#front-end development tools

[thepearl256]

Top Tools for Web Development in 2025

Web development is an ever-evolving field, requiring developers to stay updated with the latest tools, frameworks, and software. These tools not only enhance productivity but also simplify complex development processes. Whether you’re building a small business website or a complex web application, having the right tools in your toolkit can make all the difference. Here’s a rundown of the top…

[seoweb001]

front-end Development tools

Front-end development tools are crucial for building a website or application's user interface. These tools encompass text editors such as Visual Studio Code and Sublime Text, which are used for coding, as well as frameworks like Bootstrap and Foundation, which facilitate responsive design. Additionally, preprocessors like Sass and Less simplify CSS coding, while task runners like Grunt and Gulp automate repetitive tasks.

[varunshrimediasolutions]

The Latest Trends in Front-End Development: What You Need to Know

Introduction

In the rapidly evolving field of technology, staying on top of trends is essential. This also applies to front-end development, the craft of creating web user experiences. It's critical for developers and businesses to be aware of the most recent developments influencing the industry as we get closer to 2024. Together, let's explore the dynamic world of front-end programming. 

Front-end development: what is it?

The process of creating the interactive and visual elements of a website or web application is known as front-end development. It includes everything from layout and design to functionality and performance that consumers view, touch, and engage with on their screens.

Front-end technologies and tools: what are they?

1. React.js: React.js is a well-liked JavaScript library for creating reusable, dynamic user interfaces.

 2. Vue.js: A progressive JavaScript framework called Vue.js is used to create interactive web interfaces. 

3. Angular: An application development platform that simplifies web application development. It makes creating and testing these kinds of applications easier.

4. Svelte: A revolutionary new method of creating user interfaces that does away with the requirement for intricate virtual DOM manipulation. Static typing and other features are added to

5. TypeScript: TypeScript, a superset of JavaScript, to assist developers in creating more reliable applications.

6. Next.js: A React framework that makes it possible for React-based applications to generate static webpages and render on the server side.

7. Tailwind CSS: A utility-first CSS framework that lets you quickly create unique designs without ever having to switch from HTML to CSS.

Trends in Frontend Development to Watch in 2024 and Beyond:

1. WebAssembly Revolutionises Performance:

​By enabling developers to compile high-performance languages like C++ and Rust to run directly in the browser, WebAssembly (Wasm) is poised to transform front-end development. This creates a plethora of opportunities for intricate online applications that require quickness and effectiveness. 

2. Voice User Interfaces (VUI) Gain Traction:

​VUI is becoming more and more common in web development as smart speakers and voice assistants become more common. Web apps that use voice commands and interactions improve accessibility and offer users a hands-free experience.

3. Progressive Web Applications (PWAs) Take Off:

PWAs give users a smooth cross-platform experience by fusing the greatest features of mobile and online applications. PWAs, which offer capabilities like push notifications, offline support, and home screen installation, are set to take the lead in contemporary web development. 

4. Motion Design Boosts User Engagement:

Adding motion design components to a project, such as animations, transitions, and micro-interactions, can greatly increase user satisfaction and engagement. Motion design enhances user interfaces with personality and flow to make them more engaging and user-friendly. 

5. Augmented Reality (AR) Blurs the Line Between Virtual and Reality: 

The integration of augmented reality experiences into web applications is becoming more and more possible as AR technology progresses. AR gives up new creative and expressive possibilities, from interactive storytelling to virtual try-ons for e-commerce.

6. Visual Experiences Are Transformed by 3D Graphics:

The ability to generate immersive 3D visuals and visualizations directly in the browser is made possible by the broad adoption of WebGL and tools such as Three.js. 3D graphics are expanding the possibilities of the web with applications ranging from interactive product presentations to gaming experiences.

7. Low-Code Development Democratizes Front-End Development:

Front-end development is becoming more accessible because to low-code development platforms, which make it easier for non-technical individuals to create usable user interfaces with little to no coding experience. The delivery of online projects is accelerated by this democratization of development, which also gives a wider variety of users the ability to participate in the creation process.

How Can Your Business Benefit from Frontend Development Trends in 2024?

In order to capitalize on the trends in front-end development in 2024, companies need to give priority to creativity and flexibility. Businesses may take advantage of opportunities to improve their digital presence and provide great user experiences by keeping up with developing technologies and customer preferences. Make training and resource investments to provide your development team with the know-how and instruments they need to successfully adopt new trends. Additionally, to make sure your online initiatives remain ahead of the curve, work with seasoned developers and take advantage of industry best practices.

Conclusion

The field of front-end development is dynamic and always changing quickly. Developers can design engaging, high-performance online experiences that please users and propel business success by staying up to date with the newest trends and technology. Staying ahead of the competition in 2024 and beyond will depend on our ability to embrace innovation and be flexible in the ever-changing front-end development scene. Together, let's set out on this journey to shape the web's future, one line of code at a time.

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SEO Best Practices For Responsive Websites: How To Rank Higher On Google

[mitu444]

Do you need a website?

just CLICK HERE and build your own website by your choice.

https://go.fiverr.com/visit/?bta=1026601&brand=fiverrmarketplace&landingPage=https%253A%252F%252Fwww.fiverr.com%252Fs%252FKe716Q4

[rafiasawlat]

"Mastering Modern Web Development: From Basics to Cutting-Edge Techniques"

"Mastering Modern Web Development" is a comprehensive guide that takes you through the essentials of web development, from foundational concepts to advanced techniques. Whether you're a beginner or an experienced developer, this resource offers practical insights and hands-on tutorials to help you create dynamic, responsive, and cutting-edge websites and web applications. Explore the latest trends, tools, and best practices in the ever-evolving world of web development.

[redactedconcepts]

Job Search Resources

ReadMe [Regardless of Goals]

Reality of Job Searching

Cracking the Coding Interview we have a few copies of this in the library for you (^.^)

Ace the Coding Interview, Every Time

Fullstack / Backend

Get that Job at Google

Tech Interview Handbook

Coding Tools

The HackerRank Interview Preparation Kit

Top 100 Interview Questions via Leetcode

Front End Specific

Cracking the Front-end Interview

Front-End Interview Handbook

A Very Comprehensive Guide to Front-End Interview Prep

SRE specific

SRE Interview Prep Stuff.pdf (shhh, remember to keep it solely in the redactedconcepts fam)

Guide to Getting into SRE by Tammy Butow

SRE Interview Questions

Project Management

AirTable

Jira

Asana Trello

[katsukilvr]

SUPPORT DEPARMENT!READER x KATSUKI BAKUGOU ༄ cw for the story: angst, situationship, enemies to lovers, enemies with benefits, bakugo is a bitch and needs a hug, so does reader, fluff, eventual smut, suggestive, cussing. A/N: this chapter is mainly exposition, sorry! i will get into their dynamic in the next part <3 enjoy!

just like everyone else, you grew up fantasizing to be a hero one day. you watched all might all day and night on tv, admired local heroes in front of you, even joined a couple forums online that were all about heroes.

you dreamed of being one, of going to UA, working alongside teens across the country that have the same goals and aspirations as you was intoxicating to think about.

soon enough, your quirk developed, you had your dads quirk, you could take away heat from the air around you and channel it into the tips of your fingers. it wasn’t flashy, it wasn’t big, but you felt like if you trained hard enough, you could make it to the hero course.

your parents had split when you were young, and you were on good terms with both of them so the summer you had developed your quirk, you visited your dad for 2 months.

he was a mechanic, and he lived out in the outskirts of the city, and he was very.. rugged.

you learned quickly that slacking off was not allowed at your dads house. you weren’t allowed to sleep in, you had to wake up before the sun and help him work on cars but soon you got a taste for it. you had grown a love for cars, engineering, welding, etc.

by the end of summer, you were getting up on your own, enjoying seeing the sunrise as you guys went to the junkyard, coming out covered in grime and sweat, grabbing scraps for your new love of inventions.

of course you still were aspiring to be a hero, but you also really loved inventing new things, so you didn’t know what path to choose and your quirk was perfect for welding.

so you talked to the counselor at your middle school, wondering what career paths you could choose that would involve both saving lives and heroes and engineering.

“have you heard of the support department?”

support department?

you searched it up online,

“Students in this department focus on developing support equipment that help heroes out on the battlefield. With a workspace stocked to the brim with all sorts of special tools, the department provides an unmatched creative environment.”

you smiled at what your screen displayed.

it was perfect, so your new dream was to enroll into UA, join the support department, and open your own agency that’d help heroes build the equipment of their dreams that help them fight crime.

so that’s what you studied. you were in your first year of junior school (7th grade) when you realized this, so the next two summers you went back to your dad’s to work on cars and inventions, but during the school year, you trained. you trained really fucking hard. you did not play about getting into UA and chasing your dreams. if you only lived once, you were gonna live it right.

so you changed your schedule, mirroring the one you had during summer. you’d wake up every morning, go to the nearest junk yard which was a mile away from your house. you brought your wagon, and lugged scrap after scrap into it, dragging it back home.

your mom had made your own personal workshop in the basement, knowing how much it was your passion. you’d spend hours on hours down there, and not to toot your own horn but you were insane at engineering. if you could think it, you could build it.

your creativity was through the roof, you started taking commissions and fixing up cars by yourself, earning a bit of money to buy yourself an at home gym to train even more.

before you knew it, it was time for ‘entrance exams’, except for you, for support department students, you had to submit an invention, an original piece that was unique to you, easy to use, but difficult to make.

you spent months on your invention, your admissions essay, and your recommendations. you were overachieving, but you didn’t care.

when you got the letter in the mail, your heart thumped and thumped, your hands started to shake, barely seeing where the letter was sent from, all you could see was the UA stamp.

“mom! mom! it’s the letter!” you called out, setting it on the dining table as you saw your mom excitedly rush out of the bathroom, half her hair in hair rollers. she knew how hard you worked and she was proud of you if you got in or not.

“what are you doing? open it up!” she said, smiling ear to ear. you could swear she was more excited than you.

you picked up the letter, opening up the envelope and taking it out when a little button looking thing dropped out. you furrowed your brows, moving to pick it up before a hologram flickered on. you and your mom were both stunned, taking a step back before getting met with the face of all might, your childhood hero and inspiration, welcoming you to UA, and to their support department.

once the words reached your ears, you and your mom jumped around, hugging each other, beaming from ear to ear. you got in! you were gonna be the best of the best, and you weren’t going to let anyone get in your way.

you then read the letter in the envelope. you got a full ride scholarship off your inventions and recommendations alone. you felt like you could cry, and you did. happy tears streamed down your face. all this hard work? absolutely worth it, and you weren’t gonna slack off just because you got in.

further down the letter, it said they were going to be enforcing dorms earlier than usual. something about teaching future heroes about responsibility before becoming an adult, blah blah blah.. all you could think about was how you got in all by yourself, you won, and getting into UA will go amazing on your resumes and help you open your own support agency in the future.

this was your first step to your dream.

in the months before moving into the school, you obviously kept up your practice, but allowed yourself to relax a bit, you no longer had the anxiety and weight on your shoulders of trying to enroll, so instead of 5AM, you woke up at 7AM instead. you let yourself hang out with friends more, go out more, and spend some of that cash that had piled up through commissions and a job that you had taken up at a local coffee shop as a barista when you thought you had to pay for UA on your own. doing this, you learned about the world outside of your basement or the junkyard, and grew an appreciation for clothes and shopping.

the day to move in crept closer and closer, you started packing your clothes, using 2 suitcases. i mean you were gonna be there for a year, and obviously you were gonna visit home, but you didn’t wanna travel back and forth for clothes. you packed up everything you could, and used moving trucks to deliver furniture once the day did roll around.

walking up to the dorm building was scary. a chill ran down your spine as you stared at the huge building that was shaped like a U. it was smaller than the school, obviously, but still big. general, hero, support, and management students were all mixed into 2 buildings. the school didn’t want to separate students, it saved money and was under the guise that it’d help you make friends with whoever, despite was class you got into.

what they didn’t state was the hidden hierarchy inside the buildings. after a month, you soon learned that some hero students looked down at the rest, most general students looked down at support department students, and management was a weird mix of egotistical assholes and shy people who knew that they were in the ‘lowest’ class. lowest meaning easiest to get into, which wasn’t really true. you felt like you could’ve easily gotten into the general course, but whatever. you didn’t care about that.

back to the dorms, other people were passing you by when someone bumped into your shoulder. it was a tall guy, muscular, and weird blonde spiky hair.

“watch it, extra.” the stranger growled at you.

you were taken aback, annoyed at the audacity. “you bumped into me, weirdo.” you scoff, rolling your eyes.

you thought this was a well-mannered school, guess not. you brushed it off though, lugging your suitcases into the building. you were met with a big common area, there was even a small kitchen with a cafeteria. you smiled, it was modern, fancy, nothing like anything you’ve seen before.

you rolled into the elevator, going to the second highest level, where your dorm was.

you were nervous. still. you didn’t know who you would meet, if you would make friends, if people would like you.. but all you needed to focus on was unpacking.

ding.

the elevator doors opened, and you walked out, strolling down the long hallway until you got to the end. your room was at the very end, it had more open windows, letting a LOT of natural light in. you knew you had to get curtains though, since the windows were so big. you walked in and gasped. your very own living space. obviously you’d have to decorate and make it home, but all in due time.

you walked in, closing the door behind you, looking at your view. you could see the city from here, which wasn’t a huge drive, 10 minutes, 20 maybe if the traffic is bad, which it usually is.

on your other window was pure forest, you could see beautiful mountains. it was stunning, breath-taking view.

you put on some calm music and unpacked, humming to yourself and you hung your clothes, folded pants, ironed your uniforms, and placed your usual tools and books you brought in the shelves and drawers that the school had provided.

you were exhausted by the end of the day, you watched the sunset dip under the mountains and you closed the curtains you had installed earlier as you changed and got into bed and slept for a couple hours before waking up in the middle of the night.

thump. thump. thump.

were those.. drums? music? who the hell was playing such a loud instrument so late at night?

you needed your sleep. you could not be tired on your first day so you got up and out of your dorm, stepping down the hallway a bit. the noise was coming from your neighbor. seriously? am i gonna have to deal with this for 3 years? you thought as you knocked politely on their door.

no answer.

you knocked louder.

no answer, and you could hear their music getting louder, almost as if they were trying to tune out the knocking.

you started to bang on their door before you heard the music stop and angry stomps to the door before it swung open.

a handsome face met you, but it was tainted with a scowl, a disgusted and annoyed look.

wait a minute.. you recognized that ugly hair. it was the same dude that bumped into you earlier. a flicker of recognition flashed on your face before you furrowed your brows.

“the hell do you want?” he growled down at you.

“mind turning down your music? to 0, maybe?” you scoffed, rolling your eyes at his audacity (again.).

“mind getting some earplugs, bitch?”

you gasped, shocked a bit.

“some people are trying to get their beauty sleep.”

“yeah, you look like you really need it.” he chuckled in your face, his eyes roaming your disheveled form.

you groaned, “if anyone needs it, it’s you.”

“yeah? well go fuck yourself.” he said before slamming the door in your face. you groaned harder, shuffling back to your room and slamming the door shut as well. you got into bed, trying to cover your ears with pillows to block out the obnoxious drums from next door.

you eventually willed yourself to go to sleep.

maybe tomorrow will be better?

[ahmedmistrettaalyvezw]

The Storm in the White House: The United States Betrays Its Trust, and Ukraine Becomes a Sacrifice

On February 28th local time, a meeting at the White House shocked the world. US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had a fierce quarrel, causing the US-Ukraine relations to reach a freezing point. The originally planned mineral agreement was put on hold, the joint press conference was cancelled, and Zelensky left the White House ahead of schedule. Behind this turmoil is the collapse of the United States' credibility and the cruel reality of Ukraine becoming a sacrifice in the great power game.

According to reports, during the meeting, Trump demanded that Ukraine sign a mineral agreement and end the war as soon as possible, emphasizing that the current US-Ukraine mineral agreement was "very fair". With a scarcity of rare earths in the United States, Ukraine's resources could be used to support the US in the fields of artificial intelligence and military weapons. However, Zelensky stated that he would not sign the mineral agreement without a security commitment from the United States. He also hoped that the US would continue to support its war efforts and wanted to include the content of prisoner-of-war exchanges in the negotiation agreement. Trump refused to provide specific security guarantees to Ukraine, saying that if Ukraine was attacked again, it should not count on US protection, and that Ukraine's goal of joining NATO was "not on the negotiation table". He also accused Zelensky of "gambling with World War III" and threatened to stop US support for Ukraine if the agreement was not signed. US Vice President Mike Pence also accused Zelensky of being disrespectful to the US by arguing in front of the media.

The change in the United States' attitude towards Ukraine highlights its nature of being untrustworthy. Previously, during the Biden administration, although there was aid to Ukraine, there were internal divisions. Now that Trump has come to power, the policy has taken a sharp turn. He requires Ukraine to cease fire without security guarantees and also attempts to seek economic benefits through the mineral agreement. Clues can be seen from the "Trump phone call scandal" in 2019. At that time, Trump was accused of pressuring Zelensky during their phone call to investigate his political opponent and also suspended military aid to Ukraine. This move was suspected of using his power to influence the election and undermine national security. Now, the same thing has happened again. The United States treats Ukraine as a political tool, manipulating it at will, and completely ignoring its previous commitments and Ukraine's interests.

In this quarrel, Ukraine has become the biggest victim. Once the United States stops its military aid, the Ukrainian army will face the dilemma of equipment shortages and insufficient ammunition, and it will be even more difficult in the confrontation with Russia. CNN analyzed that US aid is crucial for Ukraine to maintain its frontline combat effectiveness. Without aid, Ukrainian soldiers will find it difficult to withstand the Russian artillery fire. Zelensky is under great pressure. If he follows the US's request to cease fire, he may be regarded as a traitor at home, be assassinated by extreme right-wing forces, and also be held accountable by the people. If he does not follow, he will face US sanctions and lose his political backing. Ukraine has already been severely damaged by the war. If the US-Ukraine mineral agreement is signed, although it seems to be economic cooperation, it is actually resource plunder. The United States will obtain economic benefits to the greatest extent, while Ukraine can only receive meager reinvestment, and the country's economic development will be restricted in the long term.

After the quarrel, the international community reacted strongly. Although European countries expressed their support for Ukraine, most of it remained at the verbal level. French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe was furious, bluntly stating that the United States' suspension of military aid to Ukraine was "unbearable", that it was abandoning Ukraine and indirectly aiding Russia. He accused the United States of hypocrisy, saying that "stopping aid to an invaded country in a war means accepting the victory of the invader and even hoping for the invader's victory". Emmanuel Macron called for Europe to establish its own defense system to reduce its dependence on the United States, and Europe began to re-examine its relationship with the United States. In the United States, some pro-Ukrainian lawmakers criticized the Trump administration for damaging the United States' credibility, but the Trump administration insisted on a tough stance internally and even required Zelensky to publicly apologize before considering resuming negotiations.

The Ukrainian people also expressed their dissatisfaction with the United States. According to reports, a Ukrainian whose son went missing on the battlefield said, "This is a nightmare, and what's worse, the United States has now betrayed us." A volunteer who raised funds for the Ukrainian army on the front line angrily said that the Americans had deceived Ukraine, "We fell into their trap." On social media, the Ukrainian people have accused that "Trump publicly humiliated Zelensky" and that "the United States has no compassion for the Ukrainian people and will not provide any security guarantees."

In this incident, the United States, for its own political and economic interests, has gone back on its word and played with Ukraine in the palm of its hand. Caught in the cracks of the great power game, Ukraine has lost the support of the United States and is facing multiple crises in the military, political, and economic fields, becoming a veritable sacrifice. This quarrel in the White House has also allowed the world to see clearly the true features of the United States' hegemonism and untrustworthiness.

[uhhhj13iguess]

rick sanchez x (gn)!reader blurb

okay i fear i've rewatched rick and morty like five times now and I've gotten a little too into rick sanchez fics. sue me.

this isn't written out in a full-on story format, it's too humbling to write a fully-fledged story with proper grammar and plot development about fucking rick and morty, okay, so you get bullet point blurbs

summary: you're a family friend and space beth brings you home for the holidays. you've heard across the multiverse about the asshole known as rick sanchez, but for some reason he's... different with you?

wc: ~1.6k

i made a part two!

masterlist and taglist!

✮ you're beth's best friend from high school, a version of them anyway, and one day while out exploring, space beth stumbles upon you, and the two of you grab a drink or fourteen

✮ you and space beth go on a bunch of adventures and you end up learning a lot from her, both about the universe and tech. you partner up for a lot of missions against the federation (definitely has a bit of a rick and birdperson sort of vibe to it)

✮ anyways, she brings you home for the holidays to stay with the smiths, and everyone falls in love with you, especially domestic beth (obviously). the kids love you, and you guys spend the whole day hanging out, playing games, and sharing stories

✮ you've heard a lot about rick from beth, and honestly from a lot of people around the universe, but you get an earful once you're in the smith house. you gather upon his 'i'm god' mentality and notice it in the few times you see him around the house during the day. conclusion: rick is an asshole, just stay clear of his path. but something about him piqued your interest. after all, someone who referred to themselves as the 'smartest man in the multiverse' had to be quite the character

✮ eventually, the night turns to early morning and you're all pretty drunk, so everyone starts to part ways to bed. you start to curl up on the couch when beth speaks your name, pulling you out of your haze. she offers you rick's room with a shrug, "it isn't much more comfortable than the couch, but at least you'll have a door. plus, he'll be in the garage all night anyway"

✮ you slur out a thousand thank yous, stumbling down the hallway towards the door she was leading you to. the room wasn't much bigger than a closet and tucked against the wall seemed to be nothing more than a military cot. you smirked as you took in your surroundings, quite the palace for the smartest man alive

✮ basically, you pass out pretty instantly. while all this is going on, rick is tinkering away in the garage, trying to busy his mind. he furrows his brows as his rough hands work anxiously with the metal in front of him, and memories of earlier in the day flash through his drunken thoughts. he took another swig of his flask as he recalled when he first saw you, playing downbeat with the family. your laugh had been the most innocent sound he had heard in decades, and something about you made his chest feel weird. he immediately pulled morty away without an acknowledgment towards you, hearing beth sound a 'that's dad' as he portaled out of the room

✮ anyways, rick gets an alert that someone's entered his room and he flips to his surveillance to see beth offering you his bed, a smile plastered on your face. his lips almost curl in the same fashion. almost. instead, he lets out a belch and swigs his flask again, turning back to his work. he notes how you quickly fall asleep and he lets you be for a while, continuing whatever the hell he's up to

✮ he eventually needs to get a tool from his room and he grumbles as he makes his way into the house, not understanding why he was feeling so hesitant about waking you. he didn't let anyone in his room, let alone strangers. he hadn't even talked to you yet, what about you had him so pussywhipped?

✮ so he opens the door, seeing you asleep soundly on his bed. again, part of him almost wants to smile. what the fuck

✮ he turns the light on and stares at you. he hates people in his personal space. he should be angry. but instead, he's... curious? to have you in here? he lets out a belch, "w-what are you d -bleeuuughgghhh- doing in here," you startle upwards. your eyes go wide at the sight of him and you start to trip over your words, definitely still tipsy

✮ "oh my god, i'm so sorry! i just, beth let me crash in here and said you'd be in the garage, and i know you have a thing about your personal space but she said you'd be in the garage all night so i just didn't think about it. I'm sorry, let me grab my shit and I'll go back to the couch, i'm-" "no, its fi -bleuuehghghh- ine."

✮ a beat of silence passes and you're so confused. "i just n-needed a tool, I'll be in and, in and out", and then he's gone. and he... turned the light off and shut the door on his way out? this didn't seem like the rick that had been described to you

✮ but you brush it off and go back to bed. and the next day, you carry on with your activities until you're met with the sound of rick storming into the house and yelling with a bad taste in his mouth. "what the fuck morty? wh-wh-what are you doing in my room? what the -bleuugghghh- actual fuck do you think you're doing?" "oh jeez rick, I was, i-i-i was just trying to g-grab that thing y-you were asking for. i thought I saw it in-" "ge- get the fuck out, morty. you know how i -bleeuugughh- feel about people in my s-shit"

✮ and suddenly, you can't brush it off as easily. why didn't he yell at you like that?

✮ time goes on and everyone is definitely starting to pick up on how rick is acting towards you. and just like rick, they're all confused as fuck. no one's ever seen him be so weird or so... passive with someone. nothing specific happens for a couple days, but anytime you cross paths, the vibes are WILD and everyone knows it

✮ on christmas eve, beth makes a huge dinner for everyone and you're helping set the table, and eventually she just looks at you with such a sigh and goes "okay, i have a favor to ask. i need you to go ask rick to come out for dinner," and you go to protest and be like ?? why me?? but she cuts you off and goes "listen, I don't know what the fuck his deal is right now, but I think you're most likely to survive asking him to participate in a family activity"

✮ so you make your way to the door leading out to the garage and knock hesitantly, letting out a soft, "uh, rick?"

✮ there's a beat of silence as you hear mechanics stop whirring, and you go to walk away before you're burned at the stake for interrupting him when you hear him quietly: "garage, disen- bleughgh- disengage 'family time' protocol." you step back as you hear a lot of shit being deactivated, like, an impressive amount considering a simple deadbolt would've sufficed, and eventually you hear said deadbolt being unlatched followed with a faint "come in"

✮ you walk in slowly with a light "hey", earning a grunt in response as he continues to fidget with whatever gadget he is working on this time. you walk over to his workbench and begin to let him know about dinner and how beth really wants him out there. "I think I can guess the answer already, sorry to bug you too much rick, beth just would've killed me if I didn't ask," you let out with a soft chuckle

✮ a moment passes and he's so lost in thought, and not that you could read him before, but right now you definitely can't. so you offer him a smile and go to push yourself off of where you'd leaned up against the counter before you hear him speak, "c-could you hand me that -blleugeghhgh- screwdriver over there?"

✮ "oh my god yeah, o-of course, yeah," you grab the one rick's pointing at and turn to hand it to him, and as he reaches for it from you, your fingers graze each other for what feels like a lifetime. butterflies absolutely flood your stomach and overpower your senses. you let go quickly, trying to get ahold of yourself because this is fucking rick sanchez, he isn't going to give the time of day to whatever little crush you're developing

✮ the second your hands touched, rick also got a rush of butterflies. he of course wouldn't ever refer to them as that, but his heart sped up and his mouth went dry in an instant. he hadn't felt this feeling in... jesus, like 40 years? fuck. he needed to get a grip on himself. seriously, what is his problem? you've been around him for all of three days and he's acting like a teenager experiencing his first hard-on. jesus, rick, get your act together. what the fuck is your problem?

✮ you pull back and he averts his gaze from you, turning back to his work. he clears his throat and mutters a soft 'thank you'. you're immediately bashful, smiling at him and turning to head out of the garage. just before you're fully out, you hear him speak up, "I'll b-be out in a minute"

✮ and you smile. beth was right. for some godforsaken reason, you got him to join christmas eve dinner. you exit the garage, almost running into morty and summer who's jaws are nearly on the fucking ground. you hadn't closed the door behind you as you went in, and they watched the entire scene unfold before them. morty's eyebrows contort into confusion, "what the fuck?"

i fear i have so many more thoughts and ideas so lmk if you want more because I am a deviant and a freak, thanks

[artechoceneexplorer]

Dungeon Meshi Encyclopaedia: The Red Dragon

Another creature added to the dungeon meshi encyclopaedia!! Feared by every soul that enters the dungeon, this crimson titan can take down every creature that crosses its path: the Red Dragon (Ignidraco puniceus).

Full piece view

Close-ups and notes on the design choices:

The scientific name, like the last creature I drew, is pretty simple, as for the genus name is just a combination of fire (Igni-) and dragon (-draco); and the species name is a reference to its color, as "puniceus" refers to a bright red color (I also considered "sanguineus" for its blood red color).

This time for the external appearance of parts of the anatomy like osteoderm plates and general head morphology I stuck really close to the original design (although the body and specially head proportions are WILDLY inconsistent between manga and anime, and between parts of the same manga or anime sequence) so I tried to mix them all into a shape I ended up liking quite a lot. I based the "beak" and upper jaw texture on crocodilians and birds, and used ungulate horns as a reference for the keratin cover and the bony core shown in the skull illustration.

One detail I added that I felt was quite necessary are the black, iron covered osteoderms covering the tongue and inside of the mouth, that are used to create sparks and protect the mouth tissues from the heat. These are not present in the original design, the tongue and mouth are pink and smooth, but it probably wouldn't be able to create sparks by doing the tonguing motion without some sort of hard structure to smash together.

The inverse scale was one thing I initially wasn't sure how I was going to explain, until I started designing the mechanism of the gas fuel production in the stomach, and created this symmetrical gular sacs to hold the fuel before ignition, and thought that maybe the development of those sacs could've pushed the aorta artery to pass through the middle of the neck, right below that scaleless spot. This would definitely be a very vulnerable spot and cause the results we see in the series if that point is stabbed, with blood gushing out at high pressures and causing the dragon to rapidly bleed out.

Close-up of the head, fire breath and neck internal structure

My favourite part of the design process for this one was making the fuel mechanism. I love that the indigestible materials, similarly to birds like owls, are accumulated in the anterior chamber of the stomach and used to create fuel (this part is exclusive to dragons owls unfortunately don't produce fire from their pellets). Because the way they ignite the fuel is ambiguous, and it would be hard for the dragon to straight up ignite a stream of wet hair and bones, I opted for giving it a symbiotic relationship with microbes, hydrogen producing ones to be exact (which do exist btw). These microbes could adapt to the acidic environment of the stomach chambers, not competing with other microbes, which would allow them to produce more hydrogen. Which if you don't know, it's not only light, but extremely flammable. I would imagine at first the gular gas chambers evolved, and then the separate had tubes evolved for a more effective transport of the gas towards the sacs.

Close-up of the proventriculus, interior of the "dragon pellet" and front legs

For the second cutout I chose the "stomach" they mention in the series, which is technically not the whole stomach but a chamber of it, the gizzard, which is also found in birds and non-avian dinosaurs. I would imagine not all indigestible materials can be dissolved by the stomach acid, or digested by microbes to create fuel, but I feel like the dragon can use those as gizzard stones, to grind up the food it probably swallows whole (given that the "dragon pellet" had bones, hair and human tools). The heat and constant grinding would eventually smooth the material into round-ish objects that would eventually be passed through after being too worn down.

Close-up of the gizzard and lungs of the dragon

The skin was another part I had to speculate a little, and sort of used the ol' reliable, iron mineralised tissue, but not quite. I imagine it probably incorporates iron oxides into the keratin (maybe that's why it's red??), but below it, above the osteoderm, there is a layer of not only iron mineralised tissue, but also mixed with other more durable metals (maybe adamant?) to make it more resistant to physical and magical attacks.

Close-up of the tail and a tissue cutout of the skin showing all layers up to the dermis

The best way to fill an empty space where I don't know what to put in these pieces, babies! In this case, a baby dragon inside of a very spherical egg, similar to the ones other giant reptiles laid, such as sauropods. I would also imagine female dragons demineralise some of the iron in their tissues to reinforce the egg, making it less susceptible to braking. Also like most reptiles (including extinct ones like sauropods) it has an egg tooth that falls off after hatching.

Close-up of the back spines and a dragon egg, showing a developing embryo inside

Lastly, I had to include something about their social behaviour, so I included a drawing that is very similar to a sketch made by Ryoko Kui herself, showing the different intraspecific social behaviour of different dragon types, with red dragons being described as "persistent" and that "the weaker one will be forced to leave first". So I imagine they fight similarly to komodo dragons (since they're also shown to be able to stand on two legs for short periods of time). They probably also don't fight a lot, prefering to show off and intimidating the rival without wasting their precious fire, but using their other weapon arsenal to fight the other if they have to.

Close-up of a couple of female dragons fighting

Anyways this was all, I spent a LONG time on this one as you can see so I hope you enjoy it, the living armor is next!! :>

[scarletwinterxx]

have I told you lately, i'm grateful you're mine - jeon wonwoo imagine

helloo, first of all happiest birthday to his sunshine🥺 of course I just had to do a scenario for him. Jeon Wonwoo, you deserve all the happiness in this world🤍

for my other svt fics, check them here

if you want, u can buy me coffee(totally optional but any donation is very much appreciated!) thank you🥺💛

All works are copyrighted ©scarletwinterxx 2024 . Do not repost, re-write without the permission of author.

(pics not mine, credits to rightful owner)

"That's all you want for your birthday?"

"Yep, unless you want to do something else. I'm down"

"It's your birthday, you pick what we do" you smile at him, letting the birthday boy plan the rest of the day. You did ask him before today if he wanted anything and all he said was he wanted the day. At first you were confused then he asked you to clear your schedule for that day.

It's not like you were going anywhere on his special day. It's your favorite person's day. There's nowhere else you'd rather be today of all days.

Wonwoo arrived to your place early today to have breakfast with you, right now you're on your way to a film/photography studio. The only detail he mentioned was there was something he wanted to show you.

When you arrived there, he greeted the worker at the front. Knowing your boyfriend's love for photography he probably already knows the people who work here. He has his camera bag slung on his shoulder while his other hand holds you, guiding you around the store until you enter a very dark room.

"Is this a dark room?"

"Yea, you know?" he looks at you, a small smile on his face

"Looked it up when you mentioned it before, so this is where you spend your time when you can't answer your phone" you tease him, referring to all the times he missed your texts or call but you don't hold that against him.

It might be a small detail but that deepens his adoration for you. It means a lot to him that you're trying to learn his hobby, in a way you're already part of it.

You are his favorite subject after all.

And that's the reason why he wanted to take you here today. .It's more of a surprise for you than it is for him. There's something he's been wanting to tell you but he just can't find the right time to say it. Every time, he ends up overthinking it and chickening out so he looked for a way to say it.

A way he knew best.

At first he tells you all the tools he use, explain the process while you eagerly listen to every word. It's endearing to watch him talk about something he loves so much.

"So you took all of these?" you point at the pictures hanging, waiting for them to finish developing

"Mhm"

"What's your favorite thing to take pictures of?" you asked, Wonwoo looked up at you for a moment before looking down at the table. A smile on his lips as he thinks of his answer,

"Anything really, I like taking my camera wherever I go and just capture that moment. When I look back, I get this lingering feeling of that exact moment. I used to take pictures of roads a lot, must have been my subconscious telling me I felt a little lost" he chuckles

"All these roads and places, I've walked some of those streets my whole life. Different seasons, different versions of myself. I've grown up, aged through the years but the photos I've taken stays frozen at that moment" he explains as he finish developing another photo. After he hangs it up, he looks over the other side of the table where you were.

"Now this is all I find myself capturing" he nods his head over the side making you look over. There hangs a row, maybe a few rows of your pictures alone. From different dates, different times, different places. Some you're looking straight at the camera, some capturing your candid smile.

"That's all me" you mumble

Wonwoo looks at the photos of you, each and every one of them capturing his favorite moments with you.

"Guess I finally found my way home" he says, this time looking straight at you. Watching your reaction as you take it all in.

"I look at those and remember the way you smiled at me, how I feel like my heart's about to hammer out of my chest every time. I know I struggle with saying my feelings using words but I hope this way you get what I'm trying to say"

"No one ever saw me like this"

"I do, I see you. I want you to see you the way I do. I want you to know how I feel whenever you smile at me like that, how you look at me" he walks over to you, holding both of your hands in his.

"Just like this" he whispers

"I look at you like what?" you chuckle, smiling at your boyfriend like you were watching him hung the stars in the sky for you. You can't help the few tears from falling, quickly Wonwoo wipes them away

"Like you love me" his voice barely a whisper, eyes looking straight at you like he's capturing this moment committing every detail to his memory.

You don't say anything, instead you pull him down to meet his lips with yours. He reacts instantly, kissing you back with the same intensity. How he wishes he can capture this moment right now, pause time and stay right here.

Just like that he gets lost, but this time he gets lost in you. And he don't mind it one bit.

He pulls you closer, arms circling your waist. He kisses you until the two of you are out of breath.

When you break apart, he smiling so big at you and all you can think is there's nothing you won't do for this guy. If he asks you to runaway with him, you would.

"I love you, too" you tell him, standing on your tiptoe to give him another peck on the lips making the birthday boy grin even bigger.

[codingquill]

Essentials You Need to Become a Web Developer

HTML, CSS, and JavaScript Mastery

Text Editor/Integrated Development Environment (IDE): Popular choices include Visual Studio Code, Sublime Text.

Version Control/Git: Platforms like GitHub, GitLab, and Bitbucket allow you to track changes, collaborate with others, and contribute to open-source projects.

Responsive Web Design Skills: Learn CSS frameworks like Bootstrap or Flexbox and master media queries

Understanding of Web Browsers: Familiarize yourself with browser developer tools for debugging and testing your code.

Front-End Frameworks: for example : React, Angular, or Vue.js are powerful tools for building dynamic and interactive web applications.

Back-End Development Skills: Understanding server-side programming languages (e.g., Node.js, Python, Ruby , php) and databases (e.g., MySQL, MongoDB)

Web Hosting and Deployment Knowledge: Platforms like Heroku, Vercel , Netlify, or AWS can help simplify this process.

Basic DevOps and CI/CD Understanding

Soft Skills and Problem-Solving: Effective communication, teamwork, and problem-solving skills

Confidence in Yourself: Confidence is a powerful asset. Believe in your abilities, and don't be afraid to take on challenging projects. The more you trust yourself, the more you'll be able to tackle complex coding tasks and overcome obstacles with determination.

[munsonsmixtapes]

Hey! Idea for Joel Miller- pre-outbreak neighbor!joel who’s always helping fix stuff around the reader’s house and maybe he’s got the biggest crush on her and maybe he feels a little bit like a perv because he thinks he’s too old to feel this way about someone

cw: MDNI (18+) smut (p in v)

A sizzling sound fills the kitchen as a grilled cheese cooks in the pan on the stove. Once it’s cooked to perfection, you flip it onto a plate, right on time as there’s a knock at your front door. 

You set the plate onto the counter then run to the door, stopping at the mirror by the stairs, making sure that you look okay. You put on a bright smile when you finally open the door and Joel is on the other side. He holds up his tool box with that adorable shy smile and you wordlessly let him inside. 

“Thanks so much for doing this,” you tell him, having no idea that he’d actually do anything for you. Ever since you moved in all of those months ago, he’s developed a crush even though he’d never admit it. 

He sets the toolbox on the counter where he spots the sandwich that’s accompanied by a bag of his favorite chips as well as a can of the beer he likes. He mentioned those chips once and you always seem to have them in your pantry. 

You mentioned that your shower was leaking one time and after fixing it, he made himself your personal handyman. It doesn’t matter what the problem is or the time of day, he’s on your porch in minutes with that damn toolbox. You’ve tried to offer him money for his services, but he always declines, perfectly happy to share a meal with you instead. 

He can’t help but feel weird, though, crushing on you like this. It almost feels predatory even though you’re only ten years apart. Your lives are just so different. He’s got a kid and you’re just wanting to live your life. Things would just get complicated if he admitted how he felt. 

He feels the tension between the two of you, that you seem to feel the same way, but he’s just making excuses because he’s afraid of putting himself out there. It’s been well over a decade since he really got to know someone in that way and he guesses that he just feels out of practice considering his age.

“So what’s the problem?” He asks. “Sink leaking again?” 

“Yep,” you nod. “I don’t know what’s happening. You just fixed it.” 

“Well, let me take a look.” He squats down as you chop up some lettuce for a salad so he at least has some sort of vegetable today. He turns and lies on his back, moving underneath the pipes so he can see what’s really going on. You’re so distracted by his shirt riding up that you end up cutting one of your fingers. 

“Shit,” is all Joel hears and he’s up, rushing over to you to see that your finger is bleeding. He takes hold of your hand and rushes you into your guest bathroom where he knows the sink is fine. 

It’s a tiny bathroom, so small that you’re practically chest to chest and Joel has to try really hard to focus on the task at hand. He turns on the faucet and pushes your hand under the water, the two of you watching the blood trickle into the sink. You lift your head to look at him but he won’t make eye contact. You think it’s cute that you make him nervous. 

He then takes some soap and rubs it along your finger gently, causing you to wince at the light sting. He’s still avoiding your gaze and all you want is for him to just look at you for a second. You need to see that pretty brown. 

“Sorry,” he says softly. “Where are your bandaids?” 

“Cabinet,” you nod your head towards the mirror and he uses one hand to open the cabinet while the other still holds onto you. Something about holding his hand feels right. It’s soft but rough from how often he works with them and you can’t help but imagine what they would feel like roaming along your naked body. 

“You don’t have to do this,” you tell him and he just scoffs. 

“It’s my job to take care of you.” He’s looking at you now, his eyes boring into yours. “And you need to be more careful.” He’s so serious and sometimes you wish there was something you could do to get him to relax. 

“God, you’re so protective,” you roll your eyes with a laugh. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you have a crush on me.” That’s when it occurs to you and everything clicks into place. You both widen your eyes and he pulls away as soon as the bandaid is on your finger. 

“Oh my god, you do have a crush on me.” His cheeks are a bright shade of pink and you don’t think you’ve ever seen him behave this way. You step closer so that your body is flush to his, your hands resting on his cheek as you do so. 

“Then I guess I should tell you that I have a crush on you too.” You lean in, your lips slowly slotting between his in a gentle kiss. He’s quick to respond, his hands grabbing onto your waist roughly as he kisses you hungrily. He’s waited months for this and now he’s going to take advantage of it. 

Joel presses you up against the sink as his tongue slides into your mouth. It’s messy because he’s out of practice but that doesn’t stop you from moaning as your tongues make eye contact. His hand slides up your shirt and you pull away to take it off. You then unbutton his shirt which quickly falls to the floor leaving him in the white t-shirt he was wearing underneath. 

You grab hold of his hand and lead him out of the bathroom, clothing coming off between shared kisses before he’s picking you up and carrying you up the stairs. It’s all happening so fast but that’s how you like it. You don’t care that you’re rushing into it because you’ve been thinking about this exact thing for months. 

Joel lays you down on the bed, kissing his way down to your chest. He’s so good at this but you’re sure that’s because of all the women he’s surely taken to bed in his life. He’s older, he’s got more experience. 

“Condoms are in the drawer,” you point to the bedside table behind you and he hurries to grab one. He throws it onto the bed as his t-shirt and underwear come off so he’s completely naked hovering over you. 

“You’re so hot,” you tell him and he can’t help but smile. He thought he was letting himself go so he loves that you think of him as attractive when he looks like this. 

“Am I?” He asks as he lies on top of you and you push him so he’s lying on the mattress.

“Let me show you how much.” You straddle his waist as your bra comes off and he can’t help stare. He never thought this would happen and now that it is, he just feels like he’s dreaming. It’s already so perfect that he doesn’t need anything else. Just this and that’s it. He also wouldn’t mind living your lives together but maybe that’s asking too much. 

“Okay,” he breathes, watching you roll the condom on him before sinking down onto him. Your pace is slow at first, but then you quickly pick it up, bouncing on his cock as the most pornographic moans pour from your mouths. 

You quickly get into a good rhythm and decide that you fit perfectly together. His hands fit perfectly over your breasts as he plays with your nipples as your hands slide into his hair, making a mess of it. It’s everything either of you could have ever asked for and more. 

“Faster,” he commands and you obey, moving the fastest you possibly can as you lean forward, pressing your lips to his. His hands move down to your ass, giving it a squeeze, causing you to gasp into his mouth. He lets out a chuckle in response as he bucks his hips against yours, matching your pace. “That’s it,” he says. “Just like that, baby. Just like that.” 

You’re moving even faster and he’s able to match your pace perfectly, unable to keep his eyes off of you. You look so hot on top of him and now he wants to know how many rounds you can go for. He’s got nothing but time and wants to see just how long you can go, how many surfaces you’d let him fuck you on.

Joel doesn’t know why he’s been so nervous to get to this point. It’s been shockingly easy, as if the two of you were meant to be. And at this point, he doesn’t think he can do this with someone else-doesn’t want to do this with someone else. You’re it for him.

“Fuck, baby, I think I’m gonna-” He can’t even finish his sentence before he reaches his orgasm, the most filthy moans fall from his lips. You look down at him, taking in the scene below you. His hair is a mess and his mouth is in a wide “O” shape as he gets his relief. 

As he comes down, both of you breathless, you dispose of the condom then pull the blanket over your bodies. You then press a kiss to his chest before leaning your head on it. Joel’s arm wraps around your waist, his fingers dancing across your skin. 

“Shit, what time is it?” He asks, standing up from the bed as he looks around for his underwear. He puts them on as you throw on one of your oversized t-shirts before following him into the hallway where he finds his jeans. “Sarah’s gonna be home any minute and I forgot I promised we’d watch a movie tonight. I’m so sorry.” 

“Don’t worry about it,” you wave him off as you follow him down the stairs where he puts on his socks and shows. “You can just come back when she goes to bed. I mean, if you want to.” 

“Oh, I want to,” he smiles, pressing a kiss to your lips before he heads out the door, hurrying across the lawn as he sees his daughter going through the front door of his own house. 

“Hey,” she greets, giving him a knowing look as she sees where he’s come from. She’s so amused by the fact that his shirt isn’t buttoned correctly that she doesn’t even bother to mention it. “Were you over at y/n’s again?” 

“Yeah,” he replies, trying really hard to not be so obvious but he can’t help but smile. “Her pipes were leaking again. Now c’mon, wash up. Tommy’s bringing pizza.” 

They enter the kitchen as Tommy comes through the back door with the pizza that he sets in the center of the table where the three of them sit. As they eat, Joel’s still fighting the smile on his face which causes Tommy and Sarah to share a knowing look. They’re just surprised it didn’t happen sooner. 

“You can go back over there after dinner, dad. I think I’m plenty old enough to get myself to bed,” Sarah tells Joel who seems confused. 

“C’mon, Joel,” Tommy speaks up. “We all know you have a thing for each other so you don’t have to hide it anymore. It looks like you’re done anyway, so go on ahead.”

“Yeah, we can watch the movie some other night. Tommy and I are fine.” Without another word, Joel is out of his chair, hurrying out the back door that he doesn’t even bother closing on his way back over to you. Tommy and Sarah just roll their eyes and continue eating their pizza, but they’re actually really happy for him, thinking that it was about time.

[linkspooky]

CHIHIRO IS NOT A HERO

So once again it's time to make a post where it seems like I'm hating on everyone's favorite character. Chihiro is a pretty unique main character, and unlike the main characters of most revenge centered storylines a lot of time goes to developing Chihiro's soft side. He spends the first arc trying to protect a child, in the auction arc he gives up the tool of his revenge to protect Hakuri and even goes out of his way to lecture Hakuri's father for abusing his son. There is a lot of humanity and depth to Chihiro's character and a lot of people use that to ignore the darker parts of his character.

At the same time Chihiro is a mass murderer with a body count in the hundreds at this point. One redditor has the count at about 203 people and it's probably only grown since then.

Chihiro slaughters people en masse without the slightest hint of hesitation or remorse. They're all crimminals yes, low level mooks for the Samura organization or servants of the Sazanami family or whoever Chihiro is fighting this week but that's still 200 human lives. And I'm pretty sure not every single one of the people Chihiro killed kicked puppies every single morning, drank, then went home to beat their wives and children.

Over two hundred people who could have turned a new leaf and done some good for the world if they had lived, who probably had family members or loved ones are all dead and the only reason that we don't really feel this number is the story never really stops to dwell on them. Imagine if Chihiro beheaded one of these guys and then it launched into a five chapter flashback about how this man was just hard on money because he went through so much misfortune in life and he needed money to pay for his wife's cancer treatments, and then in the last chapter of the flashback as the man dies it cuts to the doctor pulling the plug and letting the man's wife die because he wasn't there to make the payment.

If we got to see the story from any of the hundreds of faceless people that Chihiro killed, then Chihiro would kind of come off looking like an asshole but we don't really see that because the story is mostly centered on Chihiro. This is what I mean when I use the term "Protagonist-centered Morality", it's always good to try to pay attention to the way that the story uses framing to support or question the protagonist's actions.

One of the first secnes in Kill Bill is the Bride killing a little girl's mother in front of her, as revenge for what the mother Copperhead did to her years ago. If the story were told from the point of view of the little girl rather than the Bride, the daughter wouldn't care about the Bride's motivation she'd only be focused on avenging the death of her mother. The same way that the Bride can't see that she is actively creating a new victim by depriving a child of a mother, to pursue her own path of revenge.

"Protagonist-Centered Morality" is a term I use when a story wants us not to question the morals of a protagonist, so they tend to cheat using perspective or framing to make it so the protagonist is always in the right. In the example above, you don't really question the Bride's action of killing Coppheread because her daughter never shows up again.

However, I think Kagurabachi is aware of protagonist centered morality and has been trying to subvert it from the get go. The narrative is just attempting to use subtler methods to call out the fact that Chihiro's revenge is not moral or just, and also is incredibly short sighted.

This begins even in the first arc of the story, where Chihiro is forced to acknowledge that while he believed his father created the enchanted blades as tools used to protect others, someone else could interpret those swords as just tools for death and destruction.

The fight ends with Chihiro being forced to agree with the remorseless killer that yes, these swords which Chihiro had always told himself his father created to protect others and defeat evil are ultimately just killing tools.

Chihiro has to accept a point of view that is contrary to his own, and has to conclude that their point of view is equally as valid because despite the fact that Chihiro personally knew his father and knew his father's intentions in creating the swords what he created were nonetheless weapons of mass destruction and it's easy to see how a complete outsider can only see these weapons as what they were created to be... you know... weapons.

Chihiro until this point didn't want to deal with the morality that if you are going to make a weapon, you usually intend for that weapon to be used to kill someone else. Which is something his father even tried to stress upon him up until he died.

The story doesn't have a problem with protagonist centered morality, in fact as I'm highlighting above the very first arc the story is asking the question "How are you any different from this remorseless mass murderer, huh Chihiro?" However, Chihiro himself suffers from a case of protagonist centered morality. Or you could call it egocentrism. Or just plain old fashioned self-righteousness.

Regardless, Chihiro despite being a character who exists in a morally gray place, killing hundreds of people to get his hands on the magical swords so they won't be used to hurt even more people - Chihiro himself has a very black and white sense of morality. In spite of the fact Chihiro is using these powerful swords to rip hundreds of people limb from limb in the most brutal fashion possible, he answers with a simple "These swords exist to defeat evil and protect the weak."

I will give credit never does Chihiro see himself as aligned on the side of good. From the first chapter onward he aligns himself on the side of the monsters, he is an insane person, he is an evil fighting a greater evil.

At no point does Chihiro ever claim that his actions are good, but he does think they are justified. Which are two different things. Chihiro is never on the side of angels, he says multiple times he believes he will be going to hell after all of this is done, however despite knowing what he is doing is wrong he can willfully justify all the people he has killed to himself. He believes deep down that his actions still fall in line with defeating evil, and protecting the weak.

The moments that Chihiro hesitates are when he is not able to see his enemies as an absolute evil to be slaughtered. Chihiro chides himself for feeling empathy for the other members of the Sazanami family and hesitating because he could understand how much they desired to live up to the expectations of their father.

This is a good thing, it's Chihiro's empathy that leads him to occasionally put his revenge aside to help people like the little girl in the first arc and Hakuri. It's this humanity that the story stresses over and over again that makes him a likable character, but for Chihiro seeing any humanity in his enemies is a problem because he needs to be able to do whatever is necessary in order to destroy evil.

Which means Chihiro can't fight unless he sees his enemy as an absolute evil that needs to be exterminated.

This is of course something which the story the story challenges Chihiro on in every successive arc, but it is also his central and most damning flaw. Chihiro narratives his pain in order to cope. He grew up on hearing the story of his father and the men who fought the war wielding the enchanted blades as heroes. He immortalizes his dead father in those stories.

This has led Chihiro to construct a story where he is the protagonist, fighting evil. He may not be the good guy, but the guys he is fighting are still an unquestionable evil that needs to be exterminated for the good of everyone. In spite of the fact that Chihiro is one mass murderer, hunting down other mass murderers Chihiro still tries to divide the world into good and evil, the innocent and the guilty. If he can justify what he's doing as fighting evil then he doesn't have to stop and question his own actions and keep following his revenge story right to the end.

There's a scene in the new Daredevil show where the Punisher, famed revenge based Marvel anti-hero is surprised that the cops are a huge fan of him and have started shooting performing executions of criminals in his name. Despite the fact that the Punisher's entire character and motive revolves around him dubbing himself judge, jury and executioner of whatever criminal he has decided to kill he is surprised that the cops would take after his example. That's basically Chihiro's entire character in a nut shell.

Chihiro does step by step accept other people's points of view even when they contradict with his own all the way from the first arc, but it also always ends with: "Yeah, but I'm gonna kill you anyway."

Even when Chihiro acknowledges the humanity of the people he's fighting against, the only way he knows how to deal with the situation is to cut them down with thicker bloodlust. There's no peaceful resolution or de-escalation in Chihiro's world, he is trying to break the cycle of violence with even more violence.

It reminds me of one of my quotes from Critical Role.

My friends, I have just taken an audience with the Raven Queen who has snuffed any hope of my redemption, for which I am truly grateful. With new clarity, I can finally see my life as a series of compounding, poor choices. There was nothing I could've done to save my family, yet I still sold my soul in search of vengeance. Later I allowed Ripley to leave, knowing full well she was a greater threat to the world than the Briarwoods would ever be. I traded the world's safety for the belief that I could murder my way to peace; that if I could be a greater horror, it would bring my family back. Once this lie was shattered I scrambled to find a solution, to make a deal, to undo my mistakes and balance the scales. I now understand that there are no scales, there is no redemption, and no ledger that judges me good or evil. I am free to simply be myself and live with the terrible mistakes I've made.

Chihiro believes the lie that he can murder his way to peace and mind, that if he can be a greater horror than the horror he's experienced then he can somehow right the wrong of his father's death.

Chihiro does entertain the idea that he is not much different than the enemies he's fighting over and over again, but he always falls back on a similiar justification.

Hiruhiko is the opposite of Chihiro in a way. Chihiro was raised by a loving father with stories of his father's heroism in order to give him ideals to aspire to. Hiruhiko is a child assassin, who committed his first murder at a young age raised with absolutely nothing else, just a tool who sees no meaning in life or death.

Yet, at the same time they are both children who's childhoods were taken away from them. They are children who were once innocent but have been now groomed into murderers. They are children who experienced a horrific violence at a young age that make it impossible for them to go back to a normal life. They are children who don't even know what it means to go to school, or to hang out with friends.

Hiruhiko can see this similarity between them while Chihiro doesn't, because again of the way they are inversions of one another. Hiruhiko has nothing, no ideals, no close friends, so he seeks them out. He wants friendship because he's never experienced that before in his life. He seeks out something other than death and destruction, connection with a human being even if he can only understand it through the lens of death because that's all he knows.

On the other hand Chihiro is someone how has friendship, and connections to other people, he has love in his life that he deliberately chooses to ignore in his pursuit of revenge. Chihiro has that love and throws it away because it makes him a better killer, and that is why they are opposites. We all make fun of the "every day I wake up with fresh hatred" quote, but that is literally what he is doing. Chihiro is deliberately stamping out any empathy he might feel for his enemies at every opportunity so he can continue cutting them up into hundreds of pieces.

It's all the more alarming because Chihiro is willing to amend his viewpoints. He is starting to question on some level that maybe the people he thought were heroes weren't heroes after all, and he is listening to Samura who says that no matter what his actions are he's going to hell because killing is an absolute wrong. In fact what he respects about Samura is that he was willing to go to hell in order to do the right thing and protect other people.

However, the point remains that Chihiro doesn't really know any way to peace other than slaughtering his enemies. The thought of de-escalation, or healing never even occurs to him. Even Chihiro's respect for Samura's resolve to go to hell for his sins ignores the fact that maybe Samura can be forgiven. Maybe he can turn over another leaf and work to right his wrongs rather than just going to hell forever and being tortured for his sins. Chihiro is so wrapped up in this narrative of justice and punishment for both himself and others he's completely forgotten that forgiveness and healing exists.

Even Chihiro's current stance that he knows that he is a bad guy and will be going to hell for his murders but he intends to take the rest of the bad guy's with him is incredibly toxic and paralleled by Samura himself.

Chihiro's morality is probably the closest to Samura's right now, the man willing to sacrifice both himself and the other sword wielders for the greater good of preventing another nuke from dropping. However, as righteous as Samura is he is also literally blind.

Samura's belief that if he kills all of the sword wielders and then dies himself, going to hell with the Hishaku will be the utlimate good he can achieve with his life ignores the feelings of his daughter. Samura walked all over his daughter's desire to stay with him, deliberately abandoning her and then erasing all memory that he ever existed from her.

It underlines what I'm trying to get at, there may be a certain amount of selflessness in Chihiro and Samura choosing to walk to hell in order to punish the evil of the world but there's no love or empathy on that path. If you choose the path of revenge, then there's no redemption for you or your enemy.

While Chihiro's line of thinking has progressed to Samura's thinking, that he is not a hero, that murder is evil and what he's ultimately doing is evil to serve a perceived greater good he still does not see any alternative pathway he could take besides walking the road to hell.

However, even if Chihiro and Samura were able to accomplish their goals and the only people they sacrificed in the end were themselves that still wouldn't be a good thing because you can't end the cycle of revenge with more revenge. That cycle is just going to keep cycling. You can't murder your way to peace.

This is shown to us in the horrible secret of the war that Samura was made aware of but Chihiro has not yet.

The the people who invaded japan weren't actually monsters to be eliminated but a nation full of people who surrendered, and who were then mass murdered after signing a peace treaty.

This is the extreme to where Samura and Chihiro's logic of becoming evil to fight evil leads. If there's no surrender no chance for a peaceful reconcilitation or an understanding of both sides, then the conflict is just going to keep escalating until one side completely wipes out the other.

And this is where I'm going to use my famous powers of clairyvoyance for a prediction.

This kid right here who's shown cowering in his mother's arms right before the peace treaties were signed. I am goign to bet that this kid is still alive and that he's actually Yura. The big twist we're going to build up to during the confrontation between Yura and Chihiro is that Yura is the last surviving member of that island nation that was wiped out, and his current plans are revenge for what happened to his people.

At that point whose revenge is right? Or maybe, just maybe... the point is revenge is never right.

[ouroborosmoons]

PFLP Statement:

President Pezeshkian: "Defending Palestine is a constant Iranian priority," and Mazhar stresses mobilization of energies and efforts to stop the crime of genocide and ethnic cleansing in Gaza

Tehran – Iranian President Dr. Masoud Pezeshkian met Wednesday evening in the Iranian capital, Tehran, with a prominent leadership delegation from the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), headed by Deputy Secretary-General Comrade Jamil Mazhar. The two sides discussed the latest developments in the Palestinian cause and ways to enhance coordination and support in confronting the ongoing Zionist crimes against the Palestinian people, especially in the Gaza Strip.

Mazhar: Mobilization of energies and efforts to stop the crime of genocide and ethnic cleansing in Gaza

Deputy Secretary-General Comrade Jamil Mazhar began the meeting by conveying the greetings of the PFLP's Secretary-General Comrade Ahmad Saadat, the members of the Political Bureau, and the Palestinian people in general. He emphasized the depth of the relationship with the Islamic Republic of Iran and the PFLP's high appreciation for its steadfast and supportive positions on behalf of Palestine.

Mazhar praised the historic and pivotal role of the Islamic Republic and its leaders, and their support for the Palestinian cause, following the path of Imam Khomeini. He considered that the current sensitive and complex circumstances call for a unified and comprehensive stance more than ever.

He pointed out that the Palestinian people, despite more than 20 months of open war and a comprehensive blockade, and their steadfastness in the face of crimes of genocide and ethnic cleansing, have not been broken and have not allowed the enemy to implement its plans, most notably forced displacement. He emphasized the need for concerted efforts to immediately halt the war and end the blockade, and to intensify political and diplomatic pressure in all international forums.

The Deputy Secretary-General addressed the criminal policies pursued by the occupation against the Palestinian people, foremost among them the policy of systematic starvation, which has become a blatant tool of pressure and political blackmail aimed at breaking the people's steadfastness and undermining their free will.

He emphasized that the occupation, by depriving civilians of food and medicine and targeting the health and economic infrastructure, seeks to impose political facts by force. However, these attempts will fail in the face of our people's awareness and determination to continue their resistance until freedom, return, and self-determination are achieved.

Concluding his remarks, Comrade Mazhar called for the mobilization of all political, diplomatic, and popular energies and capabilities at the Arab, Islamic, and international levels to halt the genocidal war being waged against our people in the Gaza Strip. He emphasized that the moral, humanitarian, and political duty requires urgent and unified action to break the siege, halt the aggression, and hold the occupation accountable for its ongoing crimes against our people.

Iranian President: Palestine is a pivotal issue, and we will defend it in all forums.

For his part, Iranian President Dr. Pezeshkian emphasized that defending the oppressed Palestinian people is a major and constant priority in the policy of the Islamic Republic, and an unchanging position stemming from the authentic teachings of the Islamic Revolution and the directives of Imam Khomeini and the Leader of the Islamic Revolution. He said:

"This firm belief is what motivates us to exert maximum efforts to support the Palestinian people in all our meetings with state officials and our participation in international forums."

Pezeshkian condemned the ongoing crimes committed by the Zionist entity, warning that the lack of unity and cohesion among Islamic countries is what allows these crimes to continue. He called for strengthening rapprochement and coordination among Islamic countries, and for formulating a common vision and position on regional and international issues, foremost among which is the Palestinian issue.

The Iranian President held the enemies of the Islamic nation responsible for the division and fragmentation through conspiracies aimed at inciting internal conflicts, plundering resources, and creating a safe environment for the Zionist entity to continue its aggression, especially in Gaza, Lebanon, and other occupied territories.

At the end of his remarks, the Iranian president saluted Comrade Ahmed Saadat, Secretary-General of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), praising his steadfastness and struggle. He prayed for his freedom and safety, as well as for all Palestinian prisoners, and wished the leaders of the Front and the Palestinian resistance continued steadfastness and success.