#Reduce Server Response Time

[royalarchivist]

Quackity: These past days I've been in many calls, and I'm not done yet. I've spoken to a lot of people and creators. I've read your comments and I'm well aware of what needs to be done to carry out this project. I want to tell you all, beforehand, that for me the team's well-being is fundamental. I'm very involved in this topic to sort it out and I want to make that very clear. I want to tell you something... I want to tell you all that the administrative staff responsible for so much harm to the project has been fired. Specifically, those who made decisions without my permission, affecting the administrative and financial area of the project. Consequently, after this, I was in charge of doing a financial analysis that's carrying out for the QSMP.

Guys, to be really honest, it was not going to last. Therefore, I've had to make deep drastic structural changes that have lead me to reduce the performance of the server down to the most essential, and this is in order to ensure the well being of everyone involved in it. Having said this, I want to give a very important update: I want to let you all know that the QSMP will have to slow down temporarily. This is to ensure this new structure adapts to the project, because it's a restructuring that's taking place. I'm letting you know, and I reiterate, there are no voluntary positions inside the QSMP.

At the moment, there will not be any more individual update accounts of all 5 existing languages in the project. In any case, during this transition, there's going to be a temporal absence of all Eggs and NPCs. I know these are difficult changes, and I repeat, it's temporary until we adjust to these new conditions that will improve the performance of this new structure that's being made from scratch, both in the administrative and financial part. I'd like to reintegrate people fro the QSMP as time goes by if a financial viability can be found for the project Taking advantage of this update to tell you guys that within the changes of the server as it is, creators will have full control of their lore and stories. The team will not intervene in the way that it was being done. Moreover, efforts will be made to change the competitive dynamics inside the game so as to ease up the game style for the creators. Like I'm saying, all of these changes, and more, are being carrying out to have the project as best as possible, and they're being done little by little. This is a whole new structure that will ensure the best continuity and experience for the creators, the community and the team behind.

Guys, I want to make very clear that this is restructuring process, and again, it's not a fast one. The server being open does not mean everything's perfect, I understand that very well. Conversations will keep taking place, communication will continue and the constant improvement of the project as well. I ask, please, for everyone's patience and understanding regarding all changes. Please do wait for official announcements since a lot of incomplete and incorrect information is being spread. I want to tell you all something- if you don't trust in these changes or have many doubts about it, and don't want to consume any more of the project's content, I understand 100%. I have a personal commitment with the QSMP and I will work until it functions in the way it is supposed to do.

Lastly, I want to let you know that it was being worked on for months on finalizing the integration of Korean creators to the QSMP. For that reason, tomorrow we will be welcoming the new Korean creators of the QSMP, of course, taking into account all the changes I've just mentioned. I hope you can give the new Korean members warm welcome to the project. And as you know, their schedules are earlier. For everyone who would like to watch, they will be joining at 11am Mexico time and at 9am US time. Basically, I wanted to give that update regarding everything that's being done within the project. Again, thank you for your patience and understanding- these are necessary changes and I'm glad they're being done now. And many more things will keep being adjusted.

via @QuackitySubs

[ms-demeanor]

hello! sorry to bother w this but im sort of desperate at this point. given your post about school abuse: so like. i had a similar experience and i thought that i had sorted my brain out. BUT. big but. now im trans and every time i have to correct people w/ misgender or come out to people that i dont already know their opinion on the issue, i get an anxiety attack that makes me unable to do it. ive told many therapists and no one so far has understood why im terrified of making stuff that other people can perceive as me being difficult to work with. would you have *any* advice? thanks!

Okay so first of all it is totally valid to feel that way; that isn't an irrational response, that is your body and brain going "!!!! I have learned this lesson before!" But just because it's a sensible response doesn't mean it's functional in the long term, which is why it needs to be addressed (which I'm sure you already know, I'm just explaining for people in the back).

So now here is some meandering advice:

Spend time with people you already know you can trust. It's okay to take a break from new people and situations (as much as is possible) when you are processing traumatic events and learning to care for yourself. Spending time with people who you don't have to come out to, who don't misgender you, can help you normalize being out and correctly gendered to yourself.

Recognize that you don't have to be out to everyone and some assholes aren't worth it. This is going to depend some on the context, but you don't owe everybody an explanation for yourself and if people repeatedly misgender you after being corrected you may just be better off not spending time around those people.

Loop in trusted people in low-stakes ways. If you get the sense that someone who you think is pretty safe has misgendered you on accident, it might still feel too intimidating to correct them in person but it might be a good idea to follow up with text or a call or a message to say "hey, just FYI, I think I heard you use a/b pronouns for me earlier, I just wanted to let you know that I use c/d pronouns. Did you want to meet up again next week?" the breakdown on why I think this is effective is - Distance means you're safe - nonthreatening "FYI" means you aren't saying "I'm offended" and assumes good faith from the other person - feels less accusatory (not that you need to tone police yourself, but if you're trying to lower the stress level overall then assuming it was a mistake and letting them know you don't think it was on purpose should reduce the overall tension) - request to meet up again or topic switch to something lighter once again says "I'm not mad, that was just regular information, we can now return to our scheduled programming"

I think that, generally speaking, this is also a decent way to come out to people if you're nervous; physically remote and emotionally casual can be a good place to work from (even if you're actually panicking in your head but you can pull off casual in a written message)

Find (or create) a space where people are 100% going to support you. If you need to create a discord server, if you need to schedule a regular coffee date with trusted friends or family members, whatever it is, give yourself a space where you are unconditionally supported and can have people to bounce ideas and concerns off of. Even if it's just you and one other person, it's good to know you have *someone* who you can say "I think I want to tell this other person to use my pronouns but it's scary" to and know that you're not at risk in any way. I'd say try to make sure that you're still interacting with people outside of that space, but have a space to retreat to where you can just drop the worry.

Recognize that somebody else's problem is not a reflection of you. If you have, for instance, a coworker who is being a piece of shit and refusing to recognize your gender, that is not a reflection of your gender that is a reflection of them being a piece of shit. If there is a classmate or a sibling who uses the wrong pronouns after being corrected that doesn't mean you're not entitled to your pronouns that means they are being a piece of shit. Some people are just not going to accept you and that's on them. Try to minimize your time spent with them and if you have to spend time with them at work take steps to ensure your safety, but don't fight losing battles with assholes.

It really is legitimately scary. You have good reasons to be scared and you are doing a very frightening thing (and not to do the meme thing but you are legitimately being so brave about it; the fact that you are reaching out and asking anyone for help, including randos on the internet, means that you are taking steps to doing the scary thing and that is SO GOOD and I'm really proud of you for making the effort in spite of the fear).

Here is some less meandering advice:

Practice. Talk to yourself in the mirror, practice with friends, practice with your therapist. Practice coming out to yourself in a casual way. Practice correcting your pronouns. Practice an introduction for yourself that explains the information you want to give to new people you might meet. Get it down to a quick little patter, get it to be something that's easy to say to yourself in the mirror first, then try it with friends for practice, then try it around the safer people you might want to give the information to. It'll get easier as you go.

Look for a local support group (or an online support group). If there's a local LGBTQ+ center you should see if they've got events going on or a support group you can join or workshops or any manner of social thing where you can go interact with people who have been through similar stuff.

Journal. Each time you find yourself frightened of talking to someone about your gender, do what you need to to get through the day and then sit down and think about that interaction. Write down what happened, write down what you were thinking. Was there something in particular that made you anxious? Is it something you can practice addressing? Was there something you noticed about the person that made you uncomfortable? Is that a common thread in the times you have trouble talking about this? If you're able to narrow down specifically what is making it hard to speak to some people that might make it easier to explain to therapists but will also make it more actionable for you.

Here's some very optimistic advice:

If at all possible find a friend who will be rabid and unflinching in their support for you and hang out with them around new people. Get yourself an attack dog copilot who will cheerfully step up and make corrections for you. I know not everyone can do this and I know that if you can find someone like this they can't be around all the time, but it can be wonderfully reassuring to find that one person who you know is going to be ride or die about making sure that everyone in the room respects you. (Being that person for someone else can also teach you how to be that person for you)

[sl-walker]

Boldly Writing is going to hopefully be the nonprofit for indie archives; the ultimate plan is to give us an umbrella org that lets donations to our archives, etc. be tax-deductible, allows us to access a lot of services for free or reduced cost through the org and otherwise lets us move forward with championing the causes of more independent and decentralized fan communities while still providing the social networking and cohesion of a single community over all.

My ultimate vision is to expand and clean up our documentation for installing/running otw-archive, offering tech support for new instances of the software (and ourchive when it releases!), eventually culminating in server space we can offer similar to Walter at Squidge.org. Walter's been carrying a lot of the non-OTW side of the fandom on his shoulders for a long time as we've lost more and more independent commuities; another org working in tandem with Squidge (and indeed OTW!) would only be good for fandom.

Boldly Writing is a non-membership model nonprofit, but you're more than welcome to be a part of the organization via volunteering. Right now, we're possibly looking for a fifth board member -- or more! We can have several! -- for fiscal year 2025. A board member's main responsibilities are just to show up for the four annual meetings required by us, propose and/or vote on resolutions and bylaws and whatnot, and otherwise support the org. Terms are three years. If you're interested in this, you have to be a US citizen and over 18, but that's basically it.

Other things, like committees and assignments, are next on our agenda. (Those can be a lot of fun, too!) Currently, our Boldly Writing discussion takes place on Ad Astra's server, though we might eventually make a new one for the org.

Scroll to the Boldly Writing category for our unofficial first meeting minutes and any org discussion. If you wanna be our fifth board member, hit me up!

[a-very-tired-jew]

Dropout Discord historical revisionism and denialism

A few days ago someone in the discord lamented over the fact that Hank Green endorsed a certain podcast.

Fig. 1. User dislikes that Hank Green will be getting a show on Dropout because they apparently endorse a podcast that "spreads lies against Palestinians". The podcast in particular is the Ezra Klein show, which I will admit I don't listen to. However, the two attached photos are quotes from a guest on the podcast and the "lies" that the show spreads.

Fig. 2. Klein's guest, Yossi Klein Halevi, states that Palestinian leaders, to his knowledge, have not accepted Jewish indigeneity nor has there been acceptance of a Jewish majority state.

Fig. 2. Halevi claims that the average Palestinian does not see Israel as a legitimate country and that the Holocaust is a lie, which is pushed by its media and leaders. Let's look at these claims. The first purports that no Palestinian leader has accepted Jewish indigeneity to the region. Doing a Google dive finds that no leader has accepted this, but nor have they outright denied it from what I can tell (if they have I will edit this with examples). Other leaders have said that the Jews Zionists are outright invaders in the area (looking at you Faisal), and the terrorist groups have said this type of rhetoric as well. Acceptance of a Jewish majority state has always been an issue in the MENA region. Other blogs have gone over this more in depth than I will here, but it has to do with a combination of historical antisemitism and reducing Jews to second class citizens. Jews are now "uppity" because they have their own country and rights that they didn't have in many of the other places they used to live (Westerners if you don't understand this and you're mad about this statement, you really need to look into the history of Jews as dhimmis and laws made against us). These next two claims I can see where people get upset and decry them as a lie. This gets a bit into semantics and how people think though. Halevi states that the average Palestinian thinks Israel is an illegitimate country based upon Zionist myth and the Holocaust lie/exaggeration. Many of the individuals in this particular server, and in other spaces, will likely go "But I know a Palestinian and they acknowledge the Holocaust was real! This is a lie." However, Halevi is not talking about the individual, they're talking about averages and generalizations and how the populace is influenced by their leaders and media. It is correct to state that Arafat never denied the Holocaust happened. However, members of the PLO during his tenure often did on their own. The current chairman of the PLO, Mahmoud Abbas, is a known Holocaust denialist/revisionist who wrote their PhD dissertation the Holocaust as a lie. He has repeatedly blamed the Jews for the Holocaust and played down the number of deaths. Abbas pushes the Zionist/Hitler conspiracy based upon the Haavara Agreement, makes false claims that less than 1 million Jews died, that the Allies made up the 6 million number, and that the gas chambers did not exist. There's a lot more nuance to things like the Haavara Agreement than I, an ecologist, can parse, so I leave that to my betters. However, just know that a small agreement like that does not support the claim that Zionists orchestrated the mass killing of Jews to steal land from Palestinians. That is outrageously antisemitic and relies upon a number of conspiracies. If we look at other leaders we will see denialism and revisionism as well. Hamas and its leadership has long denied that the Holocaust happened and they were upset when the UNRWA tried to include it in textbooks in Gaza back in 2009. Remember, Hamas is in charge of Gaza and their leaders are therefore Palestinian leaders for the area. Their denialism goes all the way back to the 00s where they issued the following statement in response to a conference on the Holocaust held in Stockhold at the time:

"This conference bears a clear Zionist goal, aimed at forging history by hiding the truth about the so-called Holocaust, which is an alleged and invented story with no basis. . . . The invention of these grand illusions of an alleged crime that never occurred, ignoring the millions of dead European victims of Nazism during the war, clearly reveals the racist Zionist face, which believes in the superiority of the Jewish race over the rest of the nations." -This quote is originally from their old website palestine.info.org This sentiment and denialism is not new. I have posted an excerpt of this particular article in the past.

Fig. 4. Excerpt of Martha Gellhorn's article from 1961 The Arabs of Palestine - a camp leader states revisionism and conspiracy. Martha Gellhorn's 1961 article titled The Arabs of Palestine documents Holocaust denialism and revisionism throughout it. The excerpt posted above is from her time interviewing one of the camp leaders while being escorted by a Secret Service agent. It takes the Haavara Agreement into conspiracy territory and alleges that Jews (not event Zionists, just outright Jews) worked with Hitler to kill their own people. Hell, it actually doesn't go full Haavara conspiracy because the leader does not state this was done to force the Jews to emigrate to Palestine and "steal their land" as the article moves on after this section. I highly recommend reading Gellhorn's article as it highlights many of the sentiments that we see to this day, and it was written in 1961. Holocaust denialism and revisionism have been ever present. Some things have changed, such as other nations normalizing their relations with Israel and recognizing them, but others have not. And in the end, this is another example of young activists who think they're informed on a subject they recently became passionate about showing that they are in fact not as informed as they think.

[bumblebeerror]

I’m once again reminding everyone that cPhil wasn’t a bad father

I am once again reminding everyone that cWilbur was a fully fledged adult with a kid of his own

I’m once again reminding everyone that when Wilbur screams at Phil to kill him, Phil had only joined the server moments before and had no reason to know Wilbur wouldn’t respawn, as literally every character consistently displays the basic understanding that everyone except for Phil can respawn.

I am once again reminding everyone that when Wilbur did finally tell Phil he needed help not only was Phil able to help him, he was also happy and relieved to be able to do so

I am once again reminding everyone that Wilbur was not a child, and mental illness in a son does not make the father responsible for his whole life

I am once again reminding everyone that Phil kept in contact with Wilbur via letters and at any time Wilbur could have decided not to lie

I am once again reminding everyone that Phil should not have to stalk his own son to be considered a good father purely because Wilbur didn’t tell him the truth

I am once again reminding everyone that Phil and Wilbur not only remained friendly/positive/affectionate toward each other for the entire time we saw them interact in lore, they clearly cared about and mourned each other

I am once again reminding everyone that reducing cWilbur’s struggle with mental illness to Phil’s fault for not intervening is infantilzing Wilbur as a full adult who can make his own choices.

[wutherwaves]

[NOTICE] Developer Feedback Update (June 2nd, 2024)

A recent developer update was posted earlier today with important information regarding the rest of 1.0, 1.1, and future versions.

Summary of content covered and heavily paraphrased in this post:

Echo development system changes in 1.1

New Upcoming Event

Changes to 1.0 Content

Function & Control Changes

Other Changes

Compensation Rewards & Distribution / Eligibility Requirements

ECHO DEVELOPMENT SYSTEM CHANGES IN 1.1

While Kuro looks into other ways to adjust the Echo and Waveplate systems, the currently specified fixes are:

A new event to yield double the amount of Echo material called "Chord Cleansing" will occur this version.

In 1.1, Echo development will cost less Shell Credits; the reward cutscene of Tacet Fields will be removed to streamlinee farming; and the yield of Echoes and their materials will be increased.

In generally upcoming updates, a Waveplate storage system will be introduced.

NEW UPCOMING EVENT

Kuro will be using responses to the event "Overdash Club"'s design in order to better shape future events. For now, a new event to offer rewards and improve the game's experience will be introduced: "Wuthering Exploration."

This event will reward Astrite x800, Morphable Elite Class Echo I & II, Premium Tuner, and Premium Sealed Tube.

The event will begin at 10:00 on June 13th, until 04:00 June 27th (server time).

CHANGES TO 1.0 CONTENT

Content intended to release further along in 1.0 has been pushed forwards by a week. On June 6th, at 10:00 UTC+8, many new things will unlock, including:

Yinlin's Featured Convene, "When Thunder Pours"

Yinlin's Companion Story, "Solitary Path"

The event, "Alloy Smelt"

Many other events and features

This also means that 1.0 will now be ending June 28th, at 06:00 UTC+8.

Version 1.1, "Thaw of Eons," will include:

New area, Mt. Firmament

New featured resonators, Jinhsi and Changli

New boss, Jué

FUNCTION & CONTROL CHANGES

Many functional changes have either been introduced or planned.

"Combat Camera Correction" on PC has been disabled by default. Other combat camera settings have been optimized and adjusted.

In the future, a "Disengagement Warning" will be implemented for combat.

Mobile controls have received and will continue to receive improvements.

In 1.1, the prerequisite to use custom keybinds is being reduced to Union Level 2. With this, a new player tutorial to help with this will be added, as well as more keybinding options for all supported gaming modes, and a future controller mode for mobile devices.

OTHER CHANGES

Please remember to contact Customer Support or submit other forms of feedback if you encounter any bugs, crashes, or other issues. Other changes include:

Added a "Weekly Purchase Limit" in order to not accidentally buy hundreds of an item.

Audio is being improved and related bugs investigated.

Fixes for crashes and other stability issues are being implemented as investigation continues.

The event, "Depths of Illusive Realm," will receive lots of new content and changes in 1.1.

COMPENSATION REWARDS

Shell Credit x1,000,000 for echo costs

Distributed by 23:59 June 10th (UTC+8) Character Creation + Mailbox before 10:00 May 30th Valid until 05:59 July 3rd

Crystal Solvent x20 for echo waveplate costs Forging Tides x5 for Verdant Summit translation error Radiant Tides x10 for timing adjustment inconvenience

Distributed by 10:00 6/3 Mailbox Valid until 05:59 June 28th

[perhaps-in-anotherdream]

[CN] Victor’s Luolan Date (Eng Translation)

“It appears I’ve already found the rose from the legend, one that will never wither.”

⌚Warning⌚ This post contains detailed spoilers for a date, 楼兰之约, that is yet to be released on the global server! ♡

•─────⋅◍♡◍⋅─────•

【Subbed Video】    

[Anika's Notes]: tbh ig the VAs were told to soften their voice 10x than usual for this event LOL. The amount of nonverbal sounds—— 😩 also, since Tumblr wants to reduce my workload LOL and won’t allow more than 30 pics, PLS DO WATCH the video for the god-tier voice acting, new bgs, the bgms and sprite alterations too~💕

───────

【Transcript Version】

【Chapter 1】

Victor: If you keep crying for any longer, your eyes might become swollen.

MC: [sobbing]  The ending was simply too unfair. Who can resist crying…

Through the hazy veil of tears, I see the lights in the living room flicker on.

The time-traveling drama I’ve been following all summer aired its series finale tonight. Victor even joined me in watching the web series together after getting off work.

We were chatting about the storyline just fine, until the final scene when my tears began streaming down uncontrollably––

Upon returning to the present day, the heroine enters Luolan once again, only to discover that the once prosperous city has eroded into the long river of time.

But the rose that the Prince of Luolan had carved outside the palace walls still blossoms on the crumbling ruins, quietly awaiting her for a thousand years.

Victor places a towel, radiating warm steam, over my eyes, gradually soothing my emotions.

MC: Don’t you find it beautiful?

Victor: Carving a rose into a stone is quite romantic. I can understand why you like it.

MC: I see absolutely no hint of being moved on your face…

He slightly furrows his brows in response to what sounded like an odd statement to him.

Victor: You’re not expecting us both to cuddle up and cry our eyes off, are you?

A rather peculiar image flashes through my mind, and I can’t help but burst into laughter.

Victor: Crying one moment and laughing the next. Your emotions are truly fickle.

MC: Precisely. Compared with my vivid and overt emotional display, this audience member’s emotions are too composed.

Victor: The selling point of all time-travel dramas mostly revolves around the theme that love can transcend time and space, with endings that can either be joyful or sorrowful.

Victor: This ending was predictable.

MC: But this series is adapted from the legend of the last prince of Loulan!

MC: Additionally, in the last century, a foreign explorer claimed to have seen flower-shaped carved patterns on the stone tiles at the Luolan ruins.

Victor listens quietly, then turns his gaze to me after a brief pause.

Victor: So, is this why you want to visit the Loulan ruins?

MC: Well, it’s not the sole reason. The legend of Luolan’s overnight disappearance has been widely known as a mystical tale. I was originally–– hang on, how did you know I wanted to go there?

The answer to my question is a document he hands to me. Upon closer look, I realize it’s actually the official permit granting access to enter the Luolan ruins.

MC: Why do you have this document too?

Victor: …dummy, it’s yours. Could they have sent it to the wrong person?

I flip through a few pages, and sure enough, find my full name written in the applicant’s box.

MC: I had just woken up when I filled in the address… I guess I subconsciously thought it would be safer to have it sent to you?

Victor: Sweet talker.

He raps my head.

Victor: But I heard that it’s no longer open for public visits.

MC: Yes, indeed~ Currently, only teams on scientific expeditions or those with permits are allowed in.

MC: The conditions for obtaining the permit are so incredibly stringent. I even tried leveraging all my connections, but still couldn’t succeed!

Hearing my words, he gives me a sidelong glance but doesn’t interrupt my unceasing torrent of complacent monologue.

MC: Luckily, I was able to negotiate a documentary collaboration with the local government and received an invitation for sightseeing~ I even signed multiple agreements to protect cultural relics.

Victor: No wonder a certain dummy’s tail is raised high into the sky; it indeed was no easy feat. However––

Victor: [sulking] You just said you had leveraged all your connections. How come I don’t remember myself being among those connections you leveraged?

MC: Because this was meant to be my Qixi Festival surprise for you…

—

•─────⋅◍♡◍⋅─────•

—

【Chapter 2】

Victor: Is this abrupt emergency break also a part of the surprise?

He pinches up the coffee-spattered shirt clinging to his body and stares at me sitting in the driver’s seat, lost for words.

MC: That pit just now was really too tricky…!

Just a few short hours ago, we landed at Luolan Airport. However, upon arrival, we were informed by the airline that our checked luggage had been delayed in the transit city and wouldn’t be delivered until two days later.

To avoid delaying our itinerary, we agreed to deal with the matter of collecting them on our way back. With that settled, I confidently got into the driver’s seat of the RV, and alongside Victor, embarked on a self-driven journey into the desert.

Yet, as expected, things aren’t as uncomplicated as I initially thought.

Looking at his shirt– practically soaked through and with coffee still dripping from it– I promptly grab some tissues and wipe it off for him.

The next second, my gaze suddenly falls upon the carry-on suitcase on the luggage rack. My eyes light up, leading me to pause in my actions.

MC: Why not take it off and wash it immediately? Although, while waiting for the clothes to dry, it seems like you’ll have to either be completely naked––

Unsurprisingly, as I deliberately prolong the final note, his reaction of furrowing his brows is true to my expectations.

MC: Or you could wear the couple’s outfit I packed inside the carry-on luggage for taking photos~

Victor: It seems like occasionally; one can still count on––

However, as soon as I take out two sets of lavish Western Region attire, his voice ceases to be heard.

The gold-plated ornaments chime with a delicate tinkling sound, aggravating the crease between his brows.

Victor: What are these?

MC: Compared to my dancer’s attire, yours is actually a collaboration with the museum, an exact 1:1 replica of the half-sleeved garment worn by the Prince of Loulan back in the day~

Victor: So?

Seeing that he is unmoved, I extend my hand and point to the sign denoting the “uninhabited area” by the roadside.

MC: There’s no place to purchase clothes around here. If you don’t change soon, that coffee stain won’t come off. And then, regardless of what outfit you wear on the return trip, it’ll end up on the news––

MC: 《The CEO of LFG’s Grand Cosplay Elevates Airport Fashion》 or 《The CEO of LFG Spotted in Stained Shirt - Speculations of Bankruptcy》. Your choice?

After quite a while, he compromises with a sigh, taking the clothes from me and walking towards the bathroom at the back of the RV.

Not long after, the sound of water seems to quiet down. In anticipation, I turn my head––

The soft crimson robe barely conceals the glimpses of sculpted and muscular contours underneath, complemented by intricate gold ornaments that adorn him with an air of regal nobility and grace.

Faced with my unblinking gaze fixated on him, he displays a somewhat unnatural expression, which is rarely seen on his face.

Victor: Why aren’t you changing?

MC: [still busy gaping]  What?

Victor: Why am I the only one wearing the couple’s outfit?

MC: Okay, okay, I’ll “accompany” you.

Watching the awkward expression on his face, I can’t contain my laughter and let out a chuckle. Just before his gaze can shoot my way, I hurriedly grab my attire and head to the bathroom.

The desert weather is always fluctuating and unpredictable. Right after I finish changing my clothes, I notice a sudden sandstorm brewing outside the window.

Seemingly catching a sound, his gaze lingers on me for a brief moment, and an almost imperceptible tenderness crests on the arches of his brows.

With the scope visibility diminished, Victor assumes control of the steering wheel, deftly maintaining a steady distance from the swirling sand and wind.

After who knows how long, we finally spot a single-story house coming into view at the end of the yellow sand. Brimming with excitement, I tap the navigation icon to zoom in and get a closer look.

MC: It’s the cultural relics preservation station!

—

Initially, our intention was only to charge the RV. But with the yellow sand swirling around, we find ourselves invited by the stationed personnel, Maizi, to come inside and rest for a bit.

Just as we step inside, a dense mass of sand and stones outside the window surges forward, closing in rapidly.

The sandstorm has begun.

Thoughts of how an entire kingdom was once buried under this very sand spring to mind, and an instinctive fear begins to loom large within me.

The delicate brick house trembles subtly amidst the raging wind, and at this moment, a crisp sound resounds in my ears.

Several pairs of shimmering gold-plated earrings illuminate my dusky field of view. Taking note of my reaction, Maizi places them in front of me.

Maizi: Don’t be scared. Here, we’ve been wearing these kinds of earrings since childhood. They’re like protective charms for children in the desert.

As Maizi speaks, she turns slightly and shows me her earrings. The luster has dimmed a touch, suggesting she’s been wearing them for a long time.

Maizi: These are the ones I made for my kids. If you don’t mind, would you guys like to choose two pairs?

MC: Thank you, but it’s alright.

With a hint of bashfulness, I gesture with my hand and point at Victor’s ears.

MC: Besides, my boyfriend doesn’t have ear piercings.

Maizi: It’s no problem. My eldest son doesn’t have ear piercings either.

With a smile, Maizi offers me a pair of clip-on earrings.

Maizi: Consider them as a wish for your safety and well-being. Take them.

—

As the sandstorm eases up, not wanting to impose any longer, we say our goodbyes and ultimately accept the two pairs of earrings before returning to the RV.

Perhaps due to how terrifyingly unnerving the sandstorm was, Victor doesn’t refuse when I offer to help him wear the clip-on earrings after he’s put the earrings on me.

I take up the clip-on earring and carefully trace my finger over his earlobe to figure out its placement. However, after spending a good amount of time, I still don’t find the ideal position I’m entirely satisfied with.

Victor: Still not done?

MC: Have a little patience. I don’t seem to recall rushing you when you gifted me earrings for the first time~

–

[Tidbits]: AHHH YESSS the call back to their first “kiss” kiss date– “Dazzling Date” 🥺

–

At long last, I find the right spot and fasten the clip. Following this, I can’t help myself and imitate the past actions in my memories, gently cradling his face and leaning in to take a closer look.

The glistening golden pieces dance softly. However, in the next second, a subtle blush at the corner of his eyes captures my attention.

Seeing this, I mischievously continue leaning closer and closer to him. As I catch a momentary hitch in his steady breathing, I deliberately reach out to stroke his earlobe.

MC: Oh gosh, could you be allergic to metal? The corners of your eyes have turned red. Maybe I should take them off…

Before the words fully leave my mouth, I find myself abruptly pulled into his arms.

Victor: They’re on just fine, don’t mess with them.

His arms tighten around me a little more, and I obediently nestle into his embrace, letting the cocoon of safety enfold me.

The swirling underlying tension caused by the dreadful weather finally dissipates, akin to feathers drifting in the air. As drowsiness slowly sweeps over me, I register the sound of my last question being put into words.

MC: Victor, what if we can’t find the remains? What should we do then?

Victor: If we don’t find them this time, we will come back next time.

—

•─────⋅◍♡◍⋅─────•

—

【Chapter 3】

[Anika’s Notes]: While I’ll talk about this later, just wanted to say— that the way we get a mere glimpse into how extreme level of PTSD this man has given MC from the main story like— I’m counting fingers for the number of times she got nightmares when he isn’t next to her— (⁠〒⁠﹏⁠〒⁠)

—

A man sits in solitude beneath the palace walls, gazing towards the east for a long, long time.

He has probably repeated the act of carving a million times before. It seems as if the carving knife in his hand has a soul of its own now, each stroke finding its mark with precision, etching deep scars.

Fresh blood trickles down along the blade’s edge, staining the rose with a blood-red hue. Yet, he appears unresponsive to the pain, persistently carving stroke after stroke.

Only when the red headscarf is lifted by the wind does a familiar face emerge before my eyes.

MC: Victor!

I reach out in a panic to touch him, but a sudden onslaught of sand and wind surges forth, engulfing him in the blink of an eye.

–

Startled awake from the nightmare, I instinctively reach my hand to my side, only to find nothing but an empty space.

Victor is not in the car.

Amidst the boundless silence, a distant chime of camel bells suddenly reaches me. Compelled by the sound, I push open the car door––

The sandstorm has ceased at some point, revealing a sky that’s now crystal clear and brilliantly bright.

The curtain of dusk hangs low, but the luminous moon has already ascended in the vault of the heavens, radiating its brilliance alongside the sun.

Among the endless sand dunes, Victor, attired in exquisite garments, guides a pure white camel through the terrain, advancing his way through the light.

Stretching behind him, across the infinite expanse of Lop Desert, stands several silent, solitary, and enigmatic remnants of ancient civilizations.

The breeze dances by, causing his knuckles to gently clasp the upper garment brushing against his grave and stern visage, setting the accessories on his splendid attire to chime with delicate, tinkling sounds.

Perhaps dazzled by the light, he squints his slender eyes and immediately spots my presence. He appears slightly taken aback, but then quickens his stride as he approaches my direction.

In the boundless landscape, with each step he takes toward me, I feel as if he is crossing through a thousand years to reach me.

The scene from the dream resurfaces in my mind once again, and before I can even fully comprehend it, I’m already sprinting toward him with large strides.

I practically crash into his arms.

Victor: [breathes sharply]  Running so fast––

Seeing that I’m breathless and staring fixedly at him without even blinking my eyes, he freezes for a moment. Then, as if realizing something, he envelops me in his arms.

Victor: The Luolan ruins we are heading to are in that direction. We can’t drive there, so I borrowed a camel from Maizi for transportation. 

Victor: It was released to wander in the desert, and I needed to go and guide it back myself. You seemed to be sleeping so soundly, so I didn’t wake you up.

His words are extremely slowed, spoken one at a time. Listening to him, rather than an explanation, it sounds more like he is comforting me.

MC: You weren’t here just now and… I had this strange dream.

With his questioning eyes upon me, I feel compelled to respond honestly.

MC: I dreamt that you turned into the Prince of Loulan and were swept away by the sand...

Victor: [sighs with infinite indulgence and helplessness]  …

MC: You find this amusing?

Hearing my grumbling, he finally can’t hold back a muffled chuckle, drawing his arms around me a little tighter.

Victor: Have you confirmed it now?  – that I haven’t been swept away by the sand?

MC: Who knows, maybe you had gotten swept away! And it was this camel that rescued you and brought you back.

I huff angrily and bicker with him, effectively dispelling the uneasiness that the nightmare had triggered.

However, the camel seems to have caught on something, suddenly swaying its head and coming closer to me.

Momentarily taken aback, I then laugh in spite of myself and reach out to pat it. This gesture seems to act as a signal of some sort, prompting it to obediently lower itself to the ground.

MC: Huh, could it be that I have a natural talent for taming camels?

Victor: It’s more likely a stroke of luck.

As he speaks, he nimbly mounts the camel’s saddle and reaches out to hug me, lifting me up onto it alongside him.

The camel stands up in due course and suddenly leaps into the air, prompting me to let out a subconscious cry of exclamation.

MC: Whoa!

Victor: Hold onto me firmly and sit tight.

After he tugs on the reins, the camel pivots to change its direction and heads toward the ruins.

Probably due to Victor’s presence, I swiftly adapt to the bumpy ride. I even begin swaying my ornaments to create a pleasant sound, echoing in harmony with the camel’s bells.

MC: I feel like I’m a dancer being offered to the Prince of Luolan~

Victor: How come I’m not aware of any dynasty where a prince would rush out of the palace to welcome a dancer?

His teasing leaves me momentarily dumbfounded. It takes me quite a while before I open my mouth to speak, unwilling to resign myself.

MC: I never said the Prince of Luolan is you.

For an instant, Victor seems to stiffen up. When he speaks again, his tone takes on a slight rigidity.

Victor: [sulking] Who is he, then?

MC: …that’s not the important point!

MC: The important point is that you’re the Mr. Husband of my dreams– whom I’ve long set my heart on, and now you’re stealing me away to elope.

Victor: Childish.

A gentle tap lands on my head, and as I tilt my head up, I find myself ensnared by the light of his tender eyes.

MC: You clearly look really happy~

He doesn’t banter any further and only gives a tug on the reins, prompting the camel’s steps to become a bit brisker.

Receding into the distance amid the boundless expanse swept by the northern breeze, the glory and decline, the prosperity and withering of ancient Luolan have long frozen into eternal slumber.

MC: How wonderful!

Victor: What’s got you so moved again?

MC: The weather has cleared, which is wonderful. We’re heading to the ruins without any hiccups, which is also wonderful. But the most wonderful thing is having you by my side, chatting about all sorts of nonsense.

MC: No matter what, everything is wonderful as long as Victor is around.

The jingling tinkle of camel bells accompanies his gentle laughter close to my ears.

Victor: It’s only possible with a certain dummy around.

As the outlines of the ruins become distinct, I turn my head back in exhilaration.

MC: Even if I have to turn this place upside down, I’ll find that stone-carved rose!

His gaze lingers briefly on my arms waving around in excitement, and then he arches an eyebrow.

Victor: It appears crucial for me to remind you that you signed agreements for the preservation of cultural relics. If you do turn this place upside down––

Victor: I won’t be able to save you, even if I were to sell LFG.

—

•─────⋅◍♡◍⋅─────•

—

【Chapter 4】

MC: …it’s all completely weathered away.

As I look at the historical ruins of the ancient kingdom before my eyes, which have gradually been devoured into nothingness by the endless expanse of yellow sand, I can’t resist pouting my lips.

MC: Locating the ruins of the imperial palace itself is akin to a far-fetched tale, let alone finding the stone-carved rose.

Victor: Why are you so hung up on that legend?

MC: Just a bit of anticipation, you know. After all, you see, If I were in that position, I’d surely leave behind some traces for you.

MC: The speculation is that the woman in the tales possessed an Evol similar to yours, which led her to go there. But, due to certain factors, she had no choice but to leave.

Victor: It won’t be the same.

He softly counters my statement, his gaze filled with seriousness.

MC: Hm?

Victor: With me, those factors you mentioned won’t come into existence.

A warm and fuzzy feeling suddenly envelopes my heart. I grin, drawing closer to him.

MC: Guess there’s no way around it. It seems I have no choice but to concede that the legend is, indeed, bogus.

He pauses for a moment, and his lips twitch. But in the end, he doesn’t say anything. Soon, a glimmer of a smile sparkles in his eyes, and immediately after, he tightly clasps my hand.

—

While I’m still in the midst of my puzzlement, a sudden glaring sunlight makes me reflexively squint my eyes. And then, a hot and humid breeze, carrying an exotic fragrance, hits me in the next moment.

After struggling to open my eyes, I curiously peer in the direction of the light, only to find myself frozen right where I’m standing––

Before my eyes lay a quaint-style courtyard adorned with fragrant blossoms. A flowing river winds its way through, its glistening waves reflecting in the sunlight with water that is clear and pristine, hosting schools of fish swimming within.

Compared to me who is filled with utter incredulity, Victor’s expression remains unchanged as if the current sight before us holds no element of astonishment for him.

Could this be a mirage? Puzzled, I gingerly brush the river’s water with the tips of my toes. The cool sensation of the flowing stream leaves me bewildered, prompting me to lift my gaze to the person next to me.

MC: Victor, am I dreaming again?

Victor: Just earlier, didn’t a certain someone say that she wanted me to take her away to elope?

He smiles as he looks at me, and in his eyes, the magnificent beauty and grand scenery of an ancient landscape are reflected.

The lofty dome of the circular palace hall is embellished with ceramic glazed tiles on its overhanging eaves, each detail unmistakably declaring the opulent and prestigious nature of this place.

Atop the roof stands a wooden pagoda reminiscent of those unique to ancient Luolan, and a lush canopy of greenery veils the gray-red palace walls I’ve seen in the drama.

A somewhat daring conjecture surfaces in my mind.

MC: This wouldn’t be the Imperial Palace of Luolan, is it?

Seeing the originator of all this noncommittally raise an eyebrow, I feel my heart tighten and rush to examine him thoroughly, circling around him.

MC: [anxiously, PTSD x2]  A-are you feeling any discomfort?

Victor: [?? laughs helplessly. *screams* DO YOU SEE HOW BADLY YOU GAVE HER AND US MAIN STORY PTSD––] Dummy. I’m not that fragile.

Victor: As long as we manage to sidestep the butterfly effect and avoid impacting the course of history––

Probably noticing that I’m tensely staring into his eyes again, he slips my restless hand into his palm and gives it a gentle squeeze.

Victor: Don’t be so anxious. There won’t be anyone else here for the time being.

Hearing him say this, I poke my head out and gaze at the rare and magnificent view that lay before me.

MC: So, can we take photos?

Victor: Ask your phone.

But I soon realize that my phone is entirely frozen on the lock screen interface and is refusing to respond whatsoever, leaving me with no choice but to resentfully lower my hand.

MC: The phone says it’s not possible…

Victor: That being the case, simply keep your eyes wide open and commit it to your memory.

I let him lead me toward the depths of the courtyard, and along the way, we see the flowers bloom all the more luxuriantly. Unwittingly, I find myself mesmerized by the vista.

It’s not until a glazed table adorned with delicacies and fine wines appears amidst the blossoms that I stop in my tracks in astonishment.

–– Everything unfolding before my eyes is gradually starting to align with the scenes from the time-travel drama in my memories.

MC: It turns out that the drama is actually so detailed. It seems that I, who diligently watched every episode without exception, am about to become a walking encyclopedia of Luolan––

From the garden on the other side of the wall, there suddenly comes voices of conversation. I hastily hush and excitedly prick up my ears to listen to their dispute.

However, all that reaches my ears are unfamiliar and garbled sounds, and soon I start feeling my head beginning to spin a little. Once the women have walked farther away, I find I’m already frowning without even realizing it.

Victor: Looks like a certain encyclopedia trained through time-travel dramas is really just a half-filled bucket of water sloshing around.

MC: Says who!

–

[Anika’s tidbits]: HAHA as you guys know, I’ve long stopped explaining the thousands of idioms and intricate phrases Li Zeyan writers use unless they’re absolutely necessary/ crucial– or else my translation notes would be bigger than the content itself LOL– and this is one of those and it’s one of my favs 😂 the full idiom phrase is “一桶水不响， 半桶水晃荡” – it literally means while a full bucket of water doesn’t make noise as it is heavy and stable, a half-filled bucket sloshes around– i.e. those wisest among us prefer being quiet and are self-confident, while those who are in the less wise/ smarter group often try to compensate their lack of knowledge/ understanding by asserting that they do~ 💀

–

Displeased with his jest, I swiftly focus my gaze on a copper utensil.

MC: Believe it or not, this was designed for storing spices, and it’s a very rare and expensive item.

I open the lid as I speak, and sure enough, a strong and fragrant aroma assails my nostrils. I can’t help but lift my chin complacently.

Victor: [laughs indulgently]  Alright, I underestimated a certain dummy.

I vaguely feel that the aroma is somewhat familiar, so I lean in to take a whiff, and a powerful fragrance of mugwort instantly invades the tip of my nose.

MC: [sneezes]  Ah-choo!

I rub my nose and look up, only to find that I have blown most of the scented powder onto Victor’s body, causing his figure to be coated with a drizzle of white.

The next second, he narrows his eyes and swiftly scoops me behind him. The smell of bone-chilling danger subtly spreads through the air.

MC: You’re not angry––?

Victor: Hush.

Looking in the direction of his gaze, I instantly become dumbstruck where I’m standing.

A massive leopard is peering at us from beneath the poplar tree, its face obscured by the shade of the tree, its pupils gleaming with an eerie and chilly light.

MC: L-Leopard…

Victor: [smiling]  I’m familiar with it.

Despite being faced with a ferocious beast, this man actually still has the mood to crack jokes!

MC: But according to historical accounts, this should be one of those leopards raised in captivity by the royals and aristocrats. It’s probably quite docile… it wouldn’t eat us, right?

Victor: [still smiling]  Being raised in captivity doesn’t mean it has lost its ability to hunt.

Seeing the leopard arch its back, fear grips me so hard that I cling tightly to his arm.

MC: Do we still have a chance to slip away secretly?

Victor: [still smiling]  We’ve already made direct eye contact within its territory. Stay calm for now.

Pressing my hand against my wildly thudding heart, I raise my gaze to see it take a whiff of the air and then proceed to saunter leisurely in our direction.

After a while, it approaches Victor and sniffs gently. My heart leaps to my throat, but leaving me stupefied, it actually lays down, its shape reminiscent of a fluffy cushion. It even nuzzles him affectionately with its head.

What follows is a fuzzy ticklish sensation, and I stare in startled shock as the leopard’s tail merrily swishes against my lower leg.

MC: …didn’t we just make eye contact with it? Yet you’ve actually managed to tame it?

I cast an incredulous glance at Victor, while he is staring at the incense burner with furrowed brows.

Victor: This scented powder probably isn’t intended for human application.

The enormous creature rolls over, laying bare its soft belly, exceedingly similar to the way Pudding behaves coquettishly after sucking on catnip.

Victor: It might not necessarily be us who drew it here. This fragrance is not just on me.

It’s only now that I realize a subtle aroma of mugwort is also lingering in the air. Following the fragrance, my eyes land on one side of the path lined with densely grown nepeta herbs. I immediately heave a sigh of relief.

At this moment, the leopard flexes its limbs in an inviting gesture, signaling for Victor to pet it. As I watch his rare expression of being at a loss for what to do, I can’t help but break into laughter.

Victor: [laughs helplessly]  …look at what good deed you’ve done!

MC: Being approached by an imperial leopard is a rare blessing that can never be obtained even if one beseeched it.

–

[Anika’s tidbits]: ANOTHER ONE OF MY MOST FAV PHRASES EVER! The term MC uses here is 求都求不来 (qiu dui qui bu lai), which is a play on this phrase: 可遇不可求 (ke yu bu ke qui), which means “can only be obtained (serendipitously) but not be sought after” – which paints the perfect imagery for “destiny, sth/sb being destined for someone”~ and a very important thing to note, which I’ll come back to later. 🥺 

–

Likely attributed to my overly bright gloating, Victor curls his fingers as he pinches up a small amount of the scented powder, which he then dabs on my face.

Sure enough, the leopard turns around and nuzzles against me. Seeing that I’m not putting up any resistance, it then straightens itself up and buries me completely in its soft fur.

MC: …ngh, Victor! Save me!

Victor: Nope. This “rare blessing that can never be obtained even if one beseeched it” is now being given to you.

Nudged by the leopard, I’m prompted to draw a few steps back, and as I let out a startled cry and tumble backward, I find myself landing in a soft embrace.

Amused, Victor pats the leopard on the head, and it obediently sits back down on the ground, reminiscent of a docile house kitten.

–

Even as he enfolds me in his arms and sits us both down on the grassy lawn, I remain a bit indignant.

MC: Why does it only listen to you! We both clearly have the same scent.

At this moment, I happen to glimpse at the golden silk embroidery on his clothes shimmering in the sunlight. I then contemplatively look at my own dress, which is somewhat plain.

Victor: You don’t think it’s because of the clothes, do you?

MC: …who can say, perhaps its owner has clothes identical to yours.

Victor: Well, a certain someone must be thinking to herself, “Had I known earlier, I would’ve chosen a fancy princess gown for myself.”

Seeing me choked silly by his spot-on guess of my thoughts, he studies me with even more and more interest.

Victor: [IN THE MOST DOTING AND ADORABLE VOICE EVER]  But however you slice it, a certain dummy still looks like a certain dummy.

Disgruntled, I lean closer to the water’s surface to check my reflection. A pouty face suddenly jumps out at me, which indeed is in disharmony with the dancer’s attire.

However, when I turn around and notice the wine cups on the table, an idea immediately strikes me.

I pick up a cup and lean in to bring it to his lips, working hard to make my voice sound soft and enticing as I speak.

MC: Your Highness~

He pauses for a brief moment, almost imperceptibly, before swiftly locking eyes with me.

Victor: There’s no wine in the cup.

MC: …you spoilsport!

Huffing, I sit up straight from his arms and shoot him a glare.

MC: Isn’t it because I’m afraid that if I spill the wine just like I sneezed earlier, it could result in altering the details of the history!

Victor, however, lightly quirks the corners of his lips, pours the glass to the brim with wine, and once again draws me closer to his side.

Victor: What did you want to do to me? Go on.

MC: You…

Before I can fully comprehend why he is being so cooperative at this moment, I feel a gentle force gripping my chin up.

I find myself falling into those serenely deep and unceasingly approaching pupils, and my breathing becomes rapid, beyond my control.

Victor: Weren’t you quite bold just a moment ago?

Victor: Seeing how you’re being so tentative like this, do you want me to teach you how one should drink this wine?

My slightly trembling hand is gently lifted by him with an irresistible force, and the small wine cup is soon raised to the level of my eyebrows and then even higher.

His fingers trace a slow path from my wrist to the palm of my hand, making the wine in the cup ripple, mirroring the swaying of my heart in tandem.

Just as his waywardly mischievous fingers are about to enter between the crevices of mine, he applies a slight pressure. The teetering fine liquid finally spills out, and the cool sensation quietly trickles down my forearm.

Along with the soft sensation, a rush of warmth suddenly washes over me. I stare wide-eyed, completely unguarded, and am rooted to the spot.

That pair of deep eyes, which has been fixed on me all along, makes it clear that he has no intention whatsoever of letting me go.

The scorching tip of his tongue gently licks and sucks on the continuously dripping nectar-like fine liquid, sending a wave of tingling shivers coursing throughout my entire body. 

The incessantly rising, delicate sensation of itchiness makes me a bit restless. I have the urge to escape, yet simultaneously, I can’t help myself from pandering to it.

He looks at me with slightly half-lidded eyes, his lips curling up into a triumphant arc of someone getting their way.

Victor: Have you learned it now, dummy?

MC: !

I suddenly snap back to my senses and hastily pull my hand back, tossing the ceramic glazed cup back onto the table as if I were holding a hot potato.

MC: W-What am I learning this for…

Victor: Clearly, it was a certain someone who started it first––

Before the words even leave his mouth, I notice a skylark swooping down. Seeing this, he swiftly pulls me to the side to dodge.

While I’m still amidst my puzzlement, a black shadow suddenly flashes before my eyes. Much to my astonishment, the leopard has scampered into the air to catch the bird.

“Clang” –– the table is abruptly turned upside down by it, sending fruits and vegetables tumbling and leaving the cups and dishes in a complete disarray.

When I see him calmly looking at the spilled wine, as if he’d already foreseen it, I realize where his confidence in pouring the wine earlier came from.

And also, the uniqueness of this “trip.”

Looking up at this world that doesn’t belong to me, I can’t bear to tear my eyes away from the courtyard blooming with vibrant and luxuriant flowers––

The abounding blossoms of crimson pomegranate adorn the trees, while the light purple clovers form dense clusters, and the red lotus stretches wantonly by the riverbank…

MC: I’m still finding it hard to believe that I’m able to see the ancient Luolan with my own eyes…

Victor: So, have you found what you were searching for?

At his reminder, I belatedly recall the original purpose that I had cast to the back of my mind.

After casting a surveying glance all around, I don’t find that rosy color I was expecting to see and can only gaze at him with a sense of bitterness.

Victor: During this period, roses hadn’t been cultivated yet.

As if he can sense what I’m thinking, he explains in a calm tone.

MC: So that means, the stone-carved rose doesn’t exist either… Since you knew this all along, why did you go through such great pains to bring me here?

Victor: Compared to simply answering you whether the legend is true or false, bringing you here to see for yourself is more just.

Victor: In this boundless universe, there will always be a kind of beauty worthy of a certain dummy’s pure yearning.

Only at this moment do I realize that this voyage across time and space is precisely his answer.

MC: You… don’t you think it was quite naïve of me?

Victor: I do. But it’s also a precious trait of a certain dummy, and I think I can help you maintain it in moderation.

My heart suddenly turns into a mush. I settle my gaze on the edge of his lips before lifting my head and kissing him.

The aroma of wine and fragrance of flowers gradually fade away, and I find myself drenched only in his pleasant scent. Amidst our closely interwoven breaths, time seems to slow to a crawl, stretching ever so slowly.

It’s not until the familiar dryness lingers around the tip of my nose that I slowly open my eyes, slightly gasping for breath. What greets my eyes is the view of the endless sand dunes.

Apt to the occasion, my phone starts vibrating and powers up automatically. Only ten minutes have passed.

I feel as if I have just woken up from a dream. I gaze at Victor in a trance, and the rose-colored kiss mark on his lips enters my field of view, making me unable to help the smile spreading across my face.

MC: It appears I’ve already found the rose from the legend, one that will never wither.

In those eyes, brimming with unending tenderness, I see him lowering himself——

Victor: Then, allow it to bloom for a little while longer.

─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────

[Anika’s Analysis & Ramblings]

twitter thread link: ♡

—

[asciidot]

11 for laz I need more lore

In what situation was your character the most afraid they’ve ever been?

Fear is a tangled concept when you're a functional immortal whose been alive for two millennia, but aside from Aurum's "Death" and the underlying dread of eternity, it would probably be the first time he "broke" one of its own hard set rules. Long text because there is ...context! needed!

cw minor character death

For anyone who hasn't been trawling my blog for scraps of lore over the years, or seen me in the wild back when I used to roleplay and join JSaB servers, Lazureus is the shape who is the head of the "Watchers", one of the four main sectors in Paradise, Utopia. The Watchers is basically their iteration of "defence" that our countries have, covering general policing, warfare, "peacekeeping", punishment and some other odd jobs. They do not have good optics, even in Paradise, and Lazureus is presently a pretty hated public figure, even though some argue his necessity.

Lazureus does not enjoy his line of work, nor deem it necessary, but has developed a numbness towards it because he doesn't have a choice in it. To hold some semblance of morals to keep himself sane once this position was given to him, Laz set himself a few rules, one of which being is no matter what: he cannot directly cause a death that was not on the field, or trialled beforehand through the Wayfinders ("Humanitarian" and Legal sector, Aurums domain). That means the person for which his hand was responsible for death was either deemed guilty or had "agreed to the risk" by stepping foot in a battlezone.

On the field, Lazureus is barely deployed because he is a walking natural disaster. All the siblings have their specialties; Amael can manipulate inorganic matter and metals (things of noise) with precision, Protham is fantastic with what can best be described as telekinesis (manipulating the space between noise and sound), and Aurum is exceptional with plants and life (things of sound). They all have their practical applications. Lazureus on the other hand, can reduce sound and noise to nothing. The only exceptions are Pink shapes with their unstable sound, and deities who are instead of Light, not sound.

All that exposition to get to the actual answer to the question!

Lazureus had been deployed by the King in order to clear out an area, as the meaningless skirmish against the Backlands had started to lose momentum and was causing more trouble than it was worth to their own people.

It was a pretty desolate area, and the evacuation order had been given, so Laz was more haphazard than he usually was. It didn't scout the area, and even at the end razed a run down building in the vicinity too, even though it wasn't quite in the designated zone, just clipping Paradise land-- because he had always hated churches. One broken old tribute to his creator couldn't hurt to erase, spite fuelled or not. It was half caved in anyway, so he was doing the place a favour.

Well, he thought as much until there was shrieking in the priorly silent battlegrounds. It was all the more chilling because there was only that. There was nothing to tune it out. No background noise, no people beside him droning on about patriotism, no wind, no gunfire, just the desperate cries of a singular living thing, alone and in agony.

The next hour he acted practically on autopilot, finding the person in a few panicked minutes, dragging what was left of them out from the debris, teleporting them both to Aurum and begging xem to fix it, because Laz himself couldn't, he wasn't designed to.

They survived a few lucid-ish days before succumbing to having half their body destroyed. They were writing an article on historical architecture, and the building had interested them, even though it was so close to a no-go zone. She finished writing it then died, like it was some sort of final duty. She had no family, and she took it in her stride. She said it was all coincidence, really, and even said she forgave Laz, that it wasn't really his fault. That Laz was a nice person and just happened to be in a bad position. She was one of the few people Laz ever brought himself to be completely truthful with in those few days, maybe out of guilt, maybe out of something else, he didn't know.

When he went back to the site, the mural of his creator was still intact.

It felt like Vie was laughing at him.

[zer0carrds]

hi everyone! here's what's happening ... i very frequently receive inquiries about commissions, which is awesome, but i come across several problems while trying to work with people : i get ghosted midway through the process, i am expected to 100% know what they want though they don't get me any information, i am disrespected through the process, i am expected to have a complete product before receiving payment, or i'm expected to have a commission done within like two days. secondly, i know there's expectations i cannot meet without making adjustments, such as speedy response times or better support/help for anyone struggling with carrd making processes. so i've devised a plan.

i will be making a discord server, available to the public. it'll be easy to use, a great way to get in touch with me when i'm not logged into my resource account, and a BIG way to reduce stress on my part. there'll be updates for new PSDs, gif packs, carrd templates, channels specifically for carrd support, and commissions!!!

i've struggled quite a bit with offering public commissions. i've been left frustrated and confused multiple times, and often felt guilty for being ghosted, but i'm also at a point where i want to take this seriously and make this a hustle to supplement my job. i do enjoy taking commissions, i love communicating with customers and learning about people's visions/characters/etc, i love the lore dumping, i love all of it. to mitigate the constant issues with ghosting etc, i will only be making most of my commissions available through this discord server. there will be announcements and frequent updates, and it'll be a lot easier to discuss one-on-one, answer questions, etc. i've always preferred moving my commission related communications to discord anyways, so i feel this will be easier.

this does not mean i won't be active here; i will still be answering messages, i will still post for commissions occasionally, i will still be making templates available for free/to the public/low cost. i will still be taking commission inquiries, but i will not move the process further without clearly communicating expectations for both of us.

i feel this is the easiest way for me to operate as of right now, and it'll help with a lot of communication issues!

TO REITERATE: i'm not cutting contact through tumblr whatsoever, i will still be taking inquiries of all kinds, but the best way to obtain a commissions and have frequent updates and fast response times will be through this server.

i am 100% open to feedback as i'm not at all experienced with discord servers, and this will be my first time operating a server; i wanna hear your thoughts to make it better. i'm taking any suggestions. just hit me up.

i'm finishing up the server soon, and i'll be posting an invite link as soon as it's ready to go (:

[shinachikukosen]

Due to recent allegations and accusations of harassment, we will no longer be cross-promoting the "NaruSaku Rage" project. Any associations and previous collaborations are officially cancelled and all permissions revoked.

To expand upon this further, Vercetti, leader of "NaruSaku Rage", was welcomed into the Kosen team as a collaborator. We offered him and his team the role of looking at our story and giving any contributions they would like.

Since Vercetti was already leading his own project, we did not want the Rage team to take more time contributing to our project than their own. Despite multiple reminders and warnings of overstepping his responsibilities, Vercetti continued to push for more involvement and access

He did not respect boundaries or schedules. He constantly dmed people on the team trying to get around our rules or to gossip about our members. While we are content to quietly work on Kosen until it is ready for public eye, Vercetti is more focused on popularity and attention.

After posting information about Chatte and PumiiH projects without permission, we all decided to reduce collaborations and access to our projects. The collaboration would be retweeting each other's social media announcements and story discussions when promoted and nothing more.

When it was revealed to us Vercetti sexually harassed his underaged team members, we officially ended all collaborations. We went about removing his access from all our projects permanently and removed his content from our account.

Vercetti was given access to most of our work including our story document, art assets, and a demo of our game. Although we sent a formal request to remove any and all project related materials from his server, it is possible that he has kept them to use for his own project

If you happen to see Shinachiku Kosen, Shinachiku, @chattegeorgiana, @thomasblackfire, or @pumiih's content floating around the internet without names attached to it, it was likely stolen by Vercetti and spread out of spite or for his own gain. Please be cautious about him

Despite his best efforts to claim we do not care about the Chinese NaruSaku fandom, we do. His actions and behavior is not representative of an entire fandom. Nothing he can say or do will change this.

When the time is right, we will find someone we can trust to make Shinachiku Kosen and other NaruSaku projects like the NaruSaku Wiki more accessible to Chinese fans without his involvement. Until then, stay tuned and be careful out there.

[sapybara]

I've been a huge q fan in the past so I know all his history. I am not even surprised, how long has it been since we found his server management to be sketchy, not even talking about his merch compagnie. 

In no fandom have I ever truly called anyone a BITCH and a cunt . But he is one. Hey, I never expected anything from him about Shelby/ or Wilbur and forever, we know who he is and he does not give a fuck, but to lie so blatantly about how much involvement he has in the qsmp management, that a scrum!! Dude, how could anyone believe him?? It makes NO sense!

Exploiting workers, literally putting anti unions mesures , stealing people ideas (fans on twitter) then blocking them (probably not him who did it but he still got credited for the ideas and said nothing)

That's to ONE thing I will get entertainment CC crucified for. It's not difficult to not be a greedy corporate snake, especially when you are already so rich! 

Fuck QUACKITY

Also, people who say that he is just shocked because Wilbur was one of his bff so he doesn't want to go into (any) detail about that: Q and Wilbur haven't been close for half a year and Shelby posted her video a long time ago. Even Tommy said something for fuck sake!

You are literally talking with dtblr last quackity main™ believe me I know what you're talking about, I'm not surprised either.

His stans are being all "they were close friends! Give him some time!! You're all being cruel" well first of all they were not. Second of all, I do not want a statement, a simple kicking him out and asking people to support victims would've been enough. But no, he talked about it for the grand total of THRITY SECONDS, didn't mention Shelby or any victims, didn't mention he's an abuser, and made it all about him. How this is hard for HIM and how sad HE is, etc etc.

He goes on saying he "didn't know the volunteers weren't being paid" and that he thought it was a process were they would eventually (!!!) get paid. Excuse me? How do you not know? One thing is asking the admis not to spoil you what will be tomorrow's event and another radically different thing is saying you don't know what's going on in YOU OWN TEAM of YOUR SERVER. Especially not when it's your money ffs, do you not know where's that going? Do you not know who do you work with? You can't just brush it off as "not knowing" when it's your fucking enterprise. And im not even mentioning the whole NDA thing and how no one could even speak to CCs or other admis off stream, how they were requested to censor themselves in their personal accounts because "controversies" (real life crimes) could stain the server's name. Be for fucking real.

He doesn't even talk about all the merch problems, the fake giveaways and how ridiculously sketchy his merch company (that he/his family owns!) is.

Look I'm not trying to be a hypocrite here, I don't wanna apply dranti logic and demand a perfect apology and explanation the second all exploded. I'm not gonna ask him to know about every little conversation that goes on inside his server or discord. I'm not gonna say he doesn't have the right to mourn whatever friendship he may have had. But that doesn't mean I'm not fucking pissed and none of that excuse him for not knowing what's going on with his employees, his merch and reducing the actions of TWO abusers to "controversies". He needs to be held accountable, but, funnily enough, his fans are too parasocial to realize they're babying him and telling everyone who listens how he's not responsible for anything and it's the higher ups fault. His name is literally everywhere, he prides himself of being the owner and sole inventor of the server, how much higher can you go from there?

I'm upset about the poor guys who are being exploited and actually pity the fans that truly can't see what's before they eyes. Hope those people have it better from now on, but Quackity? He can go cry about it on stream if he wants, this entire thing has been a mess since before it started and I'm happy to see it crashing down. Deserved!

[wickedsrest-rp]

Name: Mabel Chen Species: Werewolf Occupation: Server at Driftwood Diner Age: 23 Years Old Played By: Lucky Face Claim: Havana Liu Rose

"I just wish people stopped acting like there’s a gold medal at the end of the race when you act like you care."

TW: Parental death, infidelity

There isn’t much to say about Mabel’s early days. She was born to a Russian mother and a Chinese father who immigrated to the States as a couple in their early twenties and found normalcy in odd jobs until they felt stable enough to start a family. Although their dreams of having a big one became stunted when they figured starting over with a second baby was too much work they weren’t eager to sign up for. So they focused their attention on Mabel, and tried their best to give her a plentiful life.

Mabel’s mother was known for having no backbone, and Mabel’s father was known for being a little too particular about everything. Mabel could count in the fingers of one hand the amount of times she heard her mother’s opinion about a subject, be it grand or mundane. She reduced herself to the labors his father was not equipped to do or, in Mabel’s now mature opinion, just decided not to. This was the case for as long as she could remember, and it ended abruptly when she was fourteen.

Recollections of that day seem blurry now. The house was as quiet as it always was when she returned from school, but that day there was an unusual emptiness to it that she picked up as soon as she walked through the door. Going through the rooms yelling out for her parents turned useless when they weren’t there to answer, and when an unexpected knock came to the door she couldn’t help but jump to the inevitable conclusion that something wasn’t right. Behind it was her nextdoor neighbor, her face captured by an anguished look.

Mabel’s father had suffered a fatal heart attack, and her mother fell into an endless denial. Her ineptness had become Mabel’s responsibility, turning the escape from her household into a routine. She found solace in wandering the streets, exploring the city, and discovering new places to temporarily forget the weight of her new reality.

It was during one of these escapades that she encountered an enigmatic older man. Their relationship started innocently enough, filled with illusion and daydreams. Little did Mabel know, however, that beneath this man’s charming exterior lurked a tangled web of lies. One evening, Mabel accidentally stumbled upon the truth about his double life. He was married, a family man with a house full of children too bored to bother about the consequences of seeking entertainment outside of his TV set and the sports channel. The revelation fueled a heated argument that shattered the illusion of happiness she thought they had built.

Furious and betrayed, Mabel stormed out, determined not to accept a ride from the man who had deceived her. Alone and with no money, she began the long walk home, each step fueled by a mix of anger, confusion, and heartbreak.

It was during this fateful journey that she encountered a creature lurking in the shadows.

Without warning, it pounced, sinking its teeth into her flesh. In the chaos that ensued, she fought back, bewildered and terrified. Eventually breaking free, she stumbled her way home, her body pulsating with an otherworldly energy.

You would think fate would be accommodating, but the next new moon was only a few nights away. Mabel didn’t know she would be experiencing pain and insatiable hunger like she never had before.

Searching for answers, she turned to the internet, where a mix of folklore and reality pointed to a shocking conclusion – she had turned into a werewolf.

However, what initially felt like a course soon became the best thing that could happen to her. The full moon brought her a sense of liberation like nothing she had felt before. She began to relish the transformations, savoring the moments when she felt less human, less responsible for her mother’s sanity, less vulnerable to the heartbreak that had come to her not soon before. Every full moon became a dance with the unknown, a symphony of possibilities that resonated deep within her. She felt driven by a new sense of urgency to escape the constraints of her life, so she decided to make an altering life decision.

Fueled by a mix of anger, disappointment, maybe a bit of rebellion, as well as the primal instincts awakening within her, Mabel decided to leave hometown under the cover of darkness to embrace the unknown that laid ahead in Wicked’s Rest.

Once settled, Mabel embarked on a journey of adaptation, to which she began to see no end. Without a doubt, maintaining control of her new nature was not as easy a task as she had initially believed, and the torment did not hide from leaving evidence in her mood.

Character Facts:

Personality: Resilient, impulsive, courageous, stubborn, adaptable, secretive

Although not fluent, she speaks Russian and Mandarin Chinese.

Mabel’s father was a farmer, which meant he used all the help he could get. Mabel learned some things in her childhood while helping him with the upkeep of the land and animals, and although it’s not something she has ever expressed before, she would like to acquire a piece of land in the near future to do the same.

The day she arrived at Wicked’s Rest, she went to an animal shelter in hopes to find a pet. That’s how she found Chimney, the long and orange haired cat. He has black spots of hair all over his body that give him a dirty look, as if he had just gone down a chimney, hence his name.

The wired earbuds in Mabel’s ears at all times are playing everything but music. She often distracts herself with audio books she doesn’t have the attention span to read as there is nothing else she would dread more than to have a moment with her own thoughts.

She is renting a small shed in the back of an old lady’s home in Harborside. She often joins in for Sunday’s dinner with her family when they come to visit from Seven Peaks.

[guzscode]

Do You Want Some Cookies?

Doing the project-extrovert is being an interesting challenge. Since the scope of this project shrunk down a lot since the first idea, one of the main things I dropped is the use of a database, mostly to reduce any cost I would have with hosting one. So things like authentication needs to be fully client-side and/or client-stored. However, this is an application that doesn't rely on JavaScript, so how I can store in the client without it? Well, do you want some cookies?

Why Cookies

I never actually used cookies in one of my projects before, mostly because all of them used JavaScript (and a JS framework), so I could just store everything using the Web Storage API (mainly localstorage). But now, everything is server-driven, and any JavaScript that I will add to this project, is to enhance the experience, and shouldn't be necessary to use the application. So the only way to store something in the client, using the server, are Cookies.

TL;DR Of How Cookies Work

A cookie, in some sense or another, is just an HTTP Header that is sent every time the browser/client makes a request to the server. The server sends a Set-Cookie header on the first response, containing the value and optional "rules" for the cookie(s), which then the browser stores locally. After the cookie(s) is stored in the browser, on every subsequent request to the server, a Cookie header will be sent together, which then the server can read the values from.

Pretty much all websites use cookies some way or another, they're one of the first implementations of state/storage on the web, and every browser supports them pretty much. Also, fun note, because it was one of the first ways to know what user is accessing the website, it was also heavy abused by companies to track you on any website, the term "third-party cookie" comes from the fact that a cookie, without the proper rules or browser protection, can be [in summary] read from any server that the current websites calls. So things like advertising networks can set cookies on your browser to know and track your profile on the internet, without you even knowing or acknowledging. Nowadays, there are some regulations, primarily in Europe with the General Data Privacy Regulation (GDPR), that's why nowadays you always see the "We use Cookies" pop-up in websites you visit, which I beg you to actually click "Decline" or "More options" and remove any cookie labeled "Non-essential".

Small Challenges and Workarounds

But returning to the topic, using this simple standard wasn't so easy as I thought. The code itself isn't that difficult, and thankfully Go has an incredible standard library for handling HTTP requests and responses. The most difficult part was working around limitations and some security concerns.

Cookie Limitations

The main limitation that I stumbled was trying to have structured data in a cookie. JSON is pretty much the standard for storing and transferring structured data on the web, so that was my first go-to. However, as you may know, cookies can't use any of these characters: ( ) < > @ , ; : \ " / [ ] ? = { }. And well, when a JSON file looks {"like":"this"}, you can think that using JSON is pretty much impossible. Go's http.SetCookie function automatically strips " from the cookie's value, and the other characters can go in the Set-Cookie header, but can cause problems.

On my first try, I just noticed about the stripping of the " character (and not the other characters), so I needed to find a workaround. And after some thinking, I started to try implementing my own data structure format, I'm learning Go, and this could be an opportunity to also understand how Go's JSON parsing and how mostly struct tags works and try to implement something similar.

My idea was to make something similar to JSON in one way or another, and I ended up with:

Which, for reference, in JSON would be:

This format is something very easy to implement, just using strings.Split does most of the job of extracting the values and strings.Join to "encode" the values back. Yes, this isn't a "production ready" format or anything like that, but it is hacky and just a small fix for small amounts of structured data.

Go's Struct Tags

Go has an interesting and, to be honest, very clever feature called Struct Tags, which are a simple way to add metadata to Structs. They are simple strings that are added to each field and can contain key-value data:

Said metadata can be used by things such the encoding/json package to transform said struct into a JSON object with the correct field names:

Without said tags, the output JSON would be:

This works both for encoding and decoding the data, so the package can correctly map the JSON field "access_token" to the struct field "Token".

And well, these tokens aren't limited or some sort of special syntax, any key-value pair can be added and accessed by the reflect package, something like this:

Learning this feature and the reflect package itself, empowered me to do a very simple encoding and decoding of the format where:

Can be transformed into:

And that's what I did, and the [basic] implementation source code just has 150 lines of code, not counting the test file to be sure it worked. It works, and now I can store structured data in cookies.

Legacy in Less Than 3 Weeks

And today, I found that I can just use url.PathEscape, and it escapes all ( ) < > @ , ; : \ " / [ ] ? = { } characters, so it can be used both in URLs and, surprise, cookie values. Not only that, but something like base64.URLEncoding would also work just fine. You live, and you learn y'know, that's what I love about engineering.

Security Concerns and Refactoring Everything

Another thing that was a limitation and mostly worry about me, is storing access tokens on cookies. A cookie by default isn't that secure, and can be easily accessed by JavaScript and browser extensions, there are ways to block and secure cookies, but even then, you can just open the developer tools of the browser and see them easily. Even though the only way to something malicious end up happening with these tokens are if the actual client end up being compromised, which means the user has bigger problems than just a social media token being leaked, it's better to try preventing these issues nonetheless (and learn something new as always).

The encryption and decryption part isn't so difficult, Go already provides packages for encryption under the crypto module. So I just implemented an encryption that cyphers a string based on a key environment variable, which I will change every month or so to improve security even more.

Doing this encryption on every endpoint would be repetitive, so adding a middleware would be a solution. I already made a small abstraction over the default Go's router (the DefaultMuxServer struct), which I'm going to be honest, wasn't the best abstraction, since it deviated a lot from Go's default HTTP package conventions. This deviation also would difficult the implementation of a generic middleware that I could use in any route or even any function that handles HTTP requests, a refactor was needed. Refactoring made me end up rewriting a lot of code and simplifying a lot of the code from the project. All routes now are structs that implement the http.Handler interface, so I can use them outside the application router and test them if needed; The router ends up being just a helper for having all routes in a struct, instead of multiple mux.HandleFunc calls in a function, and also handles adding middlewares to all routes; Middlewares end up being just a struct that can return a wrapped HandlerFunc function, which the router calls using a custom/wrapped implementation of the http.ResponseWriter interface, so middlewares can actually modify the content and headers of the response. The refactor had 1148 lines added, and 524 removed, and simplified a lot of the code.

For the encryption middleware, it encrypts all cookie values that are set in the Set-Cookie header, and decrypts any incoming cookie. Also, the encrypted result is encoded to base64, so it can safely be set in the Set-Cookie header after being cyphered.

---

And that's what I worked in around these last three days, today being the one where I actually used all this functionality and actually implemented the OAuth2 process, using an interface and a default implementation that I can easily reimplement for some special cases like Mastodon's OAuth process (since the token and OAuth application needs to be created on each instance separately). It's being interesting learning Go and trying to be more effective and implement things the way the language wants. Everything is being very simple nonetheless, just needing to align my mind with the language mostly.

It has been a while since I wrote one of these long posts, and I remembered why, it takes hours to do, but it's worth the work I would say. Unfortunately I can't write these every day, but hopefully they will become more common, so I can log better the process of working on the projects. Also, for the 2 persons that read this blog, give me some feedback! I really would like to know if there's anything I could improve in the writing, anything that ended up being confusing, or even how I could write the image description for the code snippets, I'm not sure how to make them more accessible for screen reader users.

Nevertheless, completing this project will also help to make these post, since the conversion for Markdown to Tumblr's NPF in the web editor sucks ass, and I know I can do it better.

[fardin12]

Mastering the Art of Hiring MERN Stack Programmers: A Step-by-Step Guide

The MERN stack is a popular technology stack. It is an acronym that stands for MongoDB, Express.js, React, and Node.js. Each component of the MERN stack serves a specific purpose in the development process. MongoDB is a NoSQL database that stores data in a JSON-like format, making it flexible and scalable. Express.js is a web application framework for Node.js that provides a set of features for building web applications and APIs. React is a JavaScript library for building user interfaces, and it allows developers to create reusable UI components. Node.js is a server-side JavaScript runtime that allows developers to build scalable network applications. The MERN stack is known for its flexibility, efficiency, and performance. It allows developers to build full-stack applications using JavaScript, which makes the development process more streamlined and cohesive. Additionally, the MERN stack is well-suited for building real-time applications and single-page applications (SPAs). With its robust set of tools and technologies, the MERN stack has become a popular choice for businesses looking to develop modern, responsive web applications.

The Benefits of Hiring MERN Stack Programmers

Hiring MERN stack programmers can offer numerous benefits to businesses looking to develop web applications. MERN stack programmers are skilled in using MongoDB, Express.js, React, and Node.js to build dynamic and responsive web applications. They are proficient in JavaScript and have a deep understanding of the MERN stack architecture, making them valuable assets to any development team. MERN stack programmers are also well-versed in modern web development practices and can leverage the latest tools and technologies to build high-quality applications. They are capable of developing scalable and efficient web applications that can handle large amounts of data and traffic. Additionally, MERN stack programmers are adept at building real-time applications and SPAs, which are increasingly in demand in today's digital landscape. Furthermore, hiring MERN stack programmers can lead to faster development cycles and reduced time-to-market for web applications. Their expertise in the MERN stack allows them to build applications more efficiently, resulting in cost savings and improved productivity for businesses. Overall, hiring MERN stack programmers can provide businesses with the technical expertise and skills needed to develop modern, responsive web applications.

Where to Find Qualified MERN Stack Programmers

Finding qualified MERN stack programmers can be a challenging task, but there are several avenues businesses can explore to locate top talent. One option is to utilize online job boards and platforms specifically tailored to tech professionals, such as GitHub Jobs, Stack Overflow Jobs, and AngelList. These platforms allow businesses to post job listings and connect with experienced MERN stack programmers who are actively seeking new opportunities. Another option is to partner with specialized tech recruitment agencies that have access to a network of skilled MERN stack programmers. These agencies can help businesses identify and recruit top talent by leveraging their industry connections and expertise in the tech sector. Additionally, businesses can attend tech conferences, meetups, and networking events to connect with MERN stack programmers and build relationships within the tech community. Furthermore, businesses can explore freelance platforms such as Upwork and Toptal to find qualified MERN stack programmers who are available for short-term or project-based work. These platforms provide businesses with access to a global pool of tech talent and allow them to review portfolios and work samples before making hiring decisions. Overall, there are several avenues businesses can explore to find qualified MERN stack programmers, each with its own unique advantages and considerations.

How to Evaluate MERN Stack Programmers

Evaluating MERN stack programmers requires a comprehensive approach that takes into account their technical skills, experience, and cultural fit within the organization. One way to assess their technical proficiency is by conducting coding assessments or technical interviews that test their knowledge of JavaScript, MongoDB, Express.js, React, and Node.js. These assessments can help businesses gauge a candidate's ability to solve complex problems and write clean, efficient code using the MERN stack. Another important aspect to consider when evaluating MERN stack programmers is their experience with building real-world applications using the MERN stack. Reviewing their portfolio and work samples can provide insight into the quality of their previous projects and their ability to deliver high-quality web applications. Additionally, businesses can ask candidates about their experience with specific tools and technologies within the MERN stack, such as Redux for state management in React applications or Mongoose for interacting with MongoDB. Cultural fit is also an important factor to consider when evaluating MERN stack programmers. Businesses should assess a candidate's communication skills, teamwork abilities, and willingness to learn and adapt within a dynamic development environment. Conducting behavioral interviews or team-based exercises can help businesses gauge a candidate's interpersonal skills and how well they align with the company's values and culture. Overall, evaluating MERN stack programmers requires a holistic approach that considers their technical skills, experience, and cultural fit within the organization.

Interviewing MERN Stack Programmers

Interviewing MERN stack programmers requires careful preparation and consideration of the specific skills and qualities needed for the role. One approach is to conduct technical interviews that assess a candidate's knowledge of JavaScript, MongoDB, Express.js, React, and Node.js. These interviews can include coding exercises, problem-solving scenarios, or discussions about best practices for building web applications using the MERN stack. Another important aspect of interviewing MERN stack programmers is assessing their experience with building real-world applications and their ability to work within a team environment. Asking candidates about their previous projects, challenges they faced, and how they collaborated with other team members can provide insight into their practical skills and teamwork abilities. Additionally, businesses can use behavioral interviews to assess a candidate's communication skills, problem-solving abilities, and how well they align with the company's values and culture. Furthermore, businesses should consider conducting interviews that focus on specific tools and technologies within the MERN stack, such as Redux for state management in React applications or Mongoose for interacting with MongoDThese interviews can help businesses gauge a candidate's depth of knowledge in key areas of the MERN stack and their ability to leverage these tools effectively in real-world scenarios. Overall, interviewing MERN stack programmers requires a comprehensive approach that assesses their technical skills, practical experience, and cultural fit within the organization.

Onboarding MERN Stack Programmers

Onboarding MERN stack programmers is an important process that sets the stage for their success within the organization. One approach is to provide them with comprehensive training on the specific tools and technologies within the MERN stack, such as Redux for state management in React applications or Mongoose for interacting with MongoDThis training can help new hires become familiar with the company's development environment and best practices for building web applications using the MERN stack. Another important aspect of onboarding MERN stack programmers is integrating them into the development team and providing opportunities for collaboration and knowledge sharing. Pairing new hires with experienced team members or mentors can help them acclimate to the company's culture and development processes while also providing them with valuable guidance and support as they ramp up on new projects. Furthermore, businesses should consider providing new hires with access to resources such as documentation, code repositories, and development tools that will help them navigate their day-to-day responsibilities more effectively. This can include access to internal wikis or knowledge bases that contain information about the company's development processes, coding standards, and best practices for working with the MERN stack. Overall, onboarding MERN stack programmers requires a thoughtful approach that provides them with the training, support, and resources needed to succeed within the organization.

Retaining MERN Stack Programmers

Retaining MERN stack programmers requires ongoing efforts to support their professional growth, provide meaningful work opportunities, and foster a positive work environment. One approach is to offer professional development opportunities such as training programs, workshops, or certifications that allow MERN stack programmers to expand their skills and stay current with industry trends. This can help them feel valued within the organization and provide them with opportunities for career advancement. Another important aspect of retaining MERN stack programmers is providing them with challenging and meaningful work that allows them to leverage their skills and contribute to impactful projects. Offering opportunities for ownership over projects or involvement in decision-making processes can help keep MERN stack programmers engaged and motivated within their roles. Furthermore, fostering a positive work environment that values open communication, collaboration, and work-life balance can contribute to higher job satisfaction among MERN stack programmers. Providing opportunities for team-building activities, social events, or flexible work arrangements can help create a supportive and inclusive culture that encourages retention. Overall, retaining MERN stack programmers requires ongoing efforts to support their professional growth, provide meaningful work opportunities, and foster a positive work environment that values their contributions. By investing in their development and well-being, businesses can increase retention rates among their MERN stack programmers and build a strong foundation for long-term success within their development teams.

[mansab-hashim]

Top 10 Front-End Frameworks and Libraries for 2024

As the web development landscape continues to evolve, staying updated with the latest front-end frameworks and libraries is crucial for any developer. Whether you're a seasoned pro or just starting out, knowing which tools to use can significantly impact your productivity and the quality of your projects. In this post, we’ll explore the top 10 front-end frameworks and libraries that are set to dominate in 2024.

1. React

React remains one of the most popular front-end libraries, known for its simplicity and flexibility.

Key Features of React

Component-Based Architecture: Reusable components make development efficient and manageable.

Virtual DOM: Enhances performance by minimizing direct DOM manipulation.

Strong Community Support: A vast ecosystem of tools, libraries, and tutorials.

2. Angular

Angular, backed by Google, is a powerful framework for building dynamic single-page applications (SPAs).

Why Choose Angular?

Two-Way Data Binding: Synchronizes data between the model and the view.

Dependency Injection: Improves code maintainability and testability.

Comprehensive Documentation: Extensive resources for learning and troubleshooting.

3. Vue.js

Vue.js has gained popularity due to its gentle learning curve and versatility.

Advantages of Vue.js

Reactive Data Binding: Simplifies state management.

Single-File Components: Encapsulate HTML, CSS, and JavaScript in one file.

Flexibility: Can be used for both large-scale and small-scale applications.

4. Svelte

Svelte is a relatively new player that compiles components into highly efficient vanilla JavaScript at build time.

Svelte’s Standout Features

No Virtual DOM: Directly manipulates the DOM for better performance.

Less Boilerplate: Cleaner code with minimal overhead.

Ease of Use: Intuitive and straightforward syntax.

5. Bootstrap

Bootstrap is a front-end framework that provides pre-designed components and a responsive grid system.

Benefits of Using Bootstrap

Responsive Design: Ensures your site looks great on all devices.

Pre-Styled Components: Saves time with ready-to-use UI elements.

Customizable: Easily customize with Sass variables and Bootstrap’s extensive options.

6. Tailwind CSS

Tailwind CSS is a utility-first CSS framework that allows for rapid UI development.

Tailwind CSS Features

Utility-First Approach: Use utility classes directly in your HTML.

Customizable: Extensive configuration options to suit your project’s needs.

Consistency: Enforces a consistent design language across your project.

7. Ember.js

Ember.js is a robust framework for building ambitious web applications.

Why Ember.js Stands Out

Convention over Configuration: Reduces the amount of decision-making and boilerplate code.

Strong Routing: Powerful routing capabilities for managing application state.

Productivity: Focuses on developer productivity with built-in best practices.

8. Alpine.js

Alpine.js offers a minimal and lightweight way to add interactivity to your websites.

Key Features of Alpine.js

Lightweight: Small footprint with only a few kilobytes.

Declarative Syntax: Similar to Vue.js, making it easy to understand and implement.

Ease of Integration: Can be easily integrated into existing projects.

9. Next.js

Next.js is a popular React framework that enables server-side rendering and static site generation.

Benefits of Using Next.js

Server-Side Rendering (SSR): Improves performance and SEO by rendering pages on the server.

Static Site Generation (SSG): Pre-renders pages at build time for fast load times.

API Routes: Allows you to create API endpoints within your application.

10. Lit

Lit is a simple library for building fast, lightweight web components.

Advantages of Lit

Web Components: Embraces the web components standard for reusable, encapsulated HTML elements.

Performance: Lightweight and highly performant.

Simple API: Easy to learn and use with a minimal API surface.

Conclusion

Choosing the right front-end framework or library can significantly impact your workflow and the quality of your projects. Whether you prefer the flexibility of React, the structure of Angular, or the simplicity of Svelte, there's a tool out there to suit your needs.

Final Tips for Selecting a Framework or Library

Project Requirements: Consider the specific needs of your project.

Community and Support: Look for frameworks with strong community support and documentation.

Learning Curve: Choose a tool that matches your current skill level and the time you have available to learn.

By staying informed about the latest tools and trends, you can ensure that your skills remain relevant and that you can deliver the best possible results in your projects. Happy coding!

Remember, the best tool is the one that helps you get the job done efficiently and effectively. So, dive into these frameworks and libraries, and take your front-end development skills to the next level!

Share Your Thoughts

I'm curious to know your thoughts on these front-end frameworks and libraries. Have you used any of them in your projects? Which one is your favorite, and why? Share your experiences and insights in the comments below.👇

[hoshiyumeno]

Hi domo!

My name is Hoshi and I write sometimes!

This Tumblr account was made as an alternative to my Wattpad account (@/HoshiYumeno) , so it's a backup.

My content is mainly based on Hypmic and Twst Wonderland (Jpn server) Fandoms.

(I Also ship canon x canon, so…)

I am a native Spanish speaker, so most of the content is translated with translator, sorry for the inconvenience caused by this, I will try my best to make a correct translation.

Por otro lado, si eres hablante en español y quieres leer mi trabajo, se estará publicando también en español :D

I haven't used Tumblr for a long time... But I'll try to do my best.

Ayúdame w no se ingles D:

In process...

In process...

˚₊- ͟͟͞͞͞➳❥ Characters﹕Please write their names or a way for the writer to identify them.

˚₊- ͟͟͞͞͞➳❥ Couples ﹕If you want your request to involve a relationship with [Y/n] write it, otherwise.... Write it anyway!

˚₊- ͟͟͞͞͞➳❥ Type﹕Headcanons, drabbles or other (being One shot please reduce to one character max and in headcanons to max 5 because then it's a lot of text). Choose wisely!

˚₊- ͟͟͞͞͞➳❥ Ordered by ﹕On all orders the person who ordered it will be tagged if you wish, otherwise please write it in your order.

˚₊- ͟͟͞͞͞➳❥ DM ﹕Because of previous situations, orders by DM will not be accepted, sorry to have to do this.

˚₊- ͟͟͞͞͞➳❥Time﹕Writing is not easy and having more responsibilities now as is my case leaves me exhausted, so it will take me longer to post.

˚₊- ͟͟͞͞͞➳❥ Payment﹕This step is not mandatory, but it would help me a lot if you would leave a fav and follow the account, so I know the content is being supported.