara]

Chapter Ten || Hitchhiker || The Proxies

tw: mental decline, depression discussed, toby’s a real creep in this one sorry, stabbing, blood, brief descriptions of gore, murder

<— previous chapter

It was not hard to see you were distraught. You stayed curled in your comforter, the safety of your bedroom the only source of comfort you could truly find. The boys tried to provide as much warmth and care as possible, going as far as to take shifts watching you sleep. Even with their watchful eyes guarding you, it didn’t make the nightmares go away. It didn’t make the static go away. It didn’t make the paranoia go away. Anywhere and everywhere you felt like you were being watched. You had disappeared off of the face of the planet, ignoring your job and Nova. The only two other people that cared about you.

You refrained from leaving the apartment, the fear of running into The Operator making you into a recluse. Toby knew there was no stopping it. The damage had already been done. The Operator had a fixation on you, there was no doubt about it. He toyed with the idea of how exactly he would come find you, with you living in a crowded apartment and all. The more Toby thought about it, he tried to put himself in his shoes. If he couldn’t get you out, what else would he do? As Toby’s gaze circled around your bedroom it hit him. He would lure you out.

There was no debate Toby didn’t like Nova. There wasn’t a tiny piece of him that felt any different. But he knew that The Operator would use her as a pawn in his game of chess. He slid off of your bed, his fingertips pushing some stray hairs out of your face. “I’m going to fix this. I-I’m going to fix you,” Toby whispered. You were fast asleep, your slumber only guaranteed for maybe another couple of hours. The insomnia you began to develop was becoming as bad as Tim’s. Toby slid out of your bedroom, tapping Brian awake from his slumber in your recliner. The blonde stood up, yawning briefly. “Where are you going kid?” He asked curiously. Toby grabbed his axe, slinging it over his shoulder.

“I’m g-going to fix this. Like I s-s-should’ve done a long time ago.”

Toby wasn’t nervous as he strolled up to Nova’s office. He knew it was vacant. He knew Nova was working late. Not only based on her beat up Toyota in the parking lot, but he also considered her consequential work ethic. For someone as paranoid as Nova, he would’ve thought she would’ve had better protective measures.

Nova sat in her office, worn down and exhausted. The desk lamp was the only thing keeping her awake, the excessive light blinding her sight from most of the room. In her hand sat a worn out pencil, the graphite scribbling the proxy symbol on a sheet of paper. “I used to draw those too you know,” Toby chuckled. He sat crouched on the windowsill, inviting himself inside once Nova’s gaze landed on him. She reached for her gun, shocked to find her secret spot empty. Toby held it up lazily with one finger, his eyes narrowing. “L-looking for t-t-this?” He questioned. He tilted his head to the side, before tossing Nova her python. Nova had no idea you stole it, her mind raveling as she tried to pinpoint when Toby broke in and took it. Or when he even had the opportunity to.

Immediately Nova held Toby at gunpoint, shutting off the safety without a second thought. “I was right all along. I knew it. You can’t have her Tobias,” Nova growled. Toby raised his eyebrows. “Yeah that’s right. I investigated all of you fucking freaks. Timothy Wright. Brian Thomas. Tobias Rogers. I know it all,” Nova spat harshly. Toby’s neck twitched, a giggle escaping his lips. “You know about The Operator then I ass-u-u-me,” Toby suggested. Novas eyebrows furrowed, as if she could’ve believe what the brunette was saying. Casually he strolled up to her desk, rummaging through the papers. Drawings of The Operator, ominous phrases, and eerie proxy symbols littered the pages.

“Oh b-boy. He sure does like you,” Toby mused, chuckling to himself. Nova readjusted her grip on her gun, brushing her hair out of her face. “How do I get rid of him? Explain yourself. Explain it!” Nova demanded. Toby let out a low whistle. He rocked back and forth on his heels, shaking his head. “There isn’t any e-escaping him. From the l-looks of it he’s embedded himself right in that brain of yours,” He concluded. He leaned forward, poking Nova’s forehead. Nova swatted his hand away, pointing her gun directly at his head. She rounded her desk, placing the metal right under his chin. “It’s not like it m-matters anyways. You’re not really the one he wants,” Toby informed her.

“What’s that supposed to mean you ticking time bomb?”

Toby seemed unnerved to have a gun pointed under his chin. He knew Nova’s trigger finger was growing heavy, yet he seemed unbothered. “Who else knows about us besides you? That’s t-tied into our l-little rebellion,” Toby questioned. Nova’s facade fell, her face growing pale. She lowered her gun. “Fucking hell. Why does he want y/n? Why does he want me?” Nova asked. Toby tilted his head to the side, shoving down his face mask. He delivered Nova a wicked grin, soaking in the fear that radiated off of her once she saw the side of his face. It was chewed straight through, the flesh absent and poorly healed. “I-I’m n-n-not sure. Why don’t y-you eat one of the blueberry muffins I m-made you and maybe it’ll jog my memory,” Toby suggested.

Nova cringed as she looked over at the trash can, piled with discarded papers. But on the very bottom, sat the untouched blueberry muffins. They had been sitting there for over a week, her stomach churning. She collected herself, glaring at Toby. “I don’t think so Tobias. You don’t get to win,” She hissed. She pushed the head of the gun harder against his chin, surprised the brunette had no reaction at all. “Y-you kill m-m-me you don’t get answers,” Toby chuckled. Nova frowned, knowing he was right. Even if she killed him off, thing one and two were one for vengeance. She cringed as she looked at her trashcan.

“I take a bite of the muffin, you give me answers right? Who’s to say you’re not lying?” Nova questioned. Toby shrugged, giving her a sly shit eating grin. “I guess that’s a chance you’ll have to take,” He snickered. Nova huffed as she trudged over to the trashcan. She threw her old coffee cups and crumpled papers aside. She cringed as she dug out the plate of blueberry muffins, the tinfoil now pulled back. Toby watched calmly as she took the paper wrapper off of one, her fingers shaking. “Y-you c-c-can’t possibly be t-that grossed out. You investigate corpses for a living,” Toby said sassily, rolling his eyes. Nova glared at him, shooting daggers in his direction. “I investigate homicides of innocent people you ticking fuckwad,” Nova snarled. She sighed, forcing herself to think of you as she took a bite of the expired food.

Toby took great joy in watching Nova’s face curl into disgust. She could taste droplets of the coffee she had drank days ago. Toby’s grin grew wider as she slowly chewed on the muffin. “Go o-on. Swallow it,” He purred. Nova contemplated shooting him right then and there, deciding against it. Oh, if only you knew how much she adored you. She forced herself to swallow, gagging on the taste as it traveled down her throat. “That wasn’t s-so hard. W-was it?” Toby taunted. Nova wiped her mouth with her sleeve, trying to get the taste out of her mouth. “Get on with it Tobias. I played your game. What does he want?” She questioned.

“What he’s doing to you is very different from what h-he’s doing to y/n. H-he just wants y-y-you to go crazy and kill yourself. But I see you’re a o-one tough cookie,” Toby praised mockingly. He went to grab her cheek tauntingly, Novas hand quick to swat his away. “B-but with her, he sees s-s-so much potential. The w-way she’s willing to die f-for us,” Toby explained. Nova’s eyes widened, her rage clouding her judgment as she repositioned her pistol. She pointed it at Toby’s face, pulling the trigger. Nova was stunned as nothing happened, her Python useless. Toby broke out into a mechanical laughter, one that only enraged Nova more.

“What the fuck?” She muttered. Toby grinned as he took the bullets out of his pocket, tossing them into the air. They scattered across the wooden floor, Nova quick to drop to her knees to collect them. With shaky hands she tried to reload her gun, Toby quick to squat down to her level. He gave her an egotistical grin, watching as she struggled to put the bullets in her python. “There’s a-a chance we can stop The O-Operator’s influence. B-but we can’t do it alone,” He said. This made Nova stop in her tracks, her chocolate eyes wondering over to him. Looking at him made goosebumps roam across her skin, his lack of a right cheek unsettling the closer he got to her.

“S-she’s going to need-d-d you. Even if we dont understand it,” Toby concluded. He rose to his feet, satisfied that he got his point across. Nova swallowed as she rose beside him, her gun now loaded with three shiny bullets. “What do I need to do?” She asked. Toby gave her a wicked grin, waltzing towards the open window. He grinned over his shoulder, sliding his mask back on, “Come with me.”

\/

“I don’t wanna do this guys. This is so stupid,” You protested. Hoodie and Masky had succeeded in getting you dressed up and ready for a nice dinner. What they had failed to account for was your protest. Despite their protection and consistent surveillance, it didn’t subside your paranoia. However, they couldn’t recall the last time you had a decent meal. Additionally, they couldn’t remember the last time they had seen you smile. They didn’t like Nova either, but between her and seeing you go insane, she was lesser of the two evils.

“You’re just going to have to trust us. This’ll be good for you,” Hoodie encouraged. You sighed, looking through the window of the fancy restaurant. Soft golden chandeliers lit each table, a thick white table cloth covering each one. The silverware looked like they were actual gold, each individual inside looking like a million bucks. You nervously tucked your hair behind your ears. “Okay fine. Just this one dinner. Then let me lay in bed for the next ten years,” You huffed. You stormed into the restaurant, Masky and Hoodie close behind you. “They should be here somewhere,” Masky muttered. You were under the impression you were only meeting Toby. “Who else is there? Guys I don’t want to meet anyone new,” You protested. That’s when you saw them.

Toby waved, a bright smile spreading across his lips. He wore a neat jet black tuxedo, his curls bouncing with life. Beside him sat Nova, a dark sapphire dress decorating her caramel skin. Her lips were dark red, smiling just as bright as Toby’s. You practically ran to her, attempting to not trip over your own heels or run into any of the waiters. You threw your arms around her in an embrace, soaking in her coconut scent. “What are you doing here?” You asked. You hadn’t seen Nova since you had ditched her at the hospital, stealing her python before dashing into the night. “Tobias invited me. I think it’s time the five of us have a serious discussion about The Operator,” She said firmly. You glanced at the boys for affirmation, Masky giving you a nod. “You know?” You whispered. Nova nodded, giving you a sad smile.

“You’re not the only person that slimy fucker has been terrorizing,” Nova chuckled dryly. The five of you sat down, your mood feeling evaluated for the first time in forever. You didn’t ask too many questions about Toby or Nova. Or why they both felt possessive enough to sit on either side of you. Toby’s hand sat on your upper thigh, Novas hand holding your own. You felt like you were missing something. Like something happened and they wouldn’t tell you. Masky and Hoodie were strangely transparent about their existence. “So you both only exist due to a series of unfortunate supernatural events that traumatized Timothy and Brian so much they developed you two?” Nova questioned. She poked her fork back into her pasta, swirling it as you nervously chewed on your steak.

“Thats about right,” Masky agreed. He kept his gaze on his own steak, cutting the meat with a sharp knife. “And what about you?” Nova questioned. She pointed her fork at Toby, who was thoroughly enjoying his chicken tenders and fries. “What about me?” Toby hissed. Nova squeezed your hand under the table. “You don’t have an alter so you’re insane right? You had a pretty extensive length of mental disorders according to your record,” Nova shrugged. You shot Nova a dirty look. “Hey lay off of the kid,” Masky intervened flatly. Hoodie quietly nibbled at his salad, watching the whole scene unfold.

You caught his gaze, the blonde subtly cocking his head towards the window. You almost missed what he was referring to, a streak of white dashing out of sight once you looked. “I don’t think I will. They have decent excuses but you don’t Tobias. So, explain it to me,” Nova spat. You removed your hand from hers, feeling Toby’s fingers dig into your thigh. “Nova that’s enough, it’s not your business,” You hissed. She refused to glance at you, her cold gaze still centered on Toby. “Considering he’s been making himself quite comfortable between your legs, I think it is,” She argued. You audibly scoffed, your patience running thin.

“It is not your fucking place to mother me-”

Your spitfire was cut short by Toby interrupting, “The only thing you need to k-k-know is that i’d never h-hurt her. But don’t think-k-k you’re in the same position.”

The table fell silent, your heart pounding as you stared down at your dinner plate. A wave of nausea washed over you, your face going pale. “Hey hey are you good?” Hoodie asked, changing the tables topic. You could feel your stomach churning. Masky rose to his feet. “He’s nearby. We need to go,” He said firmly. He threw a wad of cash on the table, uninterested in the social construct of waiting. You were more important. The five of you hurried out of the restaurant, Nova slinging your arm over her shoulders. Toby followed suit, the two of them helping you follow Masky and Hoodie.

“Staying in town is a negative. We need to leave as soon as possible,” Hoodie told Masky. Masky dug in his slacks pockets, searching for his beloved box of cigarettes. “We need to ditch the car. Too traceable. There’s a train down east street. We can go down south from there,” Masky suggested. You could faintly hear static, your head beginning to spin. “I don’t think she’s going to make it to the train. We need to stop by her apartment. Or mine,” Nova interrupted. Masky and Hoodie shared a look, both of them reaching in their suit jackets and sliding on their mask. It was unusual that someone were to interrupt their planning. Whether they liked it or not, the dynamic of the group was changing with Nova’s addition. You felt faint, gripping onto Toby for support.

“I’m gonna be sick,” You groaned. You tried to hold back your nausea, swallowing when you felt yourself gagging. You could hear Masky and Nova bickering, their voices growing more dull. “Her apartment is a death sentence!” Masky growled. Nova let your arm down, getting in his face. “So is having her get on a goddamn train when she’s five seconds away from passing out!” She snarled. It was then you noticed it, the flash of white from earlier. You tilted your head to the side. Was this an illusion? Was the person you were seeing real? The white was so blinding to you. Why wasn’t anyone else noticing?

You glanced up at Toby, whose attention was focused on Masky and Nova arguing. You tried to understand what you were seeing, your eyes finally able to make out a mask. It was a human shaped figure, running towards the five of you. You tried to make sense of who the target was, realizing that the persons gaze seemed to be centered on Nova. Its head hadn’t cocked in your direction once, despite you looking right at the person. In the dim streetlight you were able to see a flash from a blade, your mouth falling open to say something. Anything. Your body sprung into action before you could warn anyone, your veins pumping with adrenaline.

You shoved Toby away, pushing Nova out of the way as the attacker trudged forward. It all happened so fast, you hardly had time to process the flash of hot white pain that electrified your body. You fell forward, your knees hitting the pavement. The sharp pain lodged into your stomach, your eyes widened so large you feared they were going to pop out of your head. Time seemed to slow, your hand shaking violently as you touched your wound. A kitchen knife was lodged into your stomach, the blood soaking your dress. Your vision became spotty, your gaze finally looking upwards. Toby and Masky were on the attacker in the blink of an eye.

“It had to be done! She’s the target and you know it!” The attacker hissed. Hoodie grabbed her by her hands, shoving them roughly behind her back. Masky delivered a sharp uppercut to her jaw, knocking her mask off of her face. Toby knew Kate to be obedient to The Operator, but he never would’ve imagined she would’ve done something like this to them. You fell forward, choking on your own spit as Nova tried to hold you upright. “Dont touch it. You can’t pull it out,” Nova rambled. She grabbed your shoulders, laying you on your back. She held you against her chest, tears welting up in her eyes. “It’s okay, it’s okay,” She whispered. She brought her hand to your hair, stroking it as you watched the seen before you unfold.

“I’ll fucking kill you Kate! I’ll fucking kill you!” Masky roared. Black spots began to appear in your vision, each movement you tried to make only sending a wave of pain up your spine.

Masky delivered sharp and powerful punches to Kate’s face, a sharp snap echoing throughout his ears. Her jaw hung loosely, blood traveling down her nose. “This is the way it has to be! You know better than this Masky!” Kate argued weakly. She was no longer thrashing under Hoodie’s grasp, instead struggling to stand on her own. Masky grabbed her face, a painful whimper escaping her lips as he glared down at her. “You are so lucky my girl is watching, otherwise i’d gut you like a fish,” He snarled. He lifted his mask, spitting in her face. He struggled to keep his composure, fighting the urge to beat her to death.

“W-wait so you won’t kill me?” Kate questioned. Masky turned around, his devious gaze meeting Toby’s. The younger brunette had taken out a smaller axe he carried on his person, twirling it in his hand. Masky sighed, looking over at you for confirmation. He never wanted this for you. But as the blood pooled around your body, he shrugged off any feelings of remorse or reconsideration. “I won’t, but he will,” Masky replied plainly. He walked past Toby, the boy quick to raise his axe. Masky relished in the sound of the sharp blade connecting with Kate’s skull, another loud crack sending sadistic pleasure down his spine.

—> next chapter

[pforestsims]

🔊 The Sims 2 sound effects - instances list (WIP)

Download txt file (BOX)

Below you'll find a list of The Sims 2 Base game sound resources that I've identified so far, along their instance number - this is for people who'd like to export particular sound, or replace it with something else.

My first attempt at replacing game sound resource with MP3 failed (older sound defaults: less dog barking in hood view and no bed woohoo music were made with resources found in the game files).

I used wrong export settings back then, now I tried MP3 32000 Hz /48kbs and it seems to work fine.

Worth noting - sound duration has to be the same as cutscene (or longer). If it's too short, it gets stretched and becomes too slow.

-----------------------

ALL sound resources extracted with SimPe get .MP3 extension, even if it's in fact an .xa file. Most audio players can't open .xa files and will throw an error.

XA format files can be converted to .WAV with Xantippe app. You need to change .mp3 extension to .xa before you open it - if xantippe throws an error that means the file is actually an mp3 or spx.

'Voice' files are almost exclusively spx format, more about that here, post by lingeringwillx @ MTS2 - they created python script to decode it, post includes instructions on how to tell if a resource is .xa or something else.

Lazyduchess has shared a re-encoded version of TS2 spx voice resources, these are mostly mp3 and can be played in any app. (Patreon DL link).

--------------------------

How to search for the sound in the game files:

Open TSData folder [The Sims 2 / base game Folder]/TSData/Res/Sound

Open one of these three sound packages in SimPe: Sfx1, Sfx2, Misc. Browse "mp3 or xa Sound File"

open "filter resources" tab on the right, paste Instance number (the last one in a row) and click 'set'

if nothing shows up, drop another sound package into SimPe (Sfx1, Sfx2, Misc) until you see the sound on the resource list.

Instance number is the LAST in a row

[ ? ] - [Instance(high)] - [Group] - [Instance]

example: 2026960B-7F75E59D-0B8AB3CD-FF05C5C6

instance = FF05C5C6

----------------------------------------------------------------

Cinematics / Events

(I've only specified if a file is MP3 in a few cases, but there could be more of those. Some sounds have a few versions so I can't guarantee these are actually used in the game)

0C6E3A70-0B8AB3CD-FF45ABBA lost Weight

2026960B-91CC2AC3-0B8AB3CD-FF081A6A giving birth

2026960B-8BB1E2CE-0B8AB3CD-FF2B96EE UFO abduction (an MP3 file)

2026960B-7F75E59D-0B8AB3CD-FF05C5C6 UFO - Sim returns (an MP3 file)

2026960B-8A0F83A5-0B8AB3CD-FFFA7AB9 alien birth

56A9AC78-6B8AB3D7-FFD763E1 plumbing malfunction

A60A0E48-AB8AB3D2-FF660BBF burglar theme

05EA3037-AB8AB3D2-FF838B86 developed a crush

00EC7172-AB8AB3D2-FFB15612 feLL IN LOVE

2026960B-ECDE4BA5-0B8AB3CD-FFF34D2B failed engagement

6F564CA3-AB8AB3D2-FF9F10A7 caught Cheating

2026960B-A1842B83-0B8AB3CD-FF509848 bed woohoo (an MP3 file) this one is used in the game

2026960B-2AA91173-0B8AB3CD-FF0C1673 hottub woohoo (an MP3 file)

2026960B-673DF43D-0B8AB3CD-FFCDA5F8 hottub woohoo, same as above, but louder (an MP3 file) Possibly used in the game but I'm not sure

E3017DDD-0B8AB3CD-FFDE90FB fireworks 1

1D29A473-0B8AB3CD-FF4A709D fireworks 2

4E7A4676-AB8AB3D2-FFDF28E2 Got promoted

2935C11F-AB8AB3D2-FF6777E4 social workers arrive

412D2401-AB8AB3D2-FF9EFAEC death

2026960B-5DE2C0D0-0B8AB3CD-FFABCEC1 ghosts? (creepy ambient)

C49567B9-ADA1F468-FFC79BDF quiet bells, mysterious ambient

9B817E4F-AB8AB3D2-FFC7516B bling !

50C4F377-0B8AB3CD-FFFA3E65 doorbell

5D87D5AE-0B8AB3CD-FFF6A793 nice Doorbell

Nature

2026960B-8E6F500E-0B8AB3CD-FFE90CD9 big fire

2026960B-B91CBC2E-0B8AB3CD-FFC106A2 thunder

2026960B-75C4A7CB-0B8AB3CD-FF441EAE Flies

2026960B-1DDBF5CB-0B8AB3CD-FF69A5A0 slow cicadas

2026960B-1098D312-0B8AB3CD-FF653C56 cicadas

2026960B-3E358AB1-0B8AB3CD-FFD3391C crickets less loud

2026960B-3376AC68-0B8AB3CD-FFDFA0EA crickets / jungle

660B32B0-4CC9E945-FF001DF3 single Cricket

A4890932-4C3E66EE-FFBFF835 single Loud Cricket

14E06D63-4CC9E945-FFAB8C2B very quiet Bird

05E7CF3B-2C3E53D9-FFDD6645 quiet bird 1

36DF6C79-4CC9E945-FF5558D6 quiet bird 2

4C7EC562-2C3E53D9-FFF0046A birds 1

4E1730EB-2C3F70D5-FFF352E8 birds 2

64ADEDB6-2C3E53D9-FF06AFCE single Bird 1

860EE7CD-AC4C568B-FF7A9383 single bird 2

A5961275-6E0A5058-FFDADC9C weird owl or something

C45E6713-2C3F70D8-FF6E98CC Owl hooting

ABC18F4D-4C3F70DE-FF223DA3 single Bird 3

ACA90A53-2C3F70D5-FF11F737 single chirpy Bird

DE814E15-6E0A5058-FFBBEC05 Crow

5A0AAD22-AC4C5684-FFCC9AC5 frogs

electronics /water / machines

49F28038-0B8AB3CD-FF5B3156 blender

E2B508B7-0B8AB3CD-FFC67282 jazuzzi hum

2026960B-7BDA5F0B-0B8AB3CD-FF6CC7D9 jacuzzi Hum 2

2026960B-FA6CA340-0B8AB3CD-FF2B2732 machine 1

2026960B-79FDA8C9-0B8AB3CD-FF39184F quiet car engine

2026960B-A5CCBC84-0B8AB3CD-FF67AFB1 hum

2026960B-51F6E7DF-0B8AB3CD-FFC77487 quiet hum

2026960B-0ACED28F-0B8AB3CD-FF21A07D tub water splash

2026960B-078DF456-0B8AB3CD-FF2D398B tub splash 2

2026960B-EF594603-0B8AB3CD-FF7BF68C machine 2

2026960B-6056339D-0B8AB3CD-FF8DED15 machine 3

2026960B-8FD1A3D8-0B8AB3CD-FFF6B07A water 2

2026960B-F8828DBC-0B8AB3CD-FF4BC580 machine 4

2026960B-53751DDD-0B8AB3CD-FFDDF748 water gurgle

2026960B-F5732187-0B8AB3CD-FF4FF045 jet

2026960B-42A7FD9F-0B8AB3CD-FFF6A592 quiet car engine

2026960B-62B6A707-0B8AB3CD-FF3592EC car 1

2026960B-78C55345-0B8AB3CD-FF205208 car fade off

2026960B-DAFBA3F9-0B8AB3CD-FFEA9191 jet fade off

2026960B-82F59CEF-0B8AB3CD-FF184230 light trafic

2026960B-BE0D9651-0B8AB3CD-FF62BECD shower or rain

2026960B-8FB6BA36-0B8AB3CD-FF14DBC6 light Traffic

2026960B-D4473A8C-0B8AB3CD-FF240C5E car 2

2026960B-D231F6E9-0B8AB3CD-FFF5F774 car 3

2026960B-A49FFBC2-0B8AB3CD-FF434DCC another car

2026960B-0164A643-0B8AB3CD-FF74F7C7 noise or shower

2026960B-193EDDA2-0B8AB3CD-FF010DB5 car 4

2026960B-8B2844F8-0B8AB3CD-FFE3B6EB car/ bus

2026960B-D7D2EA5F-0B8AB3CD-FF02932F cheap car or something

[oviraptoridae]

research & development is ongoing

since using jukebox for sampling material on albedo, i've been increasingly interested in ethically using ai as a tool to incorporate more into my own artwork. recently i've been experimenting with "commoncanvas", a stable diffusion model trained entirely on works in the creative commons. though i do not believe legality and ethics are equivalent, this provides me peace of mind that all of the training data was used consensually through the terms of the creative commons license. here's the paper on it for those who are curious! shoutout to @reachartwork for the inspiration & her informative posts about her process!

part 1: overview

i usually post finished works, so today i want to go more in depth & document the process of experimentation with a new medium. this is going to be a long and image-heavy post, most of it will be under the cut & i'll do my best to keep all the image descriptions concise.

for a point of reference, here is a digital collage i made a few weeks ago for the album i just released (shameless self promo), using photos from wikimedia commons and a render of a 3d model i made in blender:

and here are two images i made with the help of common canvas (though i did a lot of editing and post-processing, more on that process in a future post):

more about my process & findings under the cut, so this post doesn't get too long:

quick note for my setup: i am running this model locally on my own machine (rtx 3060, ubuntu 23.10), using the automatic1111 web ui. if you are on the same version of ubuntu as i am, note that you will probably have to build python 3.10.6 yourself (and be sure to use 'make altinstall' instead of 'make install' and change the line in the webui to use 'python3.10' instead of 'python3'. just mentioning this here because nobody else i could find had this exact problem and i had to figure it out myself)

part 2: initial exploration

all the images i'll be showing here are the raw outputs of the prompts given, with no retouching/regenerating/etc.

so: commoncanvas has 2 different types of models, the "C" and "NC" models, trained on their database of works under the CC Commercial and Non-Commercial licenses, respectively (i think the NC dataset also includes the commercial license works, but i may be wrong). the NC model is larger, but both have their unique strengths:

"a cat on the computer", "C" model

"a cat on the computer", "NC" model

they both take the same amount of time to generate (17 seconds for four 512x512 images on my 3060). if you're really looking for that early ai jank, go for the commercial model. one thing i really like about commoncanvas is that it's really good at reproducing the styles of photography i find most artistically compelling: photos taken by scientists and amateurs. (the following images will be described in the captions to avoid redundancy):

"grainy deep-sea rover photo of an octopus", "NC" model. note the motion blur on the marine snow, greenish lighting and harsh shadows here, like you see in photos taken by those rover submarines that scientists use to take photos of deep sea creatures (and less like ocean photography done for purely artistic reasons, which usually has better lighting and looks cleaner). the anatomy sucks, but the lighting and environment is perfect.

"beige computer on messy desk", "NC" model. the reflection of the flash on the screen, the reddish-brown wood, and the awkward angle and framing are all reminiscent of a photo taken by a forum user with a cheap digital camera in 2007.

so the noncommercial model is great for vernacular and scientific photography. what's the commercial model good for?

"blue dragon sitting on a stone by a river", "C" model. it's good for bad CGI dragons. whenever i request dragons of the commercial model, i either get things that look like photographs of toys/statues, or i get gamecube type CGI, and i love it.

here are two little green freaks i got while trying to refine a prompt to generate my fursona. (i never succeeded, and i forget the exact prompt i used). these look like spore creations and the background looks like a bryce render. i really don't know why there's so much bad cgi in the datasets and why the model loves going for cgi specifically for dragons, but it got me thinking...

"hollow tree in a magical forest, video game screenshot", "C" model

"knights in a dungeon, video game screenshot", "C" model

i love the dreamlike video game environments and strange CGI characters it produces-- it hits that specific era of video games that i grew up with super well.

part 3: use cases

if you've seen any of the visual art i've done to accompany my music projects, you know that i love making digital collages of surreal landscapes:

(this post is getting image heavy so i'll wrap up soon)

i'm interested in using this technology more, not as a replacement for my digital collage art, but along with it as just another tool in my toolbox. and of course...

... this isn't out of lack of skill to imagine or draw scifi/fantasy landscapes.

thank you for reading such a long post! i hope you got something out of this post; i think it's a good look into the "experimentation phase" of getting into a new medium. i'm not going into my post-processing / GIMP stuff in this post because it's already so long, but let me know if you want another post going into that!

good-faith discussion and questions are encouraged but i will disable comments if you don't behave yourselves. be kind to each other and keep it P.L.U.R.

[miss-multi45]

Hear me out on a reader with the Ghouls who is like some sort of snake hybrid, similar to reptile from MK1, but they have snake fangs, a snake tongue, IF YOU GET IT, BUT HAVE A GOOD DAY/NIGHT!!

I LOVE UR WRITTINGS💋

thank you, little swan ♡♡

swiss

"show me your pretty fangs, my little snakelet.."

he finds it hot.

bite him.

sodo

coil your tongue around his fingers or his cock and he's yours.

"oh wow..quite a tongue you have there.."

whenever you eat something that requires your tongue to be out, he's staring at it constantly.

rain

compares your fangs to his and keeps your mouth open with the same digits that finger you.

"such pretty fangs.."

he straight up licked your fangs once.

phantom

he actually really likes snakes.

squealed in delight when you showed him.

"you're so prettyyy...baby snake!"

mountain

he can take really good care of arachnids and amphibians, so he was happy when he saw your snake features for the first time.

"how gorgeous, you have cute little snake fangs.."

brought one of his pythons to meet you and the python is now your best friend.

aether

"you never told me you had sexy snake fangs. NOT TO MENTION YOUR TONGUE."

suddenly develops a lust for French kissing.

omega

does a whole study on snakes and now knows everything about your features.

"i noticed you have a forked tongue, please kiss me."

alpha

gives you chew toys incase you have an oral fixation.

"I saw a green rubber ball chew toy and I got it for you. 😊."

i feel like he used to have an oral fixation and it crept back in as he saw that you had one too.

ifrit

"that is cooler than sliced bread and skateboarding."

wants you to bite his arm since ghoul bite marks look different to yours.

aurora

"do you have venomous fangs?"

a thousand questions per millisecond.

a motor mouth in this situation.

cirrus

"show me."

grabs your head and stares at your mouth for a solid 5 minutes, then shows you hers as if you haven't seen them before.

cumulus

"ooh, can I see?"

mark her, she wants to see what your marks would look like on her.

mist

"you don't understand how much I love snakes, please show me."

show her or she will implode/explode.

[dexterishere]

Why and How to Hire a Python Programmer: The Key to Success

In the ever-evolving landscape of software development, having the right expertise on your team can be the key to unlocking extraordinary results. If you're looking to breathe life into your digital projects through Python programming, you've come to the right place. This blog post is your comprehensive guide to understanding the importance of hiring a Python programmer and how to find the perfect fit for your next venture.

The Power of Hiring a Python Programmer

Python, celebrated for its versatility and simplicity, has grown into a powerhouse programming language that drives innovation across various domains. Hiring a skilled Python programmer can bring a multitude of benefits to your projects:

Expertise: A dedicated Python programmer possesses in-depth knowledge of the language, its libraries, and best practices.

Efficiency: Python programmers can optimize your code for performance, resulting in faster execution and reduced resource consumption.

Innovative Solutions: Their familiarity with Python's extensive libraries and frameworks enables them to create innovative and customized solutions.

Problem Solving: Python programmers excel at breaking down complex challenges into manageable components and crafting effective solutions.

Quality Assurance: With a Python programmer at the helm, you can expect code that adheres to industry standards and is thoroughly tested.

How to Hire a Python Programmer: Step by Step

Define Your Project: Clearly outline your project's objectives, scope, and technical requirements.

Search Platforms: Utilize online platforms such as freelancing websites, job boards, and programming communities to find potential candidates.

Screen Resumes: Shortlist candidates whose resumes reflect relevant experience and skills in Python programming.

Technical Interviews: Conduct technical interviews to assess their proficiency in Python, problem-solving skills, and coding practices.

Portfolio Evaluation: Review their past projects to gauge the quality of their work and their ability to deliver on your requirements.

Test Projects: Assign a small coding task to evaluate their coding style, adherence to guidelines, and overall approach.

Communication Skills: Assess their communication skills, as effective collaboration is vital for project success.

References and Background Checks: Reach out to references provided to verify their work history and reputation.

Benefits of Hiring a Python Programmer

Customized Solutions: A Python programmer tailors solutions to your project's specific requirements, ensuring a perfect fit.

Time Efficiency: Professionals can expedite development, ensuring your project reaches completion faster.

Quality Assurance: Python programmers follow best practices, resulting in high-quality, maintainable, and bug-free code.

Resource Savings: Outsourcing coding tasks allows you to allocate resources to other business-critical activities.

Flexibility: You can choose to hire a Python programmer on a freelance, contract, or full-time basis, based on your project needs.

Finding the Perfect Python Programmer for Hire

Freelance Platforms: Explore platforms like Upwork and Freelancer for a wide array of freelance Python programmers.

Job Boards: Platforms like LinkedIn and Glassdoor showcase job listings from skilled Python programmers seeking opportunities.

Coding Communities: Engage with online coding communities, forums, and social media groups to discover potential candidates.

Referrals: Tap into your professional network for recommendations on reliable Python programmers.

Tech Conferences and Meetups: Attend industry events to network with potential candidates and evaluate their skills.

Conclusion:

Hiring a Python programmer can transform your software projects into exceptional successes. By recognizing the advantages they bring, diligently following the hiring process, and leveraging various platforms to find the ideal match, you're paving the way for innovation, efficiency, and top-quality results. As you embark on this journey to enhance your programming endeavors, remember that partnering with a skilled Python programmer is an investment that can lead to remarkable outcomes and propel your projects to new heights.

[schmergo]

If you think I was a kid who loved to read, you’d be right, but that doesn’t just mean I was reading, like, Newbery Award nominated prestigious children’s novels. Because in my experience, most kids who love to read are more gourmand than gourmet. I was also reading:

* Class rosters. I begged my teachers for these. I wanted to try to memorize everyone’s middle names.

* Similarly, old yearbooks. I liked judging whether people’s names matched their faces and making up different names for them if they did. I also loved reading baby name books and making lists of names I liked.

.* The personals section of the newspaper. I liked picturing the people as they described themselves and imagining which combination of people on the page might like each other.

* The ingredients of food packages. Not even for any real informational reason, I just really liked certain fantasy-sounding words like thiamine and riboflavin.

* An old World Book Encyclopedia from the 1970s. I would sneak out of bed to read it because the bookshelf was near my bedroom door and I could crawl to it without making the floor creak. My favorite entries were the ones about Hawaii and tigers. I kinda developed a ritual of rereading the Hawaii article when I had read a scary book before bed and needed to calm my brain down.

* My dad’s Dave Barry and Woody Allen humor books and also transcripts of all of the Monty Python’s Flying Circus episodes. This is probably why my sense of humor has been so weird from such a young age.

* The part of the church hymnal with ceremonies for baptisms, weddings, and funerals. I liked to imagine them.

* Wine catalogs at friends’ houses. The descriptions of the wines seemed so poetic and abstract. I also liked when they said “fruit on the nose” because I pictured a dog balancing a whole piece of fruit on its nose.

* My parents’ parenting books. I liked to see if I was exhibiting developmentally appropriate behavior. I am not 100% sure if doing that is, in fact, developmentally appropriate behavior.

* Those little brochures advertising various roadside attractions and tourist activities at rest shops. I would grab as many as possible when we stopped to use the bathroom on a road trip. Also, travel guides in general.

* I checked out the entire “unexplained” section of the library over the course of third grade. (Dewey decimal 001.9.) Ask little me about Project Blue Book, I guess.

* I LOVED party planning books, especially ones with highly specific themed parties that seemed impractical to put on in real life like a whole chess-themed party culminating in a game of human chess, complete with lemon chess pie for dessert.

* Seed packets. I find the writing style of these very endearing. It always sounds so affectionate toward the plants.

* My grandma’s Reader’s Digest magazines, which felt like Russian roulette because they sometimes published disturbing articles that gave me nightmares. (Reader’s Indigestion?) I especially vividly remember a feature on adopted kids who need to wear Ilizarov apparatuses to straighten their limbs because they became malformed due to severe neglect at orphanages.

* For some reason, I loved reading restaurant menus and imagining what kind of food different fictional characters would order from there.

* And last but certainly not least, because I think this is a relatable one: the AMERICAN GIRL CATALOG! No, I never had an American Girl doll, but getting the catalog was a source of much excitement.

[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.

[contentloadingandstuff]

About Me

Hello there!

It's been three years, so it's high time to tell you guys something about myself.

Here I go by contentloadingandstuff - just 'content' for short. I'm male, straight, born on the same day as the world famous aquarelist - the 20th of April. I have a younger sister and a cat, named Kota (she-cat in Polish, sort of). I'm studying law, but I'm unhappy with it and waiting to jump over to psychology.

I'm from Poland, the land over the Vistula, of the blooming onion, the eternal occupation/invasion joke. While Poland isn't in the top echelons of the world, I'm still proud of our history and happy to see my nation develop. I'm fluent in English, but I can also understand German on a basic level, read the cyrilic alphabet and speak a tiny bit of Japanese.

I've been playing Genshin Impact since Shinobu's release in 2.2. AR 50, did most things you could do in the game. My favorite character is and was always Ganyu. I've started writing for the game for two reasons - first, my dusty old Necro AU and the lack of male reader content in terms of fics. I'm quite happy to have this blog. You can find me under Polski_Cynamon on the Europe server.

Although my interests are very broad, my hobbies focus primarily on gaming, cultural analysis and writing. I'm a big World War II buff, but the history of warfare in general also catches my fancy. Truth be told, I could get into and talk about any topic really. Except politics - at least not on the blog. I'm not afraid to argue my points, just not here. Thanks for understanding.

Now for some quick trivia. Here are some...

Games I like: Genshin Impact (obviously), Company of Heroes 2, FnaF 1 - 6, Dungeon Keeper, Payday 2, The Forest, Witcher 3, Vermintide 2, Hotline Miami 1 & 2, Battlefield V, Helldivers 2, Warlords Battlecry 3, Dark Omen, Shadow of the Horned Rat, the Myth series, Papers Please.

Youtubers I watch: The Little Platoon, Horses, Despot of Antrim, Saveafox, TheBones5, Chickeninja42, Junkzero, ZERO, Fingees, AstralSpiff, big boss, Shrouded Hand.

Books, stories and Authors I like: "Ferdydurke", "Hauptstellung Moskau", H.P. Lovecraft, V. Suvorov, "The Red Hunger", The "Fazbear Frights" series, Tadeusz Borowski, The "Abandoned by Disney" series, "1999", "Dziady III", SCP-5000, SCP-1730, The Spiral Path.

Movies and Shows that I like: Downfall, Stalingrad (1993), Warsaw 44, Burnt by the Sun 2, The Pacific, Letters from Iwo Jima, El Alamein: La Linea Del Fuoco, Barefoot Gen, Hacksaw Ridge, The 800, Das Boot, Black Adder, Monthy Python - Holy Grail and Life of Brian, The Pianist, Asterix and Obelix: Mission Cleopathra (if you know why, you know), American Psycho, Halloween (2018 and only this part of the new thrillogy), Hellraiser I and II.

Music that I like: All over the place. Includes the remix of Perfect Girl, Freaks, Cheri Cheri Lady, Gimme Gimme Gimme, Everybody Wants to Rule the World (both og and remix), Brainiac Mainiac, Operation Blacklight, Confirmed Thrills, Another Round for Everyone, Miami Disco, The Forest: Main Theme, Friday Night Fire Night, I Really Wanna Stay At Your House, Addict, Do Prostego Człowieka - Akurat, Czerwona Zaraza, Encounter Z Mixed, Maradona - smkkpm.

DEDICATED FELINE SECTION

Behold, Kota. I got her four years ago from my uncle; her mother was a very wounded stray named Anka (Annie, yes a human name) that had four kittens - two of them died thanks to my uncle's horde of basset hounds (to quote my grandmother, they are big and heavy like swine). From there on she leads a happy life being what most cats are - spoiled, antitled and loving in her own way.

She might look cute (she is), but don't be mistaken - she's a little devil. She relentlessly hunts the feet of my sister, chewing and kicking them for fun; she generally likes to wrestle with lots of teeth, but she also fetches when she wants. My mother is the unfortunate favorite person of my cat, and as a result she is followed at all times, woken up at dawn to feed the feline and constantly pestered for raw meat or treats. Kota is quite talkative and often holds conversations with me.

Oh, and vet visits are a nightmare. She's always given gabapentine to be less of a threat to doctors when trimming her nails. She once swiped the facemask of a vet tech clean off their face, but luckily the woman was okay. So yeah - an imp, adorable, but hellish.

Now, enjoy picures of my bejbe.

I'll be adding on to this page as time goes on. But for now, it's gonna be all.

Curious about something? Don't hesitate to ask!

[fmajorenthusiast]

The Rocky Horror characters at the mall?? :) What shops would they like? What antics would they get into?

-A.B.

OMG I LOVE IT SO MUUUCHHHH

Frank: He is headed straight to Victoria's Secret- he loves Victoria's secret. He's also been banned from numerous candy shops because he keeps trying to use the candy in attempts to seduce staff and other customers with it. It started out with just lollipops, which they couldn't really get after him for, but then it escalated into "inappropriate use of the whipped cream" and "noise complaints from his moaning whenever he ate anything" and he was out

Brad: Brad loves to go fishing through those big bins of DVDs in video stores!!! (Idk if they still exist I haven't seen them in my recent trips to the mall but they were excellent while they lasted. I probably would not have the patience for what Brad does, but I'm proud that he does it) One time he found a Monty Python in there and rode that high for MONTHS! It was his greatest moment. He's also always going to wherever the Mario games are!!!

Janet: Janet's favorite stores are Forever 21 and Macy's. She definitely gets obsessed with stuff, has her arms full, and then realizes halfway through that she most certainly cannot afford most of these things. She then has to spend an eternity deciding what to put back. There have been a few times in which a store has needed to inform her that they'll be closing in fifteen minutes and she's needed to make an incredibly quick turn-around. She always comes back for the things she's left behind once she comes into some more money, though, and then the process starts all over again and she is thrilled every time!

Riff Raff: Riff Raff loves to get nail polish at makeup stores and other little accessories that can make him feel especially elegant! He'll go more out there and get better outfits when he's not in Frank's servitude- but anything he gets will inevitably become Frank's if he's not careful. ALSO he always gets himself a nice little treat because Frank ususally gives him and Magenta leftovers. He's developed a true love of cheese popcorn and will get himself a bag if one of the stores is selling one. However, he does tend to look like a bird when he eats, so if he sees someone looking at him funny, and he notices that they are not a child (he'll turn the other way if they are) will stare them directly in the eyes and go kind of cross-eyed until they leave and he can enjoy his popcorn in peace

Magenta: Magenta will go and outright get her nails done at the mall. Then, depending on the day, she'll either get some perfume, clothes, accessories, or baking supplies! Sometimes she'll just go to a bakery and let them do the job for her. She also loves those fun vulgar signs that you can get to hang up. She's kind of seen as a test of sorts when she walks into a store because- if she doesn't like the service you provide- she will go online and leave the most scorching of reviews. If you pass the "Magenta test" your shop honestly probably gets a small celebration

Columbia: At every mall you will find a few special shops that sell AMAZING fashion and accessories that are so alternative and unique. You will find Columbia there every time!!! It's where all of her favorite outfits come from! She'll also always get donuts on her way out

Eddie: Eddie steals from Hot Topic. Its an unstoppable fact of life. No one can stop it

Doctor Scott: Doctor Scott loves bookstores!!! He'll always decide what his next read is on the spot, but he'll always pick something that he ends up enjoying. He's read so many things that it's surprising! He subbed for Brad and Janet's literature class one time, checked the curriculum, and had read every book on the list. How does he always pick something that he ends up enjoying? Well he reads the first 5 or so chapters in the store before he even buys it! He's caught a few employees looking at him funny for it a few times, but there is in fact, no rule against this action. Hes been doing it since he was like 20 and no one can stop him

Rocky: Rocky loves shops where he can get board games and special ice cream flavors- but his favorite thing that the mall has to offer is the ball pit. Oh how Rocky loves the ball pit

The Criminologist: the Criminologist loves getting pictures, either drawn, painted, or photographed, that he can frame and hang up on his walls! He especially loves ones of city skylines!!!

[youryurigoddess]

Aziraphale’s secret investigation and overlooked Clues

Remember this frame from Good Omens S02E06? Apparently Aziraphale had been using the empty carton box brought by Jim to store things in. It became a new home to at least two out of three “Lost Quartos” — the supposedly lost Shakespeare plays briefly but hilariously mentioned in the Good Omens book — as well as a very mysterious legal document.

Thought probably half of the Good Omens analysts here, including the ever so wonderful @fuckyeahgoodomens, who managed to find some information about the deceased John Gibson from New Cumnock (1855 - 1905).

Unfortunately the most interesting thing about this early 20th century provincial postmaster was his youngest child James (1894 - 1973), a quite famous stage (West End!) and film actor immortalized on screen in The Master of Ballantrae (1962), Witch Wood (1964) and Kidnapped (1963).

After that particular discovery the fandom-wide search seemingly led nowhere and the topic died a premature death.

And I almost figured it out seven months ago.

“But Yuri, you’re so clever. How can somebody as clever as you be so stupid?”, you probably want to shout across a busy London street at this point. Well, let me tell you. Much like Aziraphale, I'm blindingly intelligent for about thirty seconds a day. I do not get to choose which seconds and they are not consecutive.

Only tonight the stars have aligned in an ineffable way.

For those of you who don’t follow this account, some time ago I’ve realized that John Gibson isn’t the only testator whose estate was being investigated by Aziraphale right before The Whickber Street Traders and Shopkeepers Association monthly meeting.

If you watch S2 finale closely enough, you should notice that Crowley not only stress cleans Aziraphale’s bookshop — he also goes through the books and papers on his desk between the last three angels leaving the bookshop and Maggie and Nina’s intervention. A seemingly permanent arrangement of the props post-shooting, visible in detail both on Radio Times tour and SFX magazine photo shoot, sheds even more light on this detail.

The close-ups published after S2 release are legible enough to refer us to a much more prominent historical figure, Josiah Wedgwood (1730 – 1795) — an English potter, entrepreneur and abolitionist. Founding the Wedgwood company in 1759, he developed improved pottery bodies by systematic experimentation, and was the leader in the industrialisation of the manufacture of European pottery.

Long story short, I transcribed the handwritten pages abandoned on Aziraphale’s desk, found out the source and the full text of what could be identified as Wedgwood’s last will and testament, took a walk to visit his Soho workshop, and proceeded to write a lengthy meta analysis about it.

I was today’s years old when I realized that there’s something else connecting those two dead British men.

The Scottish Post Office Directory of 1903 recorded John Gibson from New Cumnock as a “stationer and china dealer” (above) operating from the shop located in the town’s post office building.

Indeed, a close look at his post office shop window in the Henderson Building (below, bottom left) reveals an artful display of fine china and pottery next to postcards printed by Gibson.

There are multiple ways to connect this surprising link with possible S3 plot points, obviously, but it’s getting late, so let’s just name the two most important ones.

You’ve probably heard of the Holy Grail, maybe from Monty Python or Good Omens S01E03 1941 flashback. Depending on the version of the story, if can be a cup, a chalice, a bowl, or a saucer — but almost always a dish or a vessel connected personally, physically and metaphysically to Jesus (unless you’re partial to Wolfram von Eschenbach’s idea that the Grail was a stone, the sanctuary of the neutral angels who took neither side during Lucifer's rebellion).

A slightly more obscure dish related to the Son of God appears in the sixteenth chapter of the Book of Revelation as a vital part of His Second Coming. The Seven Bowls (or cups, or vials) of God’s Wrath are supposed to be poured out on the wicked and the followers of the Antichrist by seven angels:

Then I heard a loud voice from the temple telling the seven angels, “Go and pour out on the earth the seven bowls of the wrath of God.” So the first angel went and poured out his bowl on the earth, and harmful and painful sores came upon the people who bore the mark of the beast and worshiped its image.

The second angel poured out his bowl into the sea, and it became like the blood of a corpse, and every living thing died that was in the sea.

The third angel poured out his bowl into the rivers and the springs of water, and they became blood. And I heard the angel in charge of the waters say, “Just are you, O Holy One, who is and who was, for you brought these judgments. For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and you have given them blood to drink. It is what they deserve!” And I heard the altar saying, “Yes, Lord God the Almighty, true and just are your judgments!”

The fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and it was allowed to scorch people with fire. They were scorched by the fierce heat, and they cursed the name of God who had power over these plagues. They did not repent and give him glory.

The fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and its kingdom was plunged into darkness. People gnawed their tongues in anguish and cursed the God of heaven for their pain and sores. They did not repent of their deeds.

The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up, to prepare the way for the kings from the east. And I saw, coming out of the mouth of the dragon and out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet, three unclean spirits like frogs. For they are demonic spirits, performing signs, who go abroad to the kings of the whole world, to assemble them for battle on the great day of God the Almighty.  (“Behold, I am coming like a thief! Blessed is the one who stays awake, keeping his garments on, that he may not go about naked and be seen exposed!”) And they assembled them at the place that in Hebrew is called Armageddon.

The seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air, and a loud voice came out of the temple, from the throne, saying, “It is done!” And there were flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, and a great earthquake such as there had never been since man was on the earth, so great was that earthquake. The great city was split into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell, and God remembered Babylon the great, to make her drain the cup of the wine of the fury of his wrath. And every island fled away, and no mountains were to be found. And great hailstones, about one hundred pounds each, fell from heaven on people; and they cursed God for the plague of the hail, because the plague was so severe.