#but there are important distinctions between the two servers

[the-crimson]

I’ve seen a decent amount of people comparing the vibes of the qsmp to the dsmp and I thought id give my two cents because there is a huge difference between these servers that I haven’t seen mentioned. I’m gonna put it under a cut so if u don’t care for the dsmp or this comparison ignore this post XD

So, the main thing, is that the dsmp was never intended to be a roll play server while the qsmp was 100% a role play server from the start- like that is the entire point lol

Because the dsmp was never intended to be an rp server, it didn’t have the infrastructure to support the collaboration required irl. There are so many horror stories of last minute script changes and people being left out of the loop for key events and its like... the server had had so much time to implement things irl to help with that but they didn’t because only a few people were running the show.

This is the other thing, the main lore and story was mainly driven by like 3 people so all the other ccs lore and plans were left in the dust. People were constantly being rainchecked on important lore events until it was too late and the server/audience had moved on or the lore that was there was belittled and mocked by the more popular ccs. And because these ccs didn’t take it seriously, neither did their massive audience. Most people only cared about lore where they were the center so collaborating was very difficult. It was really messed up and I’m still salty about a lot of it lol

My favorite arc on the dsmp was the eggpire arc because there were no main characters. Everyone involved was on equal footing and you could tell there was a lot of communication and planning irl and that everyone involved was passionate about the story they were telling. However, any time Tommy touched the lore, I would get so pissed because he was such an ass. Like, any lore Tommy touched that did not revolve around him, he ruined and I’m glad people stopped trying to involve him in the eggpire after like 1 or 2 streams lol He is one of the main reasons many fans thought the eggpire arc was a joke. He is just one example of a cc on the dsmp that had terrible rp etiquette, there were many more.

I think the end of the eggpire arc, the red banquet, was a victim of the more influential ccs on the server not wanting it to become the server ending threat it should have been. They wanted it to remain a side story. The lead up to the red banquet was so amazing and the stream itself was also so amazing but it just felt like the beginning of the eggpire’s arc! I was so confused when that was the end of the eggpire because - without changing anything about the red banquet - it opened the door for a truly great conclusion to the dsmp storyline that could have tied of everyone’s character arcs without it dragging on for another 1, 2?, years only for a weak ass finally.

I have an entire 40 chapter fic outlined where the red banquet is the beginning of the end for the server and its a banger - if i ever actually write it T_T

I’m going to briefly explain why the red banquet planted a future arc perfectly: the egg killed a demigod (Foolish) which could have given it enough energy to hatch or at least become close to it. Purpled could have been playing Quackity and BBH to get double payment and told BBH that Quackity was going to attack, that’s why Purpled didn’t chase after the eggpire when they were escaping - then, when Quackity destroyed his UFO, Purpled joins the eggpire to get revenge on Quackity. Everyone at the red banquet who ate the soup could have been infected by the egg and slowly brainwashed over the following days/weeks. Nicki (a member of the anarchist commune) was on the inside and could have been working with Techno, leading to the anarchist commune joining the fight against the egg as a whole. The Red Banquet was a false victory that put the rest of the server at ease while the eggpire was only growing stronger.

It could have been so good!!!! Screams.

But - my theory - is that bbh and the others had to wrap it up because the bigger ccs had “more important lore” that they wanted to do. The eggpire and red banquet arc felt the most close to the qsmp out of any lore on the dsmp which makes total sense as to why Quackity invited bbh since the eggpire was mainly his creation XD

I think Quackity learned a lot from the chaos and disorder of the dsmp behind the scenes and went out his way to ensure his server would not run into the same problems. Not only is there a solid infrastructure of admins and discord channels, he chooses to bring in ccs who are respectful and have good rp etiquette and know how to tell stories. Everyone has been wondering why Jaiden was added, including Jaiden XD, but it makes sense! She is a story teller and those are the types of people Quackity needed.

At the end of the day, the dsmp was never intended to become an rp server and was doomed by that from the start, just like L’manberg. There are plenty of wonderful stories that were told but so many more that were left in the shadows and forgotten due to poor rp etiquette and that will forever be a tragedy.

[dragonnarrative-writes]

Slasher Handler Part 11 - Slip Lead

Slasher Handler Masterlist

Read on AO3

NSFW under the cut.

CW: Implied stalking/surveillance, implied kidnapping, physical injury, deception/emotional manipulation, physical violence, injury with knife, genuinely not enough information, hidden weapons

Something about stabbing him, about meeting Price, has resulted in you being able to stray a bit farther from Simon’s orbit. You’re still on a rather short lead, there is a list of unspoken rules between the two of you as long as your arm. But you’re going out alone more. You don’t feel Simon’s eyes on you every moment he’s out of your sight. It’s weird.

But when it comes to Simon, it’s best not to look a gift horse in the mouth. So you start a routine of going to the cafe down the street twice a week or so to work and see other human beings. It’s surprisingly difficult, some days. More than once, you’ve felt too exposed and retreated back home. These days, you have more good days than bad. As long as people don’t talk to you too much, you’re fine.

So it’s a bit jarring when someone clears his throat while you’re wrangling spreadsheets.

The man is in a light jacket, tee shirt and jeans. Looks like he works out. Kind of a stupid haircut, but he’s at least committed to it. Very distinct looking, Simon’s voice says in your head, easy to track. Unlikely to cause problems.

Something about him makes the hair on your arms stand on end.

“D’ya mind?” he gestures to the chair across from you. At your skeptical look, he rushes to assure you, “ Jus’ fer mah coffee, ‘n t’read,” holding up a thick paperback. He gestures to the rest of the cafe. “Wouldnae bother you, but this’s the only open chair.”

The shop is unusually crowded. You frown up at him. “I’m really busy.”

“Willnae hear a peep from me,” he promises, setting down his coffee and pulling out the chair across from you. He turns the chair so he’s facing more of the room instead of the corner you’re in. And he opens his book.

You watch him for a minute, but he doesn’t look up. It’s hard to shake the feeling that something is wrong, but you do need to work. With a last wary glance at him, you settle your headphones over your ears - transparency on - and get back to organizing a data set that reminds you of a ball of duct tape.

It’s time for a break before you know it. Your companion, true to his word, hasn’t said a peep since he sat down, more than an hour ago. He barely looks up as you close your laptop before turning back to his book. He does look up when you flag down one of the servers.

“Lunch,” you say, inanely. To the server, you say, “Can I get the chicken sandwich today?”

“Chips ‘n a lemonade, yeah?”

“Yeah, thanks.”

They turn to your table mate. “And for you?”

“The same, ah guess?” He raises his eyebrows at you, like he expects you to give him permission or something. He looks back at the server. “Yeah, a chicken piece for me, as well. ‘Nd a juice?”

“Separate checks?”

“Aye, ta,” the guy says. When the server leaves, he blanches. “Hope you dinnae mind.”

You do mind, but it’s not like he can sit anywhere else right now. “It’s fine.”

He sets his book on the table, and your eyebrows shoot up. Whatever you thought he’d be reading, Jurassic Park wasn’t it. He grins. “Ah ken. It’s old, yeah? But it’s a damn sight better’n the movie.”

“Isn’t that how it goes,” you say, vaguely. 

But you’ve already fallen into his trap. He turns his chair to face you, crossing his arms and leaning into the table. His eyes are unnervingly blue - somehow even bluer than Simon’s - and bright with interest. “’M serious. It’s not just that a character yells in the movie and speaks softly in the book, aye? In fact, the movie made Dr. Sattler older, aye? Great choice, emphasize ‘er expertise.” 

Aging up a woman character? You’re reluctantly intrigued. “She was a less important character in the book?”

“Nae,” the man scoffs. “She’s probably the first o’em to realize how shite the whole thing is. Notices things. Stuff the other’s aren’t payin’ attention to because she’s the plant expert, an’ naebody pays attention to plants.”

You find yourself drawn in, in spite of yourself. Johnny, as he introduces himself, has obviously been waiting for a chance to talk about it, but he’s not pushy. He excitedly pulls a pen from his pocket to doodle along with his explanations. By the time your food has arrived, he’s convinced you to at least try the audiobook.

“I cannae pay attention stuff in mah ears,” he says with a grin as he starts to dig in. “But I hear good things, if you don’t ‘ave time to sit an’ read the text.”

As you nod along, you look up and almost choke on your next swallow. Simon is outside, looking at you through the window with raised eyebrows above his usual black surgical mask. His eyes flick to give the man at your table an obvious once over. And then he turns away and walks out of sight.

“Ye alrigh’?” Johnnys’ eyebrows are up near his hairline when you look back at him. “Ye look like ye’ve seen a ghost.”

“Y-yeah,” you say, torn between staying seated and the urge to run after Simon. You can’t help but look at the window again, but he’s gone, there’s nothing for it. “Sorry, I thought… Sorry. Yeah, I’ll get the audiobook.”

When you get home, Simon is on the couch, the TV on with the volume low. He watches you, like he always does, as you take off your shoes and shuffle around to put away your things. When you finally join him on the couch, you find that he’s watching a nature documentary. A crocodile slides under the water with barely a ripple.

“He was only sitting with me because there wasn’t anywhere else,” you rush to say.

Simon turns to cock his head at you. “You get ‘is name?”

“John. Johnny,” you answer. “He told me about his book, but I left as soon as we were done eating.”

“Good,” he says with a nod. He lifts the arm closest to you, pulling you close as you settle into his side. “’S good to have friends, Precious.”

“He’s not a friend. Just some guy out to lunch like everyone else.” 

“You let him stay,” Simon points out. He squeezes you in a rough approximation of a one armed hug. “Been nervous around people, but you’re gettin’ better.”

This isn’t what you expected. You can’t help but side-eye him. “You’re… proud of me?”

Simon’s lips press gently against your forehead. “’S long as you pick better this time, I don’t mind you ‘aving friends. Can’t keep you all to myself forever. ‘Sides, you’ve marked me proper, ‘aven’t you? Got me as your little pet. Johnny’s not gonna be a problem.”

The little pink scar around his ribs is little more than a raised line. You slide your fingers under his shirt to pet at it. Among all of his scars, it’s one of the smallest. You’d cried the first time he’d let you see under the bandages.

“You’re not a pet,” you grumble, leaning your head on his shoulder. “You’re an alligator who won’t leave my house.”

“Your alligator, now,” Simon agrees. He focuses back on the television, seemingly done with the conversation.

You could leave it at that. But you turn to face him, instead. “You’re not mad?”

“Not unless ‘e ‘urts ya.” Simon presses his lips against your hair. “An’ I wouldn’t let that ‘appen.”

The following week, though, he stands over you with an exaggerated grimace at how crowded the place is. “Och, d’ya mind?”

Johnny is there the next time you go to the cafe. He waves from his table, but ducks back into his notebook without waving you over. So you work from your own table in peace. When you take a break for lunch, he’s gone. Two days later, it’s the same. It’s easier to concentrate, now that you’re less worried that he’ll take the conversation from the other day as an invitation. 

With a sigh, you clear some space for him. But just like last time, he keeps to himself, reading and occasionally jotting things down in his notebook. It’s not until just before lunch that he breaks the silence.

“D’y’ve a boyfriend then?” You can’t keep yourself from cringing fast enough, apparently, because he laughs. “Sorry, sorry, shouldnae asked.”

“I don’t want to talk about it,” you grumble.

“Aw,” he coos. “Don’ worry hen. You’re right bonnie. Ah’m sure they’ll come around, whoever they are.”

That would be sweet, if it wasn’t so painfully off base. “Yeah. Sure.”

“Oh, you’re right done wit’ me,” he laughs. “Ah ken’t I shoulda kept mah mouth shut. Ma always said runnin’ mah mouth would get me into trouble. I won’t bother ye again.” 

You roll your eyes. “It’s fine. I just don’t want to talk about it.”

He doesn’t push, and you’re grateful. But when it comes time to pay for lunch, he insists on paying. It grates on your nerves. A gift from a guy is never just generosity, you learned that long before Brandon. But you clench your jaw and pack your bag up a bit more roughly than usual and say your goodbyes.

“They didn’t have the brownies you wanted,” you announce as you return home from the grocer, two days later. “I think it was a limited edi…tion…”

You notice Simon watching through the window, but he’s there and gone before you can get a read on his expression.

There’s a smattering of blood on the entryway carpet.

You don’t drop the bag with the eggs, but only because your muscles are locked up. Did someone break into the apartment? Was Simon here when they did, or next door? Did they leave? Did he take them?

A sound makes you gasp before you bite your tongue hard enough to taste blood. And then again, a muffled groan, close, from the direction of your couch. 

It’s not Simon’s voice.

You gently set your bags down and reach behind the coats for the blackjack Simon insisted on leaving there for security. There’s a rustling. Another groan. You stoop low, trying to make yourself a smaller target, and creep around the edge of the couch.

When you see Johnny, bound and gagged, shirt covered in blood where he lies on the floor, your stomach drops so fast you feel dizzy.

“No, no, no, no, no,” you whisper, dropping the jack with a thump. You crawl over to him, looking around frantically. Simon is nowhere to be seen. But he did this. He had to have done this. Right?

Johnny twitches, groans again, eyelids fluttering open. When he sees you, his eyes go wide, and he frantically tries to sit up.

“No, don’t! I don’t know where you’re hurt,” you hiss. You reach around his head to untie the cloth that’s gagging him. “Oh my god-”

“We gotta get out’f here, bonnie,” he grunts, leaning into your hands as you help him upright. He spits blood on the floor. “No tellin’ when that mental bastard gets back.”

“Oh god,” you whisper again, touching the front of his shirt. It’s dark and sticky in a bloom across his chest. “Where are you hurt? Did he stab you?”

“Ah’m okay,” he grunts. “A bit banged up, but ah’ll live.”

You swallow down the urge to vomit. “There’s a lot of blood, Johnny.”

“S’nae all mine,” he answers. “C’mon, untie me, before Simon gets back.”

You’re shifting to reach behind him before your mind catches up. You can feel the blood drain from your face. “W-what? What did you say?”

“We need to get out of here!”

“No, you said his name, you called him - ”

“Simon? That’s what ye called him when you came home,” he hisses. 

“No, I didn’t,” you whisper, body stuttering between frozen and electrified. You never call Simon’s name where others can hear. “And - and I - you - you were unconscious.”

Shining blue eyes stare into yours from two inches away. Johnny’s bloody mouth curls into a smile. “Oh, he’s trained you up good, he has.”

You scream when he lunges forward, huge arms grabbing at you. 

His weight crushes the air out of your lungs when your back hits the ground. You twist under him, using the arm he hasn’t trapped to grab his hair and yank. He swears, and loosens his hold just enough that you’re able to free your other hand and jab him in the throat.

You expect the way that he chokes, but the hand he’s twisted in the back of your shirt stays locked tight. He coughs out a frenzied laugh as you twist. Your heart races as he prevents you from getting your knees up between your belly and his. But he doesn’t expect you to hammer the heel of your boot against the back of his knee, or how you use the leverage against his leg to roll away onto your belly. 

He doesn’t let go of you, but that’s fine, that’s okay, as long as you can reach under the edge of the couch. Johnny pounces, body curling around you without quite pinning you down. His fingers twist into your hair in an echo of how you wrenched at him. But he doesn’t stop your hand, grabbing the leg of the couch and then reaching under and up and-

“Try again, Bonnie,” Johnny chuckles into your ear when your hand meets nothing but cotton and wood.

Your heart doesn’t have time to stop. The grinding pain between your hip bone and the floor makes you pop up your pelvis and reach down. The tiny knife, Little K, jumps to your hand. It’s so easy to flick it open, you think you almost cut your own belly as you heave. Johnny rides you for a moment, then pops up onto his knees to let you roll freely.

You don’t have time to decide, gut or femoral, you just swing. Denim parts, pressure - 

Johnny yelps.

His weight is suddenly gone, and the arc of your arm slams the back of your hand and your elbow onto the carpet. It’s a shock, almost hard enough to make you drop the knife. You flick your eyes around, nearly blind with tunnel vision, and see Johnny standing over you. His jeans are slashed, outer thigh almost to crotch, but you can’t see blood, fuck.

He sways, oddly. Is your vision swimming? He doesn’t descend on you again, though, just laughs and wiggles. One of his feet isn’t on the ground, his injured leg is dangling, did you get him?

You imagine you can see Simon’s face, a little angry and a little amused. If you die here, Johnny will live to see his own intestines, you know it. Even if you survive, he won’t. Simon might gift you another skull. The thought almost has a laugh bubbling out of you. 

“You stupid motherfucker,” you hiss. 

“Oh, now you’ve done it.”

Simon’s voice startles you into action. You’re off your back and scrabbling backward in and instant as he manifests behind Johnny. Except, you realize, that Simon is holding Johnny up, one arm snaked under Johnny’s and hand around the back of his neck. That’s why Johnny looks off balance, it’s because he is, because Simon is here, he’s going to save you-

“Did real good, Precious,” Simon says with a grin. “Knew you’d get along.”

What? “What?”

Simon says something else, but you can barely hear him over your heart pounding in your ears. But you hear it when Johnny laughs. You see when Simon releases him with a ruffle to his mohawk and a shove toward the armchair. Before you know it, Simon’s scooped you into his arms and taken his usual seat on the couch. He pries the knife from your hand and snaps it closed. 

“Told you I was thinkin’ of gettin you a dog,” Simon rumbles, sitting you in his lap so your back is against his chest. Before you can protest that no, he never once mentioned a fucking dog, he continues, “This’n’s mostly ‘ousebroken, already. Soap needs a firm ‘and, but you c’n ‘andle him. 

Soap? What the fuck does soap have to do with anything? What kind of a name is…

"Oi!” Simon barks. “Off the furniture.”

Your stomach drops as you remember John Price, two months ago now. “Soap’s supposed to be my troublemaker, not you.” Soap.

When your wide eyes swing to him,  Johnny’s face is split into a toothy grin. He tips his head back against the seat of the arm chair. One of his hands touches the blood blooming through his jeans and brings it up to his lips. He laves his tongue over his fingers. “Ah’m lookin’ forward to gettin’ to know you, Bonnie.”

A part of you wants to get up and slit his throat. The rest of you slumps back into Simon’s chest and bursts into tears.

[venomous-qwille]

hi qwille!!! I got questions for u! you have lots of characters planned out, and that’s super cool! but how do u usually go about that process? like all your characters are very unique, and I wonder about the design process, as well as how you make their personality distinct! how do you make character dynamics/relationships? because all the scenes I’ve read so far make the characters feel really organic, and mesh really well together! (sorry for all the questions! I’m super curious ^w^)

Hiya! Here is an answer I wrote for this question on discord recently ^^

I will try answer this as thoroughly as possible!

There was a LOT of kill your darlings involved in making characters for gitm. Originally I had a very long list of character ideas that I cut down and down based on the kind of things and themes they would give me the opportunity to write about. I love long ensemble cast stories, thinking back to ones I particularly enjoyed and the ways those characters gelled together helped me a lot. The most important thing when selecting characters was making sure they would give me something interesting to write about! I was also very keen on ones that let me explore the fics main theme of Family from a different angle. I'm not sure how helpful this all is! But yeah, I try to be pretty strict with myself about what I include. The only reason I would include two characters who were very very similar would be to emphasize a difference/divergence between them later on. Characters have to justify themselves by bringing something unique to the table, even if that thing is just a 'very different outlook on life' to the rest of the cast. Over time a lot of those character ideas became more fleshed out in my brain, and characters that were cut from the original shortlist made their way back in. They still have to be able to narratively justify themselves in order to earn a channel in the discord though!

For the gitm guys, while I dont have a literal sheet I fill out I do make sure to answer a couple of basic character work questions: What lie do they believe about themselves/the world? How does it impact the way they interact with others? What central theme do they embody most? What do they want more than anything else? How do they feel about humans? Who are they at their best and who are they at their worst? I found that by answering these sort of questions it helped me discover more about them, which creates more questions- rinse and repeat. The more questions I answered the further away they would get from each other in terms of similarities. The thing that really helped with the gitm boys, especially because their origins are so similar, was leaning in to how different their experiences were post-fazco. They are different people because the world has made them that way. Messing around with foils has been useful too! Characters are no fun in a vacuum, it's how they interact with others that makes them interesting. I like to create ones that will bring out the best and the worst in each other. I think about opposites a lot and I really like narrative symmetry- what lessons can the characters learn from each other? I find that stuff super exciting to read so I really wanted to include it. Some examples of character foils in gitm: Fool & Noon, Sombra & Sunspot, Misuta & Sol

When it comes to finding character voice, I do a lot of test drabbles (a couple of them are on this server), which I use to just fuck around until I find something that feels right. For instance- Sol was very very easy to find the voice of, where as Misuta took weeks of rewrites. Sometimes things take time. Spending this time figuring out their voices at the start really helps fic consistence in the long run, I think. Because of all that prep, I don't really have to do anything to 'get into character' when writing their dialogue (it's fairly second nature now).

In regards to coming up with a character's arc, I look at them and their themes and ask 'what the fuck happened to you, dude?' and then 'how has that entrenched a faulty world view on you?' 'what could you be driven to do because of that world view/misunderstanding?' 'what would it take to fix this world view/misunderstanding?' (the last question is the most important one!). Then voila, you have a very loose framework of a (hopepunk) character arc.

In regards to the actual planning of the fic/character arcs, I have a very big miro board (pic attached) that I use for all this! Most of the major character beats are marked out separately to plot beats etc etc. There are still a bunch of bits that only reside in my brain, but I do try to add them to my plan as soon as they become any kind of concrete. All of the characters also have a background chapter (or rather, a series of chapters that form a short story) attached to their arc, that will recontextualise everything you have learned about them so far! I am so deeply looking forward to dropping these (I already have quite a lot written).

I would say that- for your question on character relationships- the answer does come down to being really specific about what you include. Make sure characters are meaningfully different from eachother, give them goals and experiences that clash and then force them to live/work together in the same space. If you have put time into building your characters before that, then you just need to create opportunities for them to get into conflict and bring out the best/worst in eachother. I really do believe that characters are quite boring in a vacuum- which is why I put so much emphasis on including narrative foils ^^ Tyvm for the ask <3

[astronomodome]

What’s Up With Those Title Cards, Anyway: An Analysis

Now that Mumbo’s second episode is out I find myself thinking about these title cards again. And as much as I realize that they’re meant to be a fun nod to previous Hermitcraft seasons and Mumbo’s place in them, the items included and the context of their presence raise a whole lot of questions for me.

First of all, these aren’t blocks, they’re real items. Many of them don’t even have equivalents in the world of Minecraft (or even in Hermitcraft). Think about that. Are the blocky forms that we see on screen mere representations of a larger, more high-resolution world? A world with stickers and stamps and keys? A world where a ticket to Hermitcraft is a physical object you can hold in your hand? This certainly seems to imply so.

What is the context for these items? Where are they? Where are we? The stylistic choice was made to have them sort of resting on a solid-colored background. The selection of items makes me feel as though this is a representation of a desk of some kind, items important enough to Mumbo for him to keep around, lots of paperwork and stuff that you might find in a private office drawer. Which just raises even more questions. How does Mumbo keep these items from season to season? Where are they right now? Do they actually exist at all? (Not to mention smaller timeline questions. When did Mumbo receive the Grumbot message? When was it sent? Does the Grumbot left in Season 7 have a different consciousness than the one in Season 9, which last saw its dads only a month or two ago?)

If you follow the Rendog school of Hermitcraft lore, I guess you could say they’re kept on the Hermetheus along with all the other season-to-season holdovers and souvenirs. But that is one interpretation of many, canon to Rendog but never really canonized on a server-wide scale. Plus… if we take that interpretation in its entirety, how do the items from season 8 even exist, given that their entire world was canonically a simulation?

I also notice the relationship between the real world and the Minecraft world, the distinction between Mumbo the youtuber and Mumbo the block man. The ‘Official Rich List’ certificate mentions a ‘screenshot of a Minecraft chest’, implying that whoever wrote this certificate knows what Minecraft is from an outside perspective and finds Minecraft diamonds to be meaningless as a measure of wealth. And yet the certificate is addressed to one Mumbo K. Jumbo. The middle initial, having its origin in a highly in-character storyline during season 8, makes me feel like it could be more of a character Mumbo thing, but there’s no hard evidence.

How does Mumbo even have a picture of real-life Grian? Is this redstone incident report out-of-universe too? Who is he reporting this damage to, anyway?

And yet these are placed alongside items that are definitely from inside the world of Hermitcraft, if only the more fleshed-out version of it. A key to a mechanical car-horse would be functionless unless it was actually used, in-universe, by Mumbo the character. The ODEA manual was an idea considered but rejected by Mumbo during Season 7 in favor of tutorial videos, but perhaps this would make sense as an alternative for a world where the characters live in their Minecraft world as reality and have no capability to access the ODEA website.

Perhaps, in Mumbo’s view, there is little distinction between what we in the fandom call c!Mumbo and cc!Mumbo. We see both in-universe and out-of-universe items side-by-side, contradictory, because they are interchangeable here.

I doubt we’ll ever get any answers to these questions because obviously Mumbo made these title cards as fun little references instead of serious or purposeful lore, but I still think it’s fun to think about. Neat little worldbuilding details like this are few and far between in most mcyt content so I was foaming at the mouth when I first saw these. Well done Mumbo!

[antimisinfo]

So, there's this. This is a video made by Aspenfrosten or The Entourage System on tiktok, this video was made shortly after she removed plural kit from her discord server

First of all let's focus on that first part

""you took away my accomodations""

This is apparently something that some people in her server said after plural kit had been removed, she's mocking them for saying this. Now, are they right for saying this? Technically yes but also no

"Disability accommodation is an umbrella term for a range of accommodation or supported living services that are available to assist people who are living with a disability"

Technically by this definition you may be able to consider plural kit a form of accommodation as it does assist systems by allowing them to represent themselves as alters as well as allowing them to look back and know who sent a message. Though on the other hand you may not consider it accommodation because it isn't needed; systems can use sign offs without plural kit and often don't necessarily "need" it. So it really depends on how you look at it, but I will say that Aspen is wrong for mocking these people nonetheless; whatever their reasons are they clearly think of plural kit as an accommodation and are distressed at its removal. Should they demand it back? No, it's her server she can do what she wants, but do they have a right to be upset? Yes. When someone takes away something that may have been helping you in one way or another you are allowed to feel hurt or distressed, but this does not mean you should harass that person for it back.

"i feel like plural kit is too anti recovery"

I feel like a lot of people say anti recovery without actually understanding what it means.

Anti recovery's definition is "A movement consisting of those who oppose what they perceive as recovery from mental illness and/or neurodivergence." Which most people do know, but the more important part is what they consider to be recovery ;

"Recovery in this context does not mean a cure, it simply means coping/living with your illness/neurotype in a positive way."

Which would mean to be anti recovery you would be against anything that makes coping easier and anything positive, you would be convinced you have to suffer and refuse to make things easier.

By this definition plural kit is not anti recovery as it makes things easier for systems; being able to identify yourselves and being able to tell who said what can be important for multiple reasons and plural kit makes that easier, which is positive and not anti recovery.

Further more she claims it "promotes way too much separation between alters" which might be true but that isn't necessarily a bad thing. If you are in active healing and moving towards final fusion perhaps that would be an issue but for those striving for functional multiplicity this separation would not cause an issue

"Some individuals reach a point where all personalities have access to shared memories, set boundaries, and have common goals, making it easier to stabilize emotions and maintain healthy behavioral patterns. Individuals with functional multiplicity still experience the following:

At least two distinct personalities with accompanying unique behaviors

Personalities adapt to unite toward a common goal

All personalities prioritize recovery and treatment"

""the problem in MPD is not the intrusion of part selves as such, it is with the degree of amnesia, conflict, self-destruction, and dysfunction in the psyche. The problem is not the multiplicity, it is the degree of pathological dissociation. In MPD the part selves are personified to an abnormal degree. There is a big difference between someone with active classical MPD, and an individual with healthy multiplicity."" ((Though this did come from DR. Collin Ross, who is not a good person I still felt it might be important to add))

"Some systems choose to stop at what the ISST-D calls resolution, or what may also be called functional multiplicity. In this case, systems may retain any number of independently acting alters. The current rates of complete integration and functional multiplicity may be very similar. A 2017 study (Myrick et al.) followed up on 61 therapists about the well-being of specific patients of theirs after 6 years; 12.8% of therapists reported that their patients had terminated therapy due to achieving stable integration, and exactly the same percentage reported that their patients had terminated therapy due to resolution of symptoms without full integration."

Overall the separation between alters is not an issue, more so the amnesia and conflict, which can be solved in therapy, but even so; not everyone has to be actively working towards healing. For systems who are not in therapy / not actively healing there is no need for them to worry about whether they're "promoting too much separation between alters" because there's already separation and it's not getting better. for those who aren't healing it may just be easier or more comfortable to use plural kit and that's okay.

It is not anti recovery to not be healing, that's stupid, everyone heals on their own time; some systems may not have access to therapy and therefore are unable to safely work towards healing (which would involve going through trauma, which should be done with a therapist) and that is not anti recovery.

[ if any mistakes have been made please let us know and we will attempt to correct them ! Also if you wish for us to try do this with any other videos Aspen has made feel free to request it ! ]

[mariacallous]

Silicon Valley let out a sigh of relief on Wednesday when it learned that President Donald Trump’s tariff bonanza included an exemption for semiconductors, which, at least for now, won’t be subject to higher import duties. But just three days later, some US tech companies may be finding that the loophole actually creates more problems than it solves. After the tariffs were announced, the White House published a list of the products that it says are unaffected, and it doesn’t include many kinds of chip-related goods.

That means only a small number of American manufacturers will be able to continue sourcing chips without needing to factor in higher import costs. The vast majority of semiconductors that come into the US currently are already packaged into products that are not exempt, such as the graphics processing units (GPUs) and servers for training artificial intelligence models. And manufacturing equipment that domestic companies use to produce chips in the US wasn’t spared, either.

“If you are a major chip producer who is making a sizable investment in the US, a hundred billion dollars will buy you a lot less in the next few years than the last few years,” says Martin Chorzempa, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics.

The US Department of Commerce did not respond to a request for comment.

Stacy Rasgon, a senior analyst covering semiconductors at Bernstein Research, says the narrow exception for chips will do little to blunt wider negative impacts on the industry. Given that most semiconductors arrive at US borders packaged into servers, smartphones, and other products, the tariffs amount to “something in the ballpark of a 40 percent blended tariff on that stuff,” Rasgon says, referring to the overall import duty rate applied.

Rasgon notes that the semiconductor industry is deeply dependent on other imports and on the overall health of the US economy, because the components it makes are in so many kinds of consumer products, from cars to refrigerators. “They are macro-exposed,” he says.

To determine what goods the tariffs apply to, the Trump administration relied on a complex existing system called the Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS), which organizes millions of different products sold in the US market into numerical categories that correspond to different import duty rates. The White House document lists only a narrow group of HTS codes in the semiconductor field that it says are exempted from the new tariffs.

GPUs, for example, are typically coded as either 8473.30 or 8542.31 in the HTS system, says Nancy Wei, a supply chain analyst at the consulting firm Eurasia Group. But Trump’s waiver only applies to more advanced GPUs in the latter 8542.31 category. It also doesn’t cover other codes for related types of computing hardware. Nvidia’s DGX systems, a pre-configured server with built-in GPUs designed for AI computing tasks, is coded as 8471.50, according to the company’s website, which means it’s likely not exempt from the tariffs.

The line between these distinctions can sometimes be blurry. In 2020, for example, an importer of two Nvidia GPU models asked US authorities to clarify what category it considered them falling under. After looking into the matter, US Customs and Border Protection determined that the two GPUs belong to the 8473.30 category, which also isn’t exempt from the tariffs.

Nvidia’s own disclosures about the customs classifications of its products paint a similar picture. Of the over 1,300 items the company lists on its website, less than one-fifth appear to be exempt from Trump’s new tariffs, according to their correspondent HTS codes. Nvidia declined to comment to WIRED on which of its products it believes the new import duties apply to or not.

Bad News for US AI Firms

If a wide range of GPUs and other electronic components are subject to the highest country-specific tariffs, which are scheduled to kick in next week, US chipmakers and AI firms could be facing a significant increase in costs. That could potentially hamper efforts to build more data centers and train the world’s most cutting-edge artificial intelligence models in the US.

That's why Nvidia’s stock price is currently “getting killed,” Rasgon says, having shed roughly one-third of its value since the start of 2025.

“AI hardware, particularly high-end GPUs from Nvidia, will see rising costs, potentially stalling AI infrastructure development in the US,” says Wei from Eurasia Group. “Cloud computing, quantum computing, and military-grade semiconductor applications could also be impacted due to higher costs and supply uncertainties.”

Mark Wu, a professor at Harvard Law School who specializes in international trade, says the looming possibility that other countries embedded in the semiconductor supply chain could impose retaliatory tariffs on the US is creating a very unpredictable environment for businesses. Trump may also soon announce more tariffs specifically targeting chips, something he alluded to at a press briefing on Thursday. “There's so many different scenarios,” Wu says. “It’s almost futile to sort of speculate without knowing what's under consideration.”

More Challenges to Reshoring

Trump has said that his trade policies are intended to bring more manufacturing to the US, but they threaten to reverse what had been a bumper period for US chipmaking. The Semiconductor Industry Association recently released figures showing that sales grew 48.4 percent in the Americas between February 2023 and 2024, far above rates in China, where sales only increased 5.6 percent, and Europe, which saw sales decrease 8.1 percent.

The US has a relatively small share of the global chipmaking market as a whole, however, due to decades of offshoring. Fabrication plants located in the country account for just 12 percent of worldwide capacity, down from 37 percent in 1990. The CHIPS Act, introduced under the Biden administration, sought to reverse the trend by appropriating $52 billion for investment in chip manufacturing, training, and research. Trump called the law a “horrible thing” and recently set up a new office to manage its investments.

A glaring omission in the list of HTS code exempt from Trump’s tariffs are those that correspond to lithography machines, a highly sophisticated category of equipment central to chipmaking. Most of the world’s advanced lithography machines are made today in countries like the Netherlands (subject to a 20 percent tariff) and Japan (a 24 percent tariff). If these devices become significantly more costly to import, it could get in the way of bringing semiconductor manufacturing back to the US.

Also hit by Trump’s tariffs are a litany of less fancy but still essential ingredients for chipmaking: steel, aluminum, electrical components, lighting, and water treatment technology. All of those goods could become more expensive thanks to tariffs. “This is the classic tariff conundrum: If you put tariffs on something, it protects one kind of business, but everything upstream and downstream can lose out,” says Chorzempa.

US Allies Feel the Heat

While some countries that are already subject to US sanctions, like Russia and North Korea, were not included in the tariffs, many American allies are, like Taiwan, which plays an outsize role in the global semiconductor supply chain today compared to its size, because it’s home to companies like Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), which produces the lion's share of the world’s most advanced chips.

Taiwan will still feel the impact of the tariffs, despite the semiconductor carve-out, because most of what it actually exports to the US is not exempt, says Jason Hsu, a former Taiwan legislator and senior fellow at the Hudson Institute, a DC-based think tank.

Only about 10 percent of Taiwan’s exports to the US last year were semiconductor products that would be exempt from the new tariffs, according to trade data released by the Department of Commerce. The vast majority of Taiwan’s exports are things like data servers and will be taxed an additional 32 percent.

Unlike TSMC, Taiwanese companies that make servers often operate on thin margins, so they may have no choice but to raise prices for their American clients. “We might be looking at AI server prices going completely out of the roof after that,” Hsu says.

Hsu notes that the new tariffs will particularly hurt Southeast Asian countries, which could undermine a long-standing US strategic objective to decouple from supply chains in China. Countries in the region are being hit with some of the highest tariff rates of all—like Vietnam at 46 percent and Thailand at 36 percent—figures that could deter chipmaking companies like Intel and Micron from moving their factories out of China and into these places.

“I see no soft landing to this,” Hsu says. “I see this as becoming an explosion of global supply chain disorder and chaos. The ramifications are going to be very long and painful.”

[lightandfellowship]

Going over the KHDR Completion Commemorative Q&A

As requested by @starlightwayfinder a while back.

Taken from goldpanner's translation hosted on KHInsider.

Under the read more. I discuss some KHML trailer details in one of the sections.

Nomura saying that the installment was physically going over capacity makes me think that he's talking about the size of the app. As in, they fit as much data as they could onto the app's storage space before reaching a hard limit that couldn't be overcome, leading to them having to "cut the fat" as it were. Which I think would make sense given that (1. KHDR shares space with the KHUX side of the app; they're not two separate apps with two separate storage spaces and (2. both games are completely offline now and thus all the relevant data has to fit on the device itself and none of it can be "streamed" from a server (I assume.)

(Speaking from a very general understanding of how live-service mobile games work; take with a grain of salt...)

KHDR having connections to KHML is kind of a given, but Nomura saying in no uncertain terms that plot details from KHDR will be relevant to KH4 is...interesting, and encouraging. I suppose we could have guessed that given the Child of Destiny stuff, but it makes me wonder what other less obvious details from KHDR will turn out to be relevant down the line. We might be surprised by the plot threads and maybe even...characters? that make a return.

I'll be honest, I'm not sure I completely buy his explanation here (even though the "recycling assets to save space/time/money" part makes enough sense from a game dev perspective). Nomura is known for being fickle about the specifics of plot details and changing his mind about things over time; it wouldn't surprise me if he initially conceived Destiny Islands Xehanort to be a young man before deciding Xehanort needed to leave Destiny Islands at a much younger age in order to have the new "spending his teen years in Scala" backstory make sense. But, it's not a big deal; if the "catch-all symbolic representation" thing is the artsy explanation Nomura wants to use to avoid calling it a "retcon", then sure, fuck it, who cares. I don't care.

Seems Nomura was hoping that default male Player would be recognized as merely a default representation of Player (so, not canon, just one of many possible representations) but then realized people were going to take it as canon anyway. Which, yeah of course they would. You're implicitly favoring and legitimizing whatever version you choose to depict in the canon, immutable cutscenes, because the fact you chose it out of all possibilities suggests you prefer it. I'm glad the devs changed the cutscenes to make Player's gender ambigious, though they didn't go far enough to obscure Player's skintone, leading to people having to headcanon that Player is just wearing...light flesh-colored gloves? Frankly: yuck, but here we are. Maybe KHML will retcon this too and do a better job of hiding their skintone.

Also, I'm not sure what Nomura means when he says that Player showed up in Xehanort's "final battle" when they...didn't? Unless by "final battle" he just means the final episode in general? Idk, weird wording there, might be a translation thing.

I get why people felt that the bald explanation was kinda unnecessary and out of left field, but as user isan0rt points out in this post, the distinction between "his hair fell out" and "he shaved it" is actually pretty important from a character analysis perspective. I don't blame Nomura for wanting to further clarify and highlight the Buddhist monk themes at the core of Xehanort's character when, I guess, it was flying over a lot of people's heads (pun not intended).

It's unfortunately just one of those things where Nomura drawing attention to this "lore reveal" in pre-release interviews primed people to take it less seriously than if he had just...put it in the game with no fanfare.

Not sure why Nomura ended the answer talking about the Queen of Hearts and her not remembering Xehanort. I guess because the Mirror managed to remember him after like 60 years and him losing all of his hair but the Queen forgot about him after only, like, four years?

KHML trailer spoilers below.

The KHML trailers say that the Emblem Heartless reach Gothic Scala via the Astral Plane, and well, if KHDR's Emblem Heartless and KHML's Emblem Heartless share the same explanation for their anachronistic presence as Nomura implies here, then I guess the Astral Plane is where the KHDR Heartless are coming from? That's my theory for now anyway. The question just becomes, why were they arriving from the Astral Plane during the events of KHDR? Did somebody...let them in?

But then, "vessel" characters like the Queen of Hearts and Baldr also summon + control Emblem Heartless of their own that seem to originate from within them, so like. The Emblem Heartless situation seems a bit more complicated than just "they're coming from the Astral Plane."

And yes, the question was labeled "O4" rather than "Q4". There was a lot of speculation at the time about what this meant and whether or not Nomura was trying to send a secret message, but to this day we still don't know what this was about, apparently.

"Someone who bears the heart of the Player" is very interesting and specific wording. Is Nomura merely using the word "someone" to indicate that this is an entirely new body and life for Player, or is he using the word "someone" to indicate that this was an entirely different, fully-realized person before Player's heart "took over"?

The rest of this answer is worded...kind of unnaturally and strangely and I have no idea what Nomura is saying here, tbh. Again, might be a translation thing. But Player talking about a "second life" still exists in the most current version of the game, so Nomura can't possibly be talking about patching that line out, right? Like, it's still there! It never got "withdrawn". Unless he changed his mind after this interview?

Though, looking at the "that heart will once again melt into the heart of another person" bit, I think I now see where all those "Sora is reincarnated Player" theories come from?

Not much to say about this one. I still feel like the transition from KHML Scala to KHDR Scala had some magic involved, though. Between the Land of Departure's transformation feature that specifically activates with Master's Defender (turning LoD into a white roomed castle not unlike the white buildings of KHDR Scala), and the two Scalas looking so drastically different, it just makes sense to me.

Nomura isn't wrong here. I do think it's not too difficult to imagine what happened post-KHDR. Though it's still a shame that we didn't get to see those chapters of Xehanort's life.

(I know some people would probably argue that the game shouldn't have been called "Dark Road" in the first place then, if the game was just going to be about the events that led Xehanort to that road, but eh, I feel like that's semantics.)

If there's one thing I can respect and appreciate about the KH series as a whole, it's the commitment to focusing on character relationships. I think it was a good call by Nomura to prioritize depicting Xehanort and Eraqus' friendship in their youth.

Honestly? I actually really appreciate that Nomura seems to give a shit about the KHDR cast and feels genuinely disappointed and apologetic that he couldn't show them off more. Like he could've so easily just been all "Xehanort Xehanort Xehanort" about the game since Xehanort is his favorite OC, his favorite blorbo, but no he actually wanted to give the other characters their time in the spotlight, too. I really want that novel to happen eventually and I'm crossing my fingers for it. Please Square.

For context, apparently in the JP version of KHDR, Odin more directly references his teacher at the end of the game. While in the ENG version...you'd basically just have to guess at the existence of such a person from Odin's line "I finally see the truth of those words." or something? I have no idea why this wasn't made more obvious in ENG if it's more obvious in JP, but the series has been known for sometimes baffling localization choices, so like, eh.

It's interesting to think that Odin might have known Player2 in the past, and that they might have been working together on the Child of Destiny stuff. I fully expect to see a younger Odin in KHML, tbh.

By the way, I think Nomura calling KHML "a later period" is just some poor wording or translation hiccup and he meant to say "earlier"; I don't think he's saying some PLOT TWIST! thing about KHML somehow actually taking place after KHDR. (We'll see if my statement here ages poorly like 5 years from now lol.)

The Q&A response that made the entire "Skuld is Subject X" theory community freak out.

Yeah who the heck knows. "Connected" can mean so many things in this series, and following up that sentence with "Missing-Link is also a story about bloodlines" could be an intentionally misleading non-sequitur on Nomura's part.

Yes I'm speaking from bias because I want Skuld to be Subject X, what of it.

Another question labeled with "O" instead of "Q" as well. Both questions like that so far have been Missing-Link related.

Not much to say on this one. I personally think that Brain is indeed Eraqus' grandfather and I don't imagine Brain and Ephemer's bloodlines overlapping, but we'll see what KHML reveals about Brain's future family.

Oh and I think the secret report this question is referencing (Secret Report 2 from KH3) said "descended from the very first masters in the age of fairy tales" not "master", so it's not specifically talking about like. An individual person who could be considered the one and only "first", like the MoM or Founder Ephemer or something. It's Keyblade Masters from the age of fairy tales in general, at least, the earliest ones to exist. Which can potentially include Brain, I think?

Question 12 was just about when we'd get Missing-Link news, so skipping that one straight into Question 13.

What's interesting about this question and answer is that right below it is the Nomura artwork of Young Xehanort wearing modern clothes in Miyashita Park. Could that artwork then be hinting at what this "good opportunity" might look like?

Below is how the original Q&A and artwork looked together. You can see that Q13 was the final one, almost as if this question was asked last on purpose in order for the artwork to follow right after it as a sort of "unofficial" answer.

[kotlcsummerexchange]

Tag Nomination Instructions

To nominate tags, you need an AO3 account, so request an invite if you haven't done so already! Tag nominations will open May 29, with the Discord server, and will remain open until June 12.

Tag nominations will determine what relationships and fairy tales are included in the exchange. These will be the ONLY ones included, so you want to nominate tags, especially if you have niche taste!

With that said, please:

Only nominate if you want to participate.

Join the Discord server before nominating, and put your AO3 username in your Discord nickname so I know who you are.

Only nominate things you want to offer or request (so don't nominate something just because you think it should be included).

Tutorial below the cut!

Nominating Relationships

Go the tag set on AO3. Here, you can see what has already been nominated.

Click "Nominate" in the upper right.

If you use pseuds, select the pseud you will be participating in the exchange under. If you don't use pseuds, you can ignore this.

Okay, now you're going to start nominating! I'm going to start by nominating Sophie/Fitz. The slash means that this is the romantic ship between these characters. That's an important distinction!

Next, I'm going to nominate Sophie & Fitz, which is the platonic form of the pairing. I want to offer both dynamics, so I need to nominate both!

Just like that, I'm going to continue down the line, entering all of the relationships I want to nominate.

Until... oops! I've hit a pairing that doesn't have a canon tag. I want to nominate Sophie & Silveny, but it's not an option in the dropdown. So, I'm going to need to make them a tag.

The proper way to do it is:

Characters alphabetical by last name. Silveny doesn't have a last name, so I'll just use "Silveny," but I'll use "Foster" for Sophie. So Sophie Foster will go first!

Using the correct relationship indicator (& or /). In this case, an ampersand (&) for platonic!

And since I'm creating a tag, I need to put the fandom in the second box.

So my nomination will look like this:

Another useful thing to know is that you can nominate tags with more than two characters. If I have an idea that really focuses on Sophie, Edaline, and Grady, I can nominate them as a trio!

You can technically put even more characters than that, but I wouldn't recommend it, since that makes it harder to match with someone.

So with all that knowledge under my belt, I'm going to finish my relationship nominations! I'm going to nominate a full 10, since I have lots of ideas, but you can do fewer than that. My finished relationship nominations look like this:

And now I can nominate the fairy tales I want to include!

Nominating Fairy Tales

Time to nominate the fairy tales that will be used for AUs in the event!

For this, we will not be using the dropdown. You are going to enter the name of the fairy tale manually, with "AU" at the end.

If it is an oral tradition or legend, and you don't care which version, you can just put the common name: Cinderella AU

If you are nominating a specific book, include the author name in parenthesis after the title: Ella Enchanted (Gail Carson Levine) AU

If you are nominating a specific movie, include the year in parenthesis after the title: Cinderella (1950) AU

If you are nominating a specific play or musical, include the year it premiered and the type: Cinderella (2013 musical) AU

Remember, though—just like with nominating relationships, if you're too specific, you might not match with anyone. So keep that in mind!

My finished nominations look like this:

I have two specific ones, because I couldn't resist, and because they're pretty different from their original fairy tales!

And that's all! You can hit "Submit," and we moderators will take care of the rest of the work!

[irrealisms]

tidal forces liner notes

fic here if you haven't read it!

i mention this in the end notes and it's included in the web weave but a lot of this au is drawing off thoughts crystallized by part 2 of Barrier Blocks; a theme of heaven will be mine is that mecha fights aren't real war, they're play. they're communication! they can be an argument or they can be full of intimacy and joy! the point is sometimes winning but often--when it's at its best--it's about having fun. it can hurt people for real, but that's not what it's for. and this puts it in an interestingly similar place to pvp on lifesteal, to me! (this is why zam is cradle's graces--canon zam is the most attached to pvp and lifesteal as a place to fight-for-fun, and so hwbm zam is the most attached to the ship-selves and space as a place to fight-for-fun. contrast to subz's pacifism and general disinterest in the server, and to vitalasy's exploits that render pvp pointless.)

another thing i'm doing with this au: i really like putting eclipse fed in a setting where they are...genuinely at odds, they've got different worldviews, it's not like we know the devil where there's a true ending where they can all reject society and have an ending that's perfect for all of them, they're on different sides. but hwbm envisions a world where they can fight about it and then come out the other side with an ending where--it's not what 2 of them wanted. but they can still all be happy together, there. hwbm makes me believe in eclipse fed happy ending and this is rare for me & also makes me unbelievably soft

also the thing of. gravity. control over the narrative (as opposed to fighting in physical space as opposed to cheating, as three distinct things that characters do) as physical force. eclipse federation to me

speaking of narrative control. the faction that "wins" a scene is, consistently, the one who loses the physical fight. the first scene is sort of arguable since vitalasy runs away ig but-- the outcome of the fight is what vitalasy wanted, but zam is the one who wins the scene! and then in the second two chapters there are physical fights with clear winners, and whoever won the physical fight loses the narrative one. this too is eclipse federation

all of them are trans women bc the original game is very much about transness & transfeminity but it's also doing thematic stuff for all three of them. chapter 2 in particular is inspired heavily by (a) their conversation in this vod about zam leaving eclipse (b) the conversation quoted in the chapter summary between pluto and luna-terra in heaven will be mine, about how pluto identifying as a trans woman is bc she saw luna-terra and was inspired by her

i didn't explicitly get into vitalasy's gender as much but ... her issues around being seen as both [dangerous monster] and [scapegoat], and ending up sort of embracing alien-ness but in a way where she also kind of hates it, are very much tied into her transfemininity, here, as are her issues around earth and going back to earth

this is a small note but i'm really proud of the line in chapter 1, "All the implants they fit inside her couldn't make her matter more." because of the double meaning of the word "matter". matter as in physical substance--to have more of it is to have more gravity--and matter as in importance, which, in hwbm, to have more of that is also to have more gravity

subz's characterization is deliberately ... more comfortable with sincerity than canon? this is a subz who has undergone enough character growth to be openly trans and not just Wearing A Dress As A Funny Bit, yk. this is a big part of chapter two lol, subz talking about how when she was younger she was Kind Of Shitty! i debated making Subz more ironic and shitty and such in this fic also to be more accurate to canon but ultimately i think it works bc of how i explicitly establish the ways in which Subz has grown past that

chapter names! prominence eruption is a solar phenomenon but i chose it mostly just bc prominence once again has a double meaning of importance. retroreflection is the ability of a surface to reflect light back; it's lunar-themed but it's also a metaphor here for zam reflecting subz. for the last chapter i wanted something vitalasy-themed but i didn't have anything solid so i went with 'impact crater' since (a) it's pretty generic to a lot of celestial bodies (b) the Ogygia Chasma is an impact crater (c) it does work, since so much of the fic is abt the lasting aftermath of vitalasy's suicide attempt

more names, this time ship-selves: all the canon ship-selves are named after specific features of the planet their pilot is named after (for example, Pluto (character) pilots the Krun Macula, which is a dark region on Pluto (planet)); in this au, they're not named after planets, but they do have convenient space theming (subz moon zam sun vitalasy stars) in canon that i got to kind of steal from! the Montes Harbinger is a cluster of lunar mountains, so named (and so chosen) bc it's a harbinger of the dawn; the corona is the outermost layer of the sun, but it also means "crown", which is fitting for zam. vitalasy's is trickier bc "stars" is not actually a coherent....object in astronomy that has physical features, especially not ones distinct from the sun? i considered doing a constellation but one of my betas was looking at various things in the solar system to get ship-self names from and encountered the Ogygia Chasma and went "this would make vitalasy so sad" and . well. who am i to not pick names that will make vitalasy sad. (the Ogygia Chasma, on Saturn's moon Tethys, is named after the island Ogygia in the Odyssey, where Calypso trapped Odysseus for seven years, preventing him from returning home bc she wanted to marry him. i think Vitalasy would have some feelings about this and her relationships!)

in heaven will be mine, each of the three pilots (Saturn, Pluto, and Luna-Terra) mostly interact with each other, but they also each have someone in their faction who they communicate with privately and work together with to advance their faction's goals, although the specifics of the relationship vary based on the pilot. i didn't really get to show this off in the fic beyond two one-off mentions but the person filling this role for Zam is Planet and the person filling this role for Vitalasy is Spoke. i have some amount of vision for the relationships there that just didn't get onscreened at all. oh well! part of this is because i have no clue who fills this role for Subz--so much of subz's character in s4 is tied up in his isolation that it's hard to give him a confidant and teammate outside of eclipse. (zam was the easiest--if i didn't give him planet i could've given him pangi or mapicc.) realistically if i were to choose someone it'd probably be reddoons but one of my beta readers joked that the person filling this role for subz is princess of memorial foundation & renowned twitter poster Halimede and i keep imagining this and giggling to myself

i'm pretty sure zam betraying both Memorial Foundation and Celestial Mechanics doesn't actually work with the canon timeline of the game but shhhhhhh it's an au don't worry about it

i listened to Communist Love Song a lot while writing this. something abt refusing to reject the possibility of a better future even when everyone says it's impossible. politically or romantically? yes.

fun fact: i had written a chunk of the first chapter for a while and it was just kind of hanging out in my google docs as hwbm au inspiration and then zam said "I only want to be represented as a girl. Kissing other girls." onstream and i wrote the entire rest of the fic in a day. and then spent over a week editing it lol

[digiawaara]

Understanding Cloud VPS: How It Differs from Traditional VPS Hosting

As online presence has become important, determining which hosting service to choose has become one of the essential business decisions. There are two well-known options: Cloud VPS and Traditional VPS, and each has distinct characteristics and benefits. Understanding their differences can help you choose the hosting solution that has all the features you want for your website. Let us explore the distinction between Cloud VPS and Traditional VPS hosting.

VPS Hosting: The Building Block

Practically, VPS hosting is a reality of virtualization technology, and it includes the segmentation of a physical server into several virtual areas. Each VPS works as stand-alone units, providing users with distinct and reserved assets, greater governance, as well as enhanced security as compared to sharing resources with others (like in shared hosting). This type of unit is perfect for those who want more than shared hosting, but do not wish to have a dedicated server.

Traditional VPS Hosting: What to Expect

An underlying issue with Traditional VPS hosting is that a physical server hosts several distinct virtual servers which are partitions of the single physical server. Individual computational units, such as CPU and memory resource denominating units, are assigned to every partition (virtual server instance) separately.

Benefits of Traditional VPS:

Allocated Resources: Each Virtual Private Server has been allocated dedicated assets alone and hence given room for performance stability.

Steady Environment: All available resources for the servers or applications are set, hence high reliability in performance.

Increased Security: Geo-segmentation of virtual servers result in the captivity of data to determined borders hence more security.

Disadvantages of Traditional VPS:

Potential Growth is Lower: Moving to a new server is often required because scaling specially target resources at taking out the entire current server.

Singe Instance of Trouble: At the incident of some hardware fault on the server all VPS (virtual private servers) instances that were hosted there are affected.

Static Division of Resources: Adjustment on the availability of certain resources at any one time is difficult hence, may cause frustrations in the management of traffic surges.

Cloud VPS Hosting: The Adaptable Approach

Cloud VPS hosting employs a cloud based virtualization technology that allows connection of several servers over a network cloud. Such a structure cultivates flexibility, quick growth and more strength since resources are sourced from several servers rather than one.

Cloud VPS benefits:

Scalable with ease: Resources are completely adjustable and scaling does not involve any upgrades.

Reduced Downtime: The chances of a server going down are drastically reduced because the workload is handled by multiple servers.

Improved Performance Levels: Traffic across servers is balanced to achieve efficiency and a rush is experienced even when the level of activity is busy.

Pay Per Use: The per minute charge system means that costs only increase when the resources increase.

Cloud VPS disadvantages:

Unstable Prices: Servers that bill based on resources consumed means the expense for that month can be somewhat erratic.

Location Issues: This can be a contentious issue due to the fact that all data is kept distributed over many servers in some heavily regulated industries.

Network Dependency: Understandably, the performance of Cloud based VPS is determined by the Internet connection quality; slower networks tend to hamper the speed at which the resources are accessed.

4. Which VPS Option is Right for You?

Choose Traditional VPS if:

You are looking to operate in a more stable and consistent environment.

Your website experiences traffic that is steady and within reasonable limits.

You would like to pay a fixed monthly fee without any variations.

Choose Cloud VPS if:

You are looking for more flexibility and expansion options.

Your site receives fluctuating and irregular visits, or seasonal peaks.

It is essential for your organization to experience high availability and low downtime.

5. Final Thoughts

There are benefits as well as different uses associated with Cloud VPS and Traditional VPS. For example, Cloud VPS offers agility, growth potential, and dependability and is therefore suitable for businesses that are poised for expansion and need to cope with abrupt increases in demand for the products marketed online. On the other hand, Traditional VPS is a great and affordable option for people seeking a certain fixed resource and where variability is not a major factor.

Remember that it is crucial to choose the right type of VPS when starting a website. The difference in performance, online presence, and cost can be widely affected by the host one chooses, making it imperative to adapt the virtual private servers to the needs of the business.

[zerosecurity]

Massive Backdoor Infection Hits 1.3 Million Android-Based Streaming Devices

A newly discovered malware infection has raised alarm bells by affecting an estimated 1.3 million Android streaming devices running an open-source version across almost 200 countries. The malware, dubbed "Android.Vo1d," has successfully backdoored these Android-based boxes by inserting malicious code into their system storage areas, allowing for potential updates with additional malware via command-and-control servers at any time.

Scope and Impact

Security firm Doctor Web reported the widespread infection on Thursday, highlighting the extensive reach of the Android.Vo1d malware. The affected devices are operating systems based on the Android Open Source Project (AOSP), a version overseen by Google but distinct from the proprietary Android TV used by licensed device manufacturers. Google representatives have confirmed that the infected devices are not running the official Android TV OS, emphasizing that these are "off-brand devices" without Play Protect certification. This certification process involves extensive testing to ensure quality and user safety. Confirm your TV is running Android TV OS by using the guide posted here.

Unknown Infection Vector

Despite their thorough understanding of the malware and its widespread impact, researchers at Doctor Web are still uncertain about the exact attack vector leading to these infections. They have proposed several possibilities: - An intermediate malware exploiting operating system vulnerabilities to gain root privileges - The use of unofficial firmware versions with built-in root access - Outdated and vulnerable Android versions susceptible to remote code execution exploits - Potential supply chain compromises, where devices may have been infected before reaching end-users

Affected Devices and Variants

The infection has been found on several TV box models, including: TV box model Declared firmware version R4 Android 7.1.2; R4 Build/NHG47K TV BOX Android 12.1; TV BOX Build/NHG47K KJ-SMART4KVIP Android 10.1; KJ-SMART4KVIP Build/NHG47K Researchers have identified dozens of Android.Vo1d variants, each using different code and planting malware in slightly different storage areas. However, all variants achieve the same result: connecting to attacker-controlled servers and installing components that can deploy additional malware on command.

Infection Characteristics

The Android.Vo1d trojan modifies several system files and creates new ones to ensure persistence on infected devices. Key changes include: - Modification of the install-recovery.sh script - Alteration of the daemonsu file - Creation of new files: vo1d, wd, debuggerd, and debuggerd_real These modifications allow the malware to anchor itself in the system and auto-launch during device reboots. The trojan's main functionality is split between two components: vo1d (Android.Vo1d.1) and wd (Android.Vo1d.3), which work together to maintain the infection and execute commands from the control servers.

Geographic Distribution

Geographic Distribution of the Android.Vo1d infections The infection has spread globally, with the highest number of cases detected in: - Brazil - Morocco - Pakistan - Saudi Arabia - Russia - Argentina - Ecuador - Tunisia - Malaysia - Algeria - Indonesia

Detection and Mitigation

Identifying infected devices can be challenging for less experienced users. Doctor Web recommends using their antivirus software for Android, which can detect all Vo1d variants and disinfect devices with root access. More technically inclined users can check for indicators of compromise provided by the security firm. The incident also highlights the risks associated with using non-certified Android devices and emphasizes the importance of regular security updates and proper device vetting. As the investigation continues, it serves as a stark reminder of the ongoing challenges in securing the diverse ecosystem of Android-based devices in the market. Read the full article

[priya-joshi]

My Perspective on Distinguishing Between Full Stack Developers and Web Developers

I can’t help but go back to my own experience as a web developer as I sit down to write about the difference between full stack developers and web developers. This subject has a special meaning to me since it captures the essence of navigating this fast-paced industry. In order to better appreciate the contrasts between these two jobs, let’s set out on a voyage, and I’ll share my viewpoint and experiences along the way.

We frequently mix the terms “full stack developer” and “web developer” while discussing web development. They stand for several jobs, each with their own set of tasks and abilities. Whether you’re an experienced developer, a newcomer in the industry, or someone pursuing a career in technology, it’s vital to comprehend these contrasts.

Defining Full Stack Developers and Web Developers

Developers who work on the complete stack: Let’s start by defining a full stack developer. In terms of web development, a full stack developer is essentially a jack of all crafts. Both front-end and back-end technologies are familiar to them. This implies that they are capable of managing databases and server-side functionality in addition to designing the user interface. They are essentially the Swiss Army tools of web development.

Web Developers: known as front-end developers — concentrate mostly on the client side of web development. They are masters in using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript to create stunning and engaging user interfaces. Their main objective is to provide a smooth and visually pleasing user experience on a website.

I had a basic comprehension of these jobs when I first started working as a web developer. Like many novices, I mistakenly believed that web programming was solely about producing visually stunning websites. But I quickly understood there was much more to it.

Common Ground: Overlapping Skills

It’s important to acknowledge the areas of overlap between web developers and full stack developers before we get into their distinctions. A solid foundation in front-end development is necessary for both professions. HTML, CSS, and JavaScript proficiency are essential. These languages are your building blocks whether you’re creating a user interface or incorporating sophisticated capabilities.

These front-end abilities were the start of my adventure. I devoted endless hours to polishing my HTML structures, honing my CSS stylesheets, and exploring JavaScript’s potential as an interactive language. These abilities laid the foundation for my profession and are still crucial today.

Delving into Full Stack Development

Let’s now explore full stack development, where the distinctions are more apparent. In addition to being experts in front-end technologies, full stack developers are also knowledgeable in back-end technologies. This covers database management as well as server-side programming languages like Python, Ruby, or Node.js.

Making the switch to back-end development was a turning point for me. Working with databases and server logic first made me feel uneasy. I took the challenge, though, and began studying server-side languages and databases. Even if things weren’t always easy, every challenge I overcame helped me become a better developer.

Web Development: Focusing on the Front End

Web developers, on the other hand, focus on the front end. Their area of expertise is designing captivating, engaging user interfaces. They take great care in website design, making sure that it is aesthetically pleasing, responsive, and user-friendly.

I still clearly recall my first front-end-focused web programming project. Making an interactive and practical design come to life was thrilling. Web developers enjoy the particular high of witnessing a beautifully designed website in use.

Bridging the Gap: The Versatility of Full Stack Developers

The capacity to integrate front-end and back-end development is one of the defining traits of full stack engineers. This adaptability is revolutionary in the tech sector. Full stack developers are able to handle all aspects of development, taking a project from inception to conclusion.

Being a full stack developer has provided me with access to a variety of projects. I’ve had the honor of working on anything from data-driven applications to e-commerce websites. This versatility has improved my skill set and given me the ability to take on a variety of difficulties.

My Personal Journey

I can’t help but thank the mentors, classes, and resources that have molded my perspective as I consider my career as a developer. Participating in coding groups, taking full stack developer courses provided by ACTE Institute, and learning from seasoned developers have all been extremely beneficial to my development.

Realizing that no one becomes a full stack developer or web developer over night is essential. It is a path of ongoing learning and development. And keep in mind that each person’s journey is distinctive, formed by their experiences and decisions.

The Ever-Changing Tech Landscape

The only thing that is consistent in the tech sector is change. Both web developers and full stack developers need to keep up with the latest trends and technology. Adaptability is essential, from the emergence of new programming languages to the development of front-end frameworks.

I’ve seen firsthand how quickly tools and techniques for web development have advanced. In this always changing sector, adapting to change and remaining curious have been essential.

In conclusion, anyone navigating the IT sector needs to be aware of the differences between full stack engineers and web developers. Each role has its own advantages and difficulties. Remember that your path as a developer is an ongoing discovery whether you decide to focus on one or embrace the variety of the other.

[cacheboxsblog]

The Rise of Personal Cloud Storage Services in USA: A New Era of Data Management

Data is the new money in society. Hence, the demand for safe and effective storage options cannot be emphasized too often. Offering unmatched access and security, personal cloud storage services have changed the way people control their digital lives. Picture a situation where personal information, important papers, and treasured images are just a click away, conveniently backed up and protected from loss. The importance of personal cloud storage services in USA underlines the increasing need for dependable solutions that meet the various needs of consumers in the digital era.

Understanding Personal Cloud Storage

Online services that let people store and control their data on distant servers constitute personal cloud storage. This technology guarantees data protection from local hardware failures in addition to the ease of accessing files from anywhere with an internet connection. The need for personal cloud storage services in USA is rising as more people depend on computers, tablets, and smartphones. These services allow people to keep ownership of their data and remove worries about physical storage constraints, hence facilitating smooth incorporation into everyday life.

Main Characteristics of Cloud Storage Services

In the United States, personal cloud storage services are appealing because of their adaptability and simplicity. Most systems let users automatically back up their data, so allowing them to protect it is simple. Many companies also provide cooperative technologies, enabling teams to cooperate on initiatives more easily. Stored data is made safer by security methods like multi-factor authentication and encryption. For consumers who value not just accessibility but also the integrity of their personal information, these qualities are necessary. These services always change to fit consumer needs as technology develops, hence guaranteeing a complete experience.

Finding Your Way Through Personal Data Storage

Users come across many systems, each with different features, when they think about personal data storage. Major market participants, including Google Drive, Dropbox, and OneDrive, have shown to be consistent selections. However, newcomers appear to have creative ideas that fit certain user requirements. The competitive environment guarantees that consumers have access to the best available alternatives by driving ongoing improvements in functionality, price, and customer service. Knowing the distinctions between these services can help people who are assessing their storage needs make wise choices that fit their demands.

Best Practices for Safe Data Management

Individuals should follow best practices for safe data management to get the most out of personal data storage. Updating passwords often and using unique combinations for various accounts may greatly lower the likelihood of illegal access. Users should also utilize two-factor authentication to provide more security wherever feasible. Regularly checking kept data and removing unneeded files not only creates room but also reduces dangers related to data breaches. Being proactive helps users improve their data security and guarantee the dependability and efficacy of their data storage systems.

The significance of personal cloud storage services in USA cannot be overstated in an ever more digital environment. These tools provide security and accessibility at the user's fingertips by means of vital management of personal data. The possibilities of these services will change as technology develops, hence providing better features and stronger security measures. Examining alternatives such as cachebox.io might result in a customized experience satisfying personal storage requirements. In today's fast-paced digital environment, protecting important information depends on using consistent personal data storage techniques.

Our website is the best source for additional information.

cloud storage service provider

cloud storage service

[fromdevcom]

Virtual private networks (VPNs) are used by businesses and individuals alike to provide secure, direct access to networks from remote locations, and unlock a raft of benefits as a result. There are different ways to configure and operate VPNs, and different technologies and techniques available for those that want to implement them. This means you’ve got a few points of comparison to weigh up when choosing a setup to use. One of the main distinctions is between encryption methods, with IPsec and SSL being the primary contenders. Let’s dissect the differences between these approaches, and also unpick which is right for you according to your needs. Understanding IPsec When it comes to VPN IPsec, or internet protocol security as it is also known, the key thing to appreciate is that it acts as a network-level solution for encrypting and authenticating interactions between two or more devices. There are actually several protocols encompassed by the umbrella of IPsec, and these work together to encrypt IP packets and authenticate connections over public networks, creating privacy and security as a result. Getting to grips with SSL The first point to grasp is that secure sockets layer technology has actually been superseded by transport layer security (TSL), although in some cases you’ll still hear SSL discussed with regards to a VPN. In all likelihood this will be an instance of SSL and TSL being used interchangeably, so don’t get confused and think that an SSL solution is long in the tooth, as TSL is almost certainly underpinning the service in question. SSL VPNs ensure that data sent between processes over a network connection is encrypted throughout its journey, again preventing outside intervention or manipulation. The port numbers of individual processes will be taken into account as part of the encryption process. Wrangling the differences By this point the main thing to know is that IPsec is about creating secure, encrypted connections between devices, while SSL is about achieving the same thing, but between programs instead. So with an IPsec VPN you could establish an encrypted link between a laptop and a business server, while with an SSL or TLS VPN you could ensure that a web browser was able to access a web server securely. Because of this distinction, there are also differences in terms of the setup required. SSL functions within a web browser, while IPsec needs its own software installed and configured on all devices involved. There are a lot of other variables to consider, but these largely come down to how you decide to implement the given VPN solution, and so it’s important to avoid generalizing when making comparisons, because each deployment and use case will be unique. Coming to a decision So how exactly can you pick between competing IPsec and SSL VPN packages? Well, your first port of call is considering the aspects of performance and security. Performance differences between the two should be negligible, although this does depend on your implementation of the VPN. It is possible to suffer some performance penalties when using IPsec, for example, because as mentioned this requires additional locally installed software on connected devices. That said, you may be willing to make this compromise in order to achieve network-level encryption. From a security perspective, it’s equally tricky to separate the two. The best option is to consider the threats you face, and decide whether the merits of IPsec or SSL solutions are more appropriate in this context. This is where an exploration of the outcomes of successful breaches is also required. Because IPsec functions at a network level, it has obvious conveniences for end users, but can be more vulnerable to disruption if an attack gets through the outer layer of encryption. SSL keeps interlopers at arms’ length because it defends the transport layer instead, but does leave you with different limitations from a functionalist perspective to take onboard. Final thoughts

Whether you eventually implement an IPsec VPN or instead opt for an SSL VPN, this is not a decision to be rushed, nor one to make without carrying out a rigorous assessment of your requirements. There are pros and cons to each, and the main thing to remember is that encryption in all its forms is better than not having any kind of protection for remote connections.

[technicallylovingcomputer]

How to Handle Real-Time Synchronization in a Large Multiplayer World

Building an MMORPG that feels alive and responsive is one of gaming's greatest technical challenges. When thousands of players interact simultaneously in a shared world, keeping everything synchronized becomes a complex puzzle that can make or break your game's success. Let's dive into practical strategies for managing real-time synchronization in large-scale multiplayer environments.

The Synchronization Challenge in Modern MMORPGs

Creating a seamless multiplayer experience isn't just about beautiful graphics or compelling storylines—it's about making players feel connected in a living, breathing world where actions have immediate consequences. The technical backbone that makes this possible is real-time synchronization.

Synchronization ensures that when a player swings a sword, casts a spell, or simply walks across a field, all other nearby players see these actions with minimal delay. Sounds simple, but at scale, it's anything but.

Key Synchronization Strategies for MMORPG Developers

1. Zone-Based Architecture

Rather than treating your game world as a single enormous entity, dividing it into manageable zones creates natural boundaries for synchronization:

Dynamic zoning: Create zones based on player density rather than fixed geographic boundaries

Cross-zone communication: Implement efficient protocols for entities that exist at zone boundaries

Load balancing: Distribute zones across multiple servers based on computational demands

This approach allows you to allocate resources precisely where they're needed while reducing the total synchronization workload.

2. Interest Management

Not every player needs to know about everything happening in the world. Interest management filters information based on relevance:

Distance-based filtering: Only synchronize entities within meaningful proximity

Line-of-sight considerations: Prioritize information about what players can actually see

Relevance hierarchies: Important events (combat, major world events) get priority over minor ones

By implementing smart filtering, you can reduce network traffic by 60-80% without players noticing any loss of information.

3. Optimistic Updates with Reconciliation

Instead of waiting for server confirmation before showing results, implement optimistic updates:

Client prediction: Show immediate results of player actions locally

Server authority: Maintain the server as the ultimate source of truth

Smooth reconciliation: When client and server disagree, blend corrections into animation to avoid jarring transitions

This creates a feeling of responsiveness while maintaining consistency across all clients.

4. Delta Compression

Rather than sending complete state updates, transmit only what has changed:

Baseline states: Establish complete synchronization at connection and zone transitions

Incremental updates: Send only modified properties in subsequent updates

Prioritized deltas: More frequent updates for critical information (position, health) than secondary details

Modern delta compression can reduce bandwidth requirements by up to 90% compared to full-state synchronization.

5. State Snapshots and Interpolation

Handling network jitter requires balancing responsiveness with smoothness:

Regular state snapshots: Capture complete entity states at fixed intervals

Client interpolation: Smoothly blend between received states rather than jumping

Adaptive timing: Adjust interpolation windows based on observed network conditions

This approach creates fluid movement even when network packets arrive at irregular intervals.

Scaling Challenges and Solutions

As your player base grows, new synchronization challenges emerge. Here's how successful MMOs handle scaling:

Sharding vs. Megaservers

Two primary approaches dominate the industry:

Sharding: Multiple copies of the world with distinct player populations

Easier to implement technically

Can fragment communities

Megaserver architecture: Single logical world with dynamic instancing

Preserves community cohesion

Requires more sophisticated synchronization

Most modern MMORPGs use hybrid approaches, creating the illusion of a single world while using smart instancing behind the scenes.

Database Considerations

Your database strategy significantly impacts synchronization performance:

In-memory data: Keep active player and world state in RAM for fast access

Asynchronous persistence: Write to permanent storage without blocking gameplay

Read/write optimization: Structure databases to prioritize read performance for game state

Well-designed database architecture can reduce synchronization latency by 30-50% compared to generic solutions.

Technical Implementation Tips

When coding your synchronization systems, consider these practical approaches:

1. Leverage Existing Frameworks

Don't reinvent the wheel—several battle-tested options exist:

Photon: Offers robust room-based synchronization with cloud scaling

SpatialOS: Designed specifically for large persistent worlds

Custom solutions using gRPC/WebSockets: For teams wanting more control

Using established frameworks can cut development time in half while avoiding common pitfalls.

2. Implement Smart Rollback Systems

When synchronization fails (and it will), recovery matters:

Event sourcing: Track sequences of actions rather than just current state

Partial rollbacks: Correct specific issues without rewinding the entire world

Deterministic systems: Design game mechanics to produce identical results given the same inputs

Robust recovery systems keep minor network issues from becoming game-breaking problems.

3. Monitor and Adapt

Real-time monitoring provides essential feedback:

Synchronization metrics: Track latency, packet loss, and state divergence

Heatmapping: Identify world areas with synchronization challenges

Automatic mitigation: Implement systems that adjust detail levels when performance degrades

The most successful MMOs continuously tune their synchronization based on actual performance data.

Testing Your Synchronization

Before launch, rigorously test your synchronization under realistic conditions:

Simulated player loads: Use bots to mimic thousands of concurrent players

Network condition simulation: Test under varying latency and packet loss scenarios

Edge case identification: Specifically test high-density situations (battles, city centers)

Many MMORPGs have failed at launch due to synchronization issues that weren't apparent in small-scale testing.

Conclusion: The Art of Invisible Technology

The greatest compliment for your synchronization system is that players never notice it. When thousands of players can interact in a responsive, consistent world without experiencing lag, rubber-banding, or desynchronization, you've mastered one of game development's greatest challenges.

Remember that perfect synchronization is impossible—the speed of light and network realities create fundamental limits. The art lies in creating systems that hide these limitations through clever design choices, prioritizing player experience above technical purity.

By implementing zone-based architecture, interest management, optimistic updates, delta compression, and smart state interpolation, you can create multiplayer worlds that feel alive, responsive, and seamless—the hallmark of truly great MMORPGs.

[webnx]

Shopify vs. WooCommerce: Which E-Commerce Platform Should You Choose?

Choosing the right e-commerce platform is one of the most important decisions for any online business. It impacts everything from your store’s performance to long-term growth and profitability. Two of the most popular choices in the market today are Shopify and WooCommerce—each offering distinct features, advantages, and limitations.

In this comparison, we’ll break down the key differences between Shopify and WooCommerce across several crucial areas to help you make the right choice for your online business.

1. Ease of Use

Shopify: The Hassle-Free Solution

Shopify is a fully hosted, all-in-one platform that’s built for simplicity. With a user-friendly interface and drag-and-drop builder, anyone can set up an online store—no coding knowledge required. Plus, Shopify provides 24/7 customer support, making it ideal for beginners and entrepreneurs who want to hit the ground running.

Explore our Shopify Development Services to get your store up and running smoothly.

WooCommerce: More Control, More Complexity

WooCommerce is a WordPress plugin, meaning it’s self-hosted and requires manual setup. You’ll need to manage your own hosting, SSL certificates, and security updates. While it offers greater control, the learning curve is steeper, especially for non-technical users.

Winner: Shopify – Best for those looking for a streamlined and beginner-friendly experience.

2. Cost Comparison

Shopify Pricing

Basic: $29/month

Shopify: $79/month

Advanced: $299/month

Additional expenses: premium apps, paid themes, transaction fees if not using Shopify Payments

WooCommerce Costs

Free to install

Hosting: $5–$30/month

Domain: $10–$20/year

SSL Certificate: ~$50/year

Optional expenses: premium plugins, themes

Winner: WooCommerce – More budget-friendly for those who can manage setup and maintenance themselves.

3. Customization & Flexibility

Shopify

Shopify offers a selection of over 100 professional themes and a robust app marketplace. However, customization is somewhat limited due to its proprietary Liquid template language.

WooCommerce

WooCommerce gives developers full access to the source code, enabling unlimited customization options. It also integrates seamlessly with over 50,000 WordPress plugins.

Want a store tailored to your brand? Check out our E-Commerce Development Services for flexible, scalable solutions.

Winner: WooCommerce – Ideal for those seeking complete design freedom and advanced functionality.

4. SEO & Marketing Capabilities

Shopify

Shopify includes built-in SEO tools such as meta tags, mobile optimization, and sitemaps. While it's fast and secure, it offers limited control over URLs and deeper SEO settings.

WooCommerce

As a WordPress-based solution, WooCommerce shines in SEO. With plugins like Yoast SEO, you get fine-grained control over your site’s optimization and structure.

Learn how to improve your rankings with our SEO Services.

Winner: WooCommerce – A better choice for those focused on long-term SEO strategies.

5. Payment Gateways & Transaction Fees

Shopify

Shopify supports 100+ payment gateways. While Shopify Payments avoids extra transaction fees, using third-party gateways incurs additional costs.

WooCommerce

WooCommerce supports all major gateways, including PayPal and Stripe, with no additional platform-imposed fees.

Winner: WooCommerce – Offers more flexibility and fewer fees, especially for high-volume stores.

6. Security & Maintenance

Shopify

Shopify handles all security updates, server maintenance, and is PCI-DSS compliant. You also get automatic backups and a secure shopping experience out of the box.

WooCommerce

Security depends on your hosting provider. You’ll be responsible for updates, backups, and implementing security measures manually.

Winner: Shopify – Best for peace of mind and hands-off security management.

Final Verdict: Shopify or WooCommerce?

Choose Shopify if you want a beginner-friendly, all-in-one platform with excellent support and built-in features.

Choose WooCommerce if you need full customization, lower upfront costs, and are comfortable managing technical aspects.

Ready to Launch or Migrate Your Store?

Whether you’re building your first store or migrating from WooCommerce to Shopify, WebNX is here to help. We specialize in custom Shopify development, SEO optimization, and end-to-end e-commerce solutions that drive growth and profitability.

📌 Switch to Shopify with WebNX 📌 Explore Our Full Range of E-Commerce Services 📌 Boost Your Traffic with SEO Experts

Let’s create an online store that sets you apart—start your journey with WebNX today!