#and if you mean like humans please specify it my default are the objects

[saturday-byte]

Maaaaaaybe digital kiss? (On lips)

They don't have lips tho .....

(reblogs > likes !!)

[mlmvoreconfessionals]

The Menu

1. As the name suggests, this is a mlmvore blog, so keep that in mind when sending asks.

2. No minors allowed, they will be blocked on sight. All stories feature characters as 18+ even if not explicitly stated.

3. You can send me prompts to write about or send your own ideas in. This can include characters from franchises, scenarios you like, or just a general idea/trope you enjoy. Prompts will be answered at my discretion. If I haven’t answered it, there are many reasons why and none of them are personal—please do not spam me or make demands of me. I’m doing this in my free time for fun.

4. What I will write for: Soft Vore (oral, anal, cock, pec, and pit), disposal, weight gain, absorption, CTF, fatal, reformation, sex, musk play, humans/monsters/furries/feral/nonhuman, fandom/franchise characters, g/t or same size (but I prefer the latter). Feel free to send asks if you have any questions. This also serves as a content warning and I tag all posts appropriately, so filter tags or simply avoid the blog if any of these subjects are off the table for you.

5. What I won’t write for: pregnancy of any kind, full tour, heavy gore, women, celebrities/real-life people, inflation, object vore, endo/long-term safe vore. Feel free to send asks if you have any questions.

6. Anon will be on at all times. If you ever send an ask off anon by mistake (as in, you didn't mean to, anon is not a requirement), message me asap so I can delete it. (This does not mean you HAVE to send asks on anon, this is for people who want to stay on anon.) Any harassment, aggression, trolls towards vore or certain preferences in it is not allowed and will be deleted.

7.Fixed the tagging issue! To look for fandom/character asks, search for what you want without spaces and tag ‘vore’ at the end. For instance, “firstnamelastnamevore” or “fandomnamevore”.

8. Here’s a list of fandoms that I am familiar enough with to write for, if you wanted to ask about characters rather than scenarios. And a tag masterpost if you want to see what kind of stuff I’ve already done!

9. I have ADHD and, as such, my desire to write is very random in length. Expect bouts of silence from me. I promise it’s as frustrating to me as it might be to you.

10. For an idea of my personal preferences and, therefore, what I’m more likely to get around to writing—inquire here.

11. I will most likely default to oral vore, digestion, no disposal unless I have other ideas. If you want something other than that, make sure to specify! (Disposal specifically is only written when asked, as I know that it's a hard no for many people)

[whisperingwainscot]

Requests open

Hi! I'm waxing_crescent on ao3 and I decided that it would be fun to accept some prompts/fic request/whatever it's called now, for Good Omens one-shots, 500 words minimum, 3000 words maximum.

• You don't have to follow me to send me a request!

• Feel free to message me on here (I should accept both user and anon asks/messages, unless I messed up somewhere, in which case please tell me) or on my twitter or even on ao3 in the comments to this specific chapter: Index.

Little note: I will *try* to write every prompt, but sometimes I will find myself unable to do so, for various reasons. Me liking the prompt and wanting to see it written doesn't necessarily mean that I will write it, or will have the ability to do so, or that I won't succumb to writer's block or procrastination or some unexpected IRL event. I trust you to be understanding. Thank you 💜

First of all: please, make sure you let me know what *exactly* you want from me! This includes: versions of canon (I only read the book and watched the show, so unfortunately I won't write radio or stage versions of the characters! if you don't specify I will most likely default to the book), any specific fanons/headcanons, rating, relationship dynamics, general mood, POV character, etc. More importantly, tell me things you *don't* want to see! The more information you give, the easier it will be for me to understand exactly what you want to get at the end!

Additional note: I'm *very* lenient with canon, and with what to count as canon, that is to say: I pick up bits that I like, and tend to ignore the bits I don't like. If you want to be sure I won't skip something important to you, please tell me. If you want me to include whatever lore Neil Gaiman and/or Terry Pratchett had revealed *outside* of the actual book or the show (as in: in the interview, on twitter or tumblr, etc), please tell me that as well.

Anyway!!

I WILL write:

• AUs, unless it's a specific canon AU or retelling

• a continuation/another version of something I've written already

• while I have preference for top Aziraphale, I will write top Crowley as well (or both bottom Aziraphale and bottom Crowley, if you want)

• kink (see tags on my works on ao3 for general reference)

• gen

• major character death

• don't know what else to add here, just *waves in general direction of my ao3* you get the spirit

I will NOT write (for various reasons):

[general content]

• specific canon AUs/fusions (as in Star Wars, Marvel, etc)

• anything that involves human limbs being replaced with non-human limbs (such as nagas, merpeople, wings instead of arms, that sort of thing) (shapeshifting is fine)

• anything with or about Nanny Astoreth and Brother Francis (unless they are their own characters and not Aziraphale/Crowley undercover)

• radio/stage Omens (see above)

• age regression/de-aging/kid or children versions of the characters, etc.

• high school/university students au

• beelzebub/gabriel (unless they're a background couple)

• eye trauma

• crowley as raphael

• ineffable wives

• hanahaki

[sexual content]

• underage

• incest

• necrophilia

• age play

• scat

• anything that involves sharp objects used in sexual content, such as swords, knives, needles, etc

• daddy kink

• m/f with maledom

• fire play

• genital piercing

• sounding/urethral play

I'm pretty sure I forgot something, so I may add things to this list as I remember them. I'm pretty open to ideas (at least, I like to think so) and kinks, so please don't be afraid to ask if you're not sure if your kink falls onto my 'will not write' list or not.

[mostlysignssomeportents]

Congress's Big Tech trustbusting smackdown

After more than a year of investigations, House Dems have produced a 450-page report on market concentration in the tech industry, with a slate of findings that are obvious and long overdue, and a slate of recommendations that are simultaneously traditional and radical. Start with the findings: the market is concentrated and the companies preserve their monopolistic standing with anitcompetitive tactics:

Apple's App Store stranglehold raises prices and transfers money from creators to the company

Google preferences its own services in search results

Facebook buys companies for predatory reasons, to snuff out potential future competition threats

Amazon rips off its sellers and engages in predatory pricing

https://www.wired.com/story/congress-unveils-plan-curb-big-tech-power/ All obvious, but it's nice to have it in the record. Then there's the traditional AND radical remedies: blocking mergers, prohibiting the creation of vertical monopolies by entering "adjacent lines of business." And then there's "structural separation" - the rule that banned rail companies from owning freight companies that competed with their customers and banks from owning businesses that competed with the businesses that borrowed money from them. There's a shifting of the default in mergers: the DoJ should presume ALL mergers and acquisitions by large firms are anticompetitive and require the companies to prove otherwise. A kind of neutrality in platforms, requiring them not to preference their own products over others. I predict this one will be the source of endless misery because it supposes that there is a "right" way to organize search results. Weirdly, this was Google's position for a long time. If you were an early web writer and you cornered a Google exec at a party to complain about your pagerank, they'd just shrug and say, "Make the page better then." The implication being that they were measuring objective quality of your page, like they'd invented a machine for taking pictures of the forms casting shadows on the wall of Plato's cave. It was an algorithm and algorithms are math and math is objective. This excited the world's governments, who started to say, "Oh, hey, if this is MATH, then it's not censorship to order you to change the math. "If we order you to keep certain things above the fold, or to downrank or banish others, that's like specifying the equations for structural steel, not like ordering the editor of the New York Times to put certain articles on the front page." Hoist on their own petard, Google started working with eminent First Amendment scholars to advance the (correct) position that the math was in service to expression: the programmers and QA teams that wrote and tuned the algorithms were making editorial judgments. These were indirect - in the way that, say, a newspaper proprietor might say, "We need more coverage of inflation" or "Let's call Qanon a 'cult' and not a 'conspiracy theory'" - but they were acts of human expression. I mean, they HAD to be. Google doesn't have a webcam in Plato's cave. There is no objective, universal quality metric. And they're not choosing sites at random, either. So it has to be judgment, and judgment is expression. All to say: "Good luck with search neutrality, Congress." But there's more! The report calls for increased budgets for antitrust enforcement and killing forced arbitration and its bans on class action suits. And finally, the report calls for overturning 40 years' worth of antitrust case-law, the decisions that depended on the doctrine of the Nixonite criminal Robert Bork, who became a court sorcerer to Ronald Reagan. Bork's doctrine was that antitrust law needed objective standards and objective standards were impossible to come by in markets - you could never hope to objectively define when a company had too much marketshare or was abusing its power. This may sound like my argument about "search neutrality" - but there's a big difference. Bork had a counsel of despair: "Because we can't identify shenanigans, we shouldn't try to prevent them." But the pre-Borkian enforcement strategy wasn't grounded only in objective correlates of shenanigans: it was also designed to make it harder for shenanigans to occur. Pre-Bork, we fought monopolies because they were bad - they had the power to distort markets and policies. Pre-Bork, we fought monopolies because they were monopolies. Post-Bork, we only fought monopolies if we caught them in the act, and even then, we could only win if we could prove shenanigans - and monopolists got really good at making it hard to prove them. For example, they perfected the idea of the "market definition" defense. You hear this with Amazon, when Bezos tells Congress that Amazon isn't a monopoly because people buy stuff at Walmart. By including "Walmart" (or every time in which goods change hands for money) in the definition of Amazon's market, Amazon can make itself out to be a bit-player. Here's an example of a Borkean giving this line just last year: "Facebook doesn't have a monopoly because I can still make phone calls." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_Jp-GJ9LM0 Returning to a pre-Borkean vision of antitrust enforcement is profound and would have far-reaching implications for telecoms, entertainment, pharma, accounting, logistics, energy, transport, aviation, etc. But while all these industries got concentrated through the same methods - predatory acquisitions, mergers to monopoly, vertical monopolies - they aren't all the same. What kind of industry they are MATTERS. Tech has two unique characteristics: First, it is foundational. Our ability to demand better policy and to collaborate to hold policymakers to account depends on tech. We're not going to organize a global movement by wheatpasting posters on telephone poles. And second, tech means computers, and computers are "universal" in a way other industries' products are not. Computers can interoperate with each other in ways that, say, cars or can-openers or beers cannot. That interoperability has been the source of enormous dynamism and a check against concentration in the history of tech: what companies thought of as walled gardens that exploited "network effects" became feeding pens for new market entrants. https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2019/10/adversarial-interoperability Whether that's Static Controls - a tiny Taiwanese company that refilled IBM Lexmark's toner cartridges and got to piggyback on the vast market IBM had developed, growing so large that they ACQUIRED Lexmark or... https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2019/06/felony-contempt-business-model-lexmarks-anti-competitive-legacy Apple, which defeated Microsoft's office dominance by creating Iwork, reverse-engineering the Office file-formats so that Mac users didn't need to convince their colleagues to switch OSes, they could just share documents with them. https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2019/06/adversarial-interoperability-reviving-elegant-weapon-more-civilized-age-slay The same tech companies that rose to dominance through this Competitive Compatibility are now its worst enemies, lobbying against Right to Repair, building products around DRM, and claiming their terms of service have the force of law under CFAA. Restoring the right of new market entrants to make stuff that plugs into the existing dominant products and services would go a LONG way to restoring dynamism to tech, to making companies' survival reliant on pleasing users, rather then dominating markets. And while the Congressional report doesn't give interop the centrality it deserves, it DOES mention it and discuss its importance. https://fm.cnbc.com/applications/cnbc.com/resources/editorialfiles/2020/10/06/investigation_of_competition_in_digital_markets_majority_staff_report_and_recommendations.pdf

[dr-ladybird]

SpecRecs Letter 2021

Feel free to combine any of the pairings I’ve asked for, to create friendship groups or poly relationships.

Any time I’ve offered or asked for female versions of Shepard or Ryder, I’m happy with male or NB versions instead - I’m only specifying a gender because the site makes me.

If I’ve asked for romance, I’d also like a platonic version of the same relationship.

Likes:

Focus on friendship and mutual support.

Ensemble casts (background pairings are fine).

Humour.

Angst without hopelessness.

Action scenes.

Alien biology and culture.

Interesting, non-anime-elf quarian designs.

Genders other than 21st-century Western male and female (SF or real-world).

Consideration of the setting’s politics and economics.

Player characters being OCs with their own personality (I’m not fussed about what they look like, but I want a personality).

Human characters with cultural backgrounds. (Any cultural background. Sure, representation never hurts, but “I’m an Anglo-American from New York so my Shepard is an Anglo-American from New York” is a perfectly good background.)

Religious characters.

Coping with disability.

Fic that repairs canon plotholes.

Destroy Ending AUs with EDI and the geth surviving. (Shepard surviving in one piece is good, Shepard winding up disabled and having to get a new job is good, Shepard dying nobly is also good.)

Canon divergence AUs.

Stories about rebuilding after the Reaper War.

No Reapers AUs.

Porn likes:

Treatment of sex as a fun collaborative thing, and not taking it too seriously.

Necks as an erogenous zone. Also ears, if the character has external ear flaps.

Cuddling and massage.

Admiring partner’s body (regardless of whether they’re conventionally attractive).

Non-idealised sex, and things going wrong without ruining the sex.

Safe sex (whatever that means in context… contraception, avoiding fluid-bonding for disease prevention or due to allergies, being careful about using your fangs on soft squishy aliens, being careful when using your electricity powers on any kind of alien, being careful when tying up your partner to make sure they don’t sprain something, quarian issues…)

Light BDSM (particularly wrestling, spanking or biting). Focussed on fun for everyone involved, and nothing too hardcore.

Weird alien genitalia. Let’s get creative!

-particularly interested in knotting, tentacles, or cisgendered male characters who have some sort of sensitive sperm-producing orifice instead of a penis.

Quarian porn where they keep their suits on, and nerve-stim programs in general.

I like the idea of mating cycles, but only if everyone keeps all their mental faculties, everything stays 100% consensual, and the biology makes sense.

Dislikes:

Excessive/inappropriate romantic jealousy from characters who are supposed to be sympathetic.

Infidelity. (I’m fine with Shepard re-partnering after Horizon – I’ll count Horizon as a breakup.)

AUs in a totally different setting, particularly modern or Regency AUs.

Suicide, unless the context is someone sacrificing themselves for a good cause or as a final defiance.

“My true love died - this means I will spend the rest of my life mourning them, and can never love again!” Or any other variation on “you can only have one true love, ever.” Especially if it’s played as alien psychology!

Anything soulmate-related.

Batarians being innately and inevitably evil.

Turian society being male-dominated.

“Most salarians actually do have sex drives - they just pretend they don’t because their society is so repressive and anti-sex.” (I’m happy with individual salarians having sex drives, as long as it’s an odd individual quirk.)

Generic-feeling, “non OC” Shepards or Ryders. (The default names and character designs are fine, I just want a personality.)

Interspecies reproduction, unless it’s the canonical asari variety.

The sort of kidfic that acts like children are rewards for getting married/the inevitable next step after marriage, rather than their own people.

I’m OK with Shepard having a sexual assault backstory, addiction issues, or infertility angst - but only if they’re coping fairly well with it and it’s not the focus of the fic.

Porn dislikes:

Humiliation/degradation type kinks.

Taboo roleplaying – eg doctor/patient, police officer/criminal or teacher/student (especially if actual doctors or police are involved).

Dubcon or noncon, unless you’re deliberately going for “this is messed up and horrible”. Rape roleplay is OK, as long as it’s clearly roleplay in-universe.

Porn that feels like an X-rated parody of canon.

A/B/O or seme/uke stereotypes, in either slash or het.

Turian romance dislikes:

Female humans being objectively better in bed than female turians, or male turians as objectively better than male humans. (I’m fine with characters who prefer aliens – just make sure it’s played as “this character has a weird kink,” not “the aliens are objectively better”).

Implications that they “mate for life” in a way humans don’t.

Implications that they’re innately violent during sex or that they don’t understand cuddling.

Anything portraying them as mentally/emotionally savage and animalistic, or implying it’s OK for them to lose control and do things their partner didn’t agree to.

I’m generally pro-biting, but can we please treat it under BDSM rules (eg, only if your partner wants to be bitten)? And if there’s blood or permanent scarring, then unless it was an accident and the next paragraph involves first aid and a lot of apologies, that’s too hardcore for me.

[xelyncraft]

Ok, so, I got a comment on my fic recently where the person mentioned that they thought it was weird that when describing characters I include words like "pale" for caucasian characters. I do this for a reason and I'm thinking maybe I should clarify that reason just because it got me thinking deeper on the subject. It's gonna be a long post, so bear with me.

First off, I try my best to avoid terms like "black" or "white" when writing character descriptions, simply because they are not accurate, can be easily misinterpreted, and feed a racist stereotype that I'm not too fond of for obvious reasons. I try to use color names that are actual terms for hues and shades such as sepia or bronze, or if I must compare the color to something to get the idea across, I avoid using demeaning objects or food especially because food items like "chocolate" are commonly used to fetishize persons of color and I want to write real, human, people, not sex objects.

That being said, I strongly believe that "white" or caucasian people are NOT the default and should not be written as such. It's just as important to include their skin color in a character design as people of color because I dont want to encourage the idea that assuming any person's skin tone is light if not specified is normal or ok. It's demeaning to latinas, asians, people of middle eastern or African decent, and really anyone that isn't caucasian to just assume that a character has pale skin because that's what is "normal". I've got news for you. Normal comes in all sorts of shades, sizes, and shapes and I'm going to differentiate character's appearances no matter what category of "normal" they fall under.

I strongly believe that diversity is beautiful and racism has been a concept that has alluded me since I was a child. Sometimes my lack of understanding it, despite my best efforts to educate myself on the issue, comes off as ignorance and offensive and this is not at all my intention. I am deeply sorry to anyone I have upset for this. However, I try my best to keep an open mind and continue learning while using what knowledge I do have to be as respectful as possible to all people, no matter what they look like, where they come from, what they've been through, what they believe, or how they choose to love. It is my strong belief that we as humans were never meant to be the same. Diversity in all things is beautiful and we should use it to lift each other up, support each other in adversity, and use our different strengths to be a team working together to make the world a better place. Although each puzzle piece is a different shape, each one is necessary to form a complete picture.

So yes, when I describe my characters, I include their skin color and many other physical traits, no matter what race they are. I do not do it in an attempt to put a cultural devide between them or to feed into stereotypes or stigmas. I do it to show that they are different and BEAUTIFUL, not DESPITE their diversities, but BECAUSE of them. Also, I'd like to add that what the character's I write about look like is not nearly as important as who they are as people and their appearance is not usually very relevant to that and a character's physical design is NOT a substitute for a personality.

So there you have it. That is why I write skin color the way I do. My opinion may not be entirely accurate, I'm not perfect, I'm still learning and growing just like everyone else. Your opinion may be different and no more wrong or right than my own, but all our opinions and beliefs are equally valid. If you reblog or comment on this or what have you, please, feel free to share your thoughts and feelings on the matter in a RESPECTFUL way. I try very hard to keep an open mind and love discussion on such topics to broaden my horizons. However, I do strongly ask that any discussion remain civil, friendly, and an open minded sharing of ideas in conversation, not debate. The moment it turns into an argument where people are trying to force others to conform to their own views, that's when things get ugly and I do not want that. Be accepting. Hold on to your own beliefs while still being able to consider other's and respect them. We all need to love each other more.

P.S. I am including this link to a blog that gives excellent tips on writing about characters with various skin tones, as well as a screenshot of a thread I bookmarked on wattpad because they had some very valid points as well that can help improve my fellow writer's skills if they are interested.

https://writingwithcolor.tumblr.com/post/96830966357/writing-with-color-description-guide-words-for

[dennou-translations]

Violet Evergarden Gaiden: Chapter 2

Please feel free to message me about possible corrections. If you can, consider supporting the creators by purchasing the official releases here.

← Previous || Index || Next →

The girl stared up at a red brick building that had a weathercock on its top.

While the girl stood by the roadside, people incessantly entered and exited that postal company of slightly old-fashioned exterior. A young man carrying a package. A young woman holding a letter to a beloved someone under her arm.

The windows seemed already open.

Within the site, a postman mounted his motorcycle while yawning. A bewitchingly beautiful woman came after him in trots. Clicking his tongue at her as she forcefully took over the passenger seat, the youth made a face that did not seem at all dissatisfied from an angle she could not see.

Lively laughter could be heard from the balcony of the third floor. So could the voice of a young woman that was angry for whatever reason. Eventually, a man made his way to the balcony with a teacup in hand. He spotted the girl, who was nothing but a part of the cityscape, and candidly wave at her despite it being their first meeting.

After that, a young woman of lustrous blond hair revealed herself.

It was a place noisier and more valuable than what she had imagined. For the girl, that place was a dreamy one.

Firmly grasping the white dress she was clad in, she stepped forward. And, at the same time, she recited a magic spell.

As I woke up, the first thing that entered my vision were slowly descending golden curtains.

“It is morning, Milady.”

Illuminated by the early sunlight from beyond the balloon-shade lace curtains, her hair looked like it was glowing, even in my dim line of sight. Its color was comparable to the Moon, the stars and rice ears. It changed depending on the moment one gazed at it. That person herself was an elusive beauty.

The morning started out like that.

Pulling my blanket away, I sat up and reached for the chest next to my bed. The object inside it, made of nothing more than two thin glass plaques, greatly increased my field of vision. Amongst the many goods sent to me by someone who I was not yet certain if I should call “father”, my glasses were my allies. And I had one more ally as well.

“Today, you are to have dance practice after the end of lectures. Time has come for you to step into the next stage. There is nearly nothing to correct in your way of walking. Please have confidence. Afterwards, let us practice transcribing spoken material.”

A handmaiden of blue orbs that were attractive to an odd extent. No – in reality, she was not one at all. The truth was that she was an Auto-Memories Doll dispatched for my sake. But I was not supposed to let others know about it. We had to deceive everyone in the academy.

I am Isabella York. Half a month had passed ever since we started having a routine together, but I had never seen the sleeping face of the Auto-Memories Doll that went to sleep later and woke up earlier than I did.

I had heard that the property of the academy I attended had once been a rose plantation belonging to an extinguished country, which had existed in the distant past. The school where four hundred types of roses were planted was enveloped in fragrances to the point of making one cough during the warm periods of blossoming.

The ground could be seen from the schoolhouse, hidden as it was in a mountain range, but people would never be able to catch a glimpse of the building from outside. The only ones allowed to live there inside of secluded rooms were young women and handmaidens that had permission to stay for a fixed period alone. What protected the ladies like a knight was a tall fence that blocked the air from the outer world. It surrounded and enclosed the school building. Those allowed to enter were solely relatives, future fiancés and teachers.

Amongst the teachers, there were no males. It was essentially a girls’ garden. A life completely packed within a box, in which we were not permitted to return home once we enrolled, except during long-term vacations.

The circumstances of the students varied, but they consisted of those meant to take a social position of high status or settled to marry someone with said position eventually. If I were to say it, I was probably the latter. I had a negotiation and made an agreement with my father to sell over the whole rest of my life. Being thrown into such a school had unmistakably been the result of him wanting me to be polished into a fine product.

“What color of ribbon will it be?”

Right now, she intended to turn my wine-red hair into tight and firm braids. Reflected in the dresser mirror, she and I wore the same uniform. It was a pure white cape over dark blue one-piece, white socks and red shoes. The ornaments specified by the academy were all items that made perceivable the excellence of their quality.

“Red...”

Her fingers, all the while covered by long white gloves, tied the ribbon for me.

Every now and then, a creaking mechanical noise would ensue. Since she and I were sleeping in the same room with our beds next to each other, I knew that the cause of said noise were her prosthetics. I quite liked the sound. I believed it to be a part of her robot-like self that had a hint of humanity. The meaning of those words was contradictory, but that was it.

Once both of the three-strand braids were done, I turned around and said, “You... always wear your hair like that, huh?”

Looking at my reflection in the mirror, she nodded pointedly.

That type of braiding did not seem like something I could possibly do. It did not dishevel no matter how much she moved around the whole day, so it was probably a well-thought hairdo. But the way it looked when loose was more charming. If I were to talk about her slovenliness before going to sleep...

I fleetingly glanced outside the room’s window. There were still only a few students heading from the dormitory to the school building. I then stood up from the chair that I had been sitting on and went around to behind her. While laughing at how wary she became of her back, I eased her with a, “there, there” and made her sit down. And so, I undid her perfect braiding.

“Hum, Milady. That would be troubling. You will not make it in time to the morning lessons.”

“It’s okay. You know, I used to be... a pro at braiding my little sister’s hair. I can do it quick. Your hair feels like velvet to the touch... Seems like it would sell for an expensive price,” vile thoughts made their way out of my mouth accidentally.

Letting me do as I pleased, she furrowed her brows. “You will sell it?”

“Huhu... I won’t.”

I earned a slightly pleasant feeling from her face, expressionless by default, clouding over.

“Everyone at my workplace tells me to ‘keep it long’.”

“That’s right. I also think so. See, while we were talking about that, I finished it.”

It was a very simple pair of braids. Wavy streaks dangled as traces of the hair that had been braided on the spots a little above her ears. Her adult-like impression had faded off quite a bit.

“How is it?”

“I have the feeling that it appears childish.”

“Is that so? I think it’s cute, though... Then, I’ll make these into buns... Look, it’s a sheep-horn hairstyle.”

“It does not go well with the uniform.”

“Indeed, this chaste-looking dress is too much for a cheerful head. What should I do?”

“Milady, you are playing with me, are you not?”

“So I got caught?”

“Please stop fooling around. Also, I have told you this numerous times, but please use proper obligatory language. All right?”

She was inexpressive and hard to read, but it seemed I had angered her. I would meekly say “yes” only at times like those, but other than when we were alone together, I did not intend to fix that. Because it would be suffocating.

In the end, we ran out of time, so she wound up accompanying me with her hair untied.

From what I heard later on, she apparently did not quite like to have her hair down. According to her, that was because it could hinder her field of vision if the wind blew and cause grave accidents when she was doing something.

Going by that logic, I felt that having a hair so lengthy was not a good thing in itself, but it matched her, so there was no helping it. The opinions of the people from her workplace added up to it as well. Even I wanted to tell her to keep it long.

Strangely enough, even though she was the kind of person that did not seem to need others, she made others feel like they should not leave her on her own. I was a little jealous of that.

“Milady, a daughter of the York household cannot be tardy by any means. Please hurry.”

Mixing with the students that rushed to the school building, we walked through a red brick path.

The school building was far from the dormitory. But that path was surrounded by trees and flowers and extremely lovely. Since I had been raised in a land of greenery, it made me want to stop and stare.

“We’ll get scolded by the nuns if we run.”

“Then, let us go at a fast pace.”

“Ahahah, what’s up with that?”

She pulled my hand and trotted. While looking at her, I was thinking.

——Just how many people in this world wouldn’t think of me as someone of no importance?

I pondered on that while racing up. Nobody but my little sister came to mind. However, she was only a three-year-old toddler.

She would call for me with a, “hey, hey” without ever having pronounced my name properly.

As I did not want to supply my musings with her, I said to the one in front of me, “Hey! How about we don’t go to class but to some other place?”

I wondered what she was doing now. Wondered if she was not hungry.

“To where?”

My adorable little sister. Her sweet voice was sometimes irritating, sometimes endearing.

“Doesn’t matter! Let’s go together... The weather is so good.”

She had marigold-colored, fluffy and curly angel-like hair. There was a softness to her puffy cheeks.

“I wanna go somewhere. It would be reassuring if I were with you.”

All of it was nostalgic.

“We cannot leave this academy, Milady.”

All of it was nostalgic.

“We cannot go anywhere.”

Those words froze my heart, and I ended up halting in my tracks.

She was merely stating the truth, so she was not at fault for anything. She was not at fault.

“You have to lie at times like these. Be nice.”

Yet I wound up accidentally speaking in a thorny way.

She soon uttered an, “I am terribly sorry” and deeply lowered her head. I felt displeased. That was wrong; it was not what I had been after.

It was not as if I wanted to make use of my position to stand above like that.

“Hm-hm, I was the one in the wrong just now. Sorry.”

I had just wanted her to treat me as a friend.

Once I drew her hand closer, I rested my head on her shoulder. Mutely, I was requesting her to pat my head. No, it might be that I was wishing for us to be something like lovers.

Perhaps she had already grown used to that, as she caressed me with her artificial arm even without me saying anything. The students passing by were looking at us. There would probably be rumors about us again. That the daughter of the York house and her handmaiden had an unusual relationship.

Whatever. As of now, I did not need any allies other than her.

“Miss York. Wouldn’t you have a meal with us sometime?”

In the academy, where one’s surname was their own name, I was well-known as “Miss York”.

It seemed that, when traced back, the York family came across the lineage of some royal household. If I was certain, it was Drossel or something.

In my first encounter with the person who had been assigned as my handmaiden role, she had explained to me that she had been introduced to Drossel as well. I had thought she was an uncanny beauty during the first time we had met. Since she was so dear to me now, the so-called human emotions were unbelievable to me.

To bring back the subject, it appeared that the fact the York house had relations to a royal family was superb, but was getting involved with me something so highly honorable? Maybe because of that, fellow classmates I was not very well-acquainted with would often come talk to me. Like, “Won’t you affiliate with the Salon?”. Or, “I want to be your friend”. Or, “My father is in your father’s debt”. They would one-sidedly grant me information. Even though I would never ask them anything along the lines of, “please tell me about it”.

Meaning that forming a connection with me equaled increasing the prestige of my classmates’ statuses.

——My, my, even if the social positions change, the true nature of people stays the same.

I looked at her and nodded. Just smiling would not earn me anything. To be honest, I was not allowed to talk much.

“My apologies. It seems that Milady would rather refrain from it this time.”

That was because, if I were to speak carelessly, the crude part of me would end up exposed. Until I was done with my “education”, she would act as my representative for all sorts of matters. As a rule, we were only allowed to bring in handmaidens for three months after enrolling into the academy, so from that point onward, I would have to do everything by myself.

“You declined it last time saying the same thing.”

Which was why I would steal and copy the ways of dealing with those kinds of situations from her, my mentor.

“Milady’s body is not stout, and she has been living her girlhood being able to spend a large amount of time by herself. She is not accustomed to life in an organization. She soon becomes feverish from talking with strangers. If you could wait for now until Milady becomes familiar with the academy routine... We know the names and pedigree of people who have come talk to her. She will most likely be the one making invitations eventually.”

“I-Is that so? Then it’s all right. Well, Miss York, good day to you.”

That was a perfectly lady-like manner of refusal, which did not cause either us or the other party to lose face. The refused classmate also did not seem to have taken it with ill intent. She quickly left together with other friends.

“What should we do now?”

It was a rule that the entire school body had to eat at the cafeteria. The atrium-like structure of said cafeteria, which also had terrace seats, bore an air of spaciousness. Even if all three hundred students and the whole academy’s staff had a meal together at the same time, it possessed more than enough seats to accommodate them.

Depending on the time of the year, seasonal events were held there as well. From that point on, the place would be prepared for a ball. I had to get ready for it too. I did not want to, though.

“Milady, what will you be eating?”

“I’m troubled. I feel like having noodles today.”

Each of us had to order our meals out of a predetermined menu to the personnel. I would have fun ordering different things each time, but in the end, I settled for eating a rich noodle soup with plenty of seafood that she recommended me. Since Auto-Memories Dolls journeyed around the world, they were knowledgeable of the noted products and delicacies of given regions. Noodles had a flavor worthy of praise. She said so upon making the decision, putting tealeaves mixed with rose petals into a pot, and I wondered if she was not going to eat anything solid, or even a single bread.

“Don’t you get hungry like that?”

“I have a meal box with me.”

She finished eating in a matter of few seconds, commenting on my aspect and my attitude regarding my surroundings while drinking the black tea afterward. I had not asked about her personal history, but her actions were just like that of the bodyguards who would be around my father. They ate extremely fast as well. They would do so because they could not grab their weapons fast enough while eating. I also ate fast. In my case, it was because I used to live in an environment where I had no idea when I would be able to get food again if I did not eat on the spot.

I suppressed my wish to take the dish in my hands and drink the remainder of the soup with big gulps, scooping it with the spoon. As I ate, I noticed that she had been observing one point all the time. There was a girl coming towards the direction past us in a hesitant pace after having placed post-meal cakes and tea on a tray.

——Uwah, seems like she’ll drop it.

In the instant I thought that, the girl stumbled over nothing. The fact there existed a girl who could trip so prettily in a way that could be called exhilarating was startling even. I could easily imagine the disaster that would be brought about. I readied myself for the three types of cake flying towards me as I squeezed my eyes shut.

However, no matter for how many seconds I braced myself for that reality, the future I had predicted did not come.

As I fearfully opened my eyes, which had been firmly closed, there she was, embracing the girl’s waist with one hand and holding the tray with the other. Although some of them collapsed, the items that had flung midair were secured.

“Are you all right?” She, whose background was unknown and who frequented the academy by playing the role of my handmaiden, displayed wonderful gentlemanly manners.

“Y-Yes...” The cheeks of the girl who had been safely secured along with the cakes were tinted pink.

I was jealous that she was able to look into those blue orbs and be talked to with that skylark-like voice from a very near distance. It seemed many people thought the same, for shrill voices rose from somewhere.

“Let us be careful and go to your table together. Milady, I will leave you for a moment.”

I nodded elegantly, gesturing lightly for her to take care of it. Although it was rude of me, if I were to describe the nervousness of the girl being escorted by her, who walked so gracefully, it was laughable. There was no helping it.

Within one month of attendance, she would occasionally be assisting people, just like me. There was no end to the students who idolized that courteous style in addition to her appearance, voice and way of carrying herself. How could I put it? Perhaps she was a person who could easily... become someone admired in a girls-only garden. Her looks were of an incredible beauty, but the inside was manly, so to speak. No, it was a bit different from that. She had a firm core and was worth being relied upon. Seemed cold but was kind. Gave off a feeling of absolute reassurance. Her figure as she always stood reserved by my side at a reasonable distance was almost like that of a knight.

Yes. Everyone wanted to be protected. Not from a specific foreign enemy, but from the many sorts of uncertainties that we shouldered.

Due to that, I had known for a long time now that she was secretly referred to as “Lady Knight Princess”.

“That is it for the review of today’s class... Now, then, I would like to start dance practice.”

The lessons of the day generally ended at dusk. Afterward, as a rule, we would go back to our room and redo the contents of the classes. After all, I had never received tuition that could actually be called an education. There were many things I did not know. She had been the one dispatched to me also so that I could take lessons in secrecy with the best teacher and cover up the gap between myself and the other students.

Our contract period was of three months. We had twenty days left. I would have to go through self-studies from thereafter. I could manage my lessons even through self-study, but I could not do that about conversational skills, manner of carrying myself or dancing. The fact that she had a relation to Drossel had been the main cause behind her selection, but there were other reasons.

The person who had invited her had been a caretaker of the royal family that did the so-called role of wet nurse, and she seemed to have detected a talent for lecturing in the latter back when she had previously hired her as Auto-Memories Doll. Had she served as mediator by saying that there was a fine and capable person around just when my father had been contemplating about whom to have for teaching such a toilsome girl in secret? I had no idea if that woman knew of my true circumstances, but I believed she had made a superb decision.

Amongst Auto-Memories Dolls, there were many who had received lady-like education and who were young girls, on top of that. It was also easy for them to infiltrate as handmaiden. Had it been a private tutor that just graduated from college, there was a possibility that she would be too old, and more than anything, it was not as if she would be extensively refined. Thinking that way, it maybe could be said that the so-called Auto-Memories Dolls were lady role models who would not cause embarrassment no matter where they turned in. It probably depended on each person, though. At the very least, she was qualified. I was not one to talk, but I had a feeling that she was used to dealing with troublesome people.

I let out a heavy sigh. “Are we seriously gonna do this? I’ll... definitely end up stepping on your feet.”

“It is not a matter of being able to do it or not; it is an indispensable element that you must see to,” she told me flatly as I expressed objection with my sharp tongue.

“Lady Knight Princess, you’re scary.”

“Did you say something just now?”

With an icy gaze directed at me, I rapidly shook my head left and right. “No... I didn’t, I didn’t. Is it okay if we do it wearing the uniform?”

“You should actually wear a dress... but Milady’s dress is not ready yet, so we shall do it like this until it arrives. I will do the male role. Your right hand...”

I was delighted only about holding her hand. I fixed my posture according to what she said.

“The next event is called a ball, but it is a dance party. There will be no problems if you so much as learn the most basic steps of waltz. I believe it is all right not to adhere too much to formalities. The goal is to enjoy it while chatting with your schoolmates. Milady, in order for you not to be troubled when you receive invitations, I shall have you perform both the male and female roles.”

Her hands rounded my back and our bodies came closer at once. My chest that particularly did not form a cleavage and her chest that looked slender under clothing touched, and my cheeks unwittingly grew red. Then I closed my eyes.

“What is the matter?”

“I thought you were gonna kiss me.”

“May I ask why you thought so?”

“Somehow... When bodies are so close together, don’t you feel like doing it?”

“I do not. I will not.”

Being taught by someone with not seem to have a single ounce of sexual desire withered my will as well. Reluctantly, I decided to take the dance lesson seriously.

“The natural position is not to stand straight forward but to turn half of your body to the side a little... Yes, and with my hand touching the area of Milady’s shoulder blade. The elbows must not shake. They tend to shake as we move, but have a horizontal line in mind.”

It was quite difficult to bear straightness in mind. It made me aware of how loose a posture I normally had. My body trembled just from maintaining my pose.

“This is difficult.”

It was difficult enough for me to become coquettish from all the long sighs and agony.

“Accustom yourself to it. Let us repeat the same movement... Milady, please entrust yourself with the male role as we progress. Protecting your aide in a venue where other people are dancing as well is the male role. Leave your body to me... If you do not do so, I cannot protect you whenever it might seem that someone will bump onto us.”

“I kinda... wanna move with more vigor.”

“No can do; please feel my movements... match my breathing.”

“I feel like... my breathing will stop. It really is excruciating, like my body is strained.”

“It will soften with time. Do it slowly in no hurry.”

If I were to describe her teaching, it was as though only the “stick” part had been extracted from “carrot and stick”.

I was exhausted from fatigue just by doing that for ten minutes. Perhaps because I had continued to do it with my neck bent backwards, the muscular pain soon started acting up. I had completely grown sick of dance by break time.

Rolling onto my room’s bed, I hugged my pillow and shouted, “I wanna do something more fun!”

As I flailed my legs to express displeasure, she repressed me without a moment’s delay, “Your underwear is visible.”

Try as I might, it appeared that dancing did not suit me.

As I briefly raised my face, she was staring down at me with a look that obviously seemed to say, “You are such a troublesome person”.

I yelled angrily in defiance, “I can’t do everything as smoothly as you! You and I are different!”

“‘Different’?”

“That’s right! Different in any and everything... You’re unfair...”

The difference was enough to go beyond making one feel jealousy and led them to the point of desistance.

“Aren’t you so blessed?”

She was a pretty, intelligent and proud professional lady who could go anywhere. That was the opposite of me, who was henceforth merely going to be polished and sold off as the commodity so-called “woman”. I was living in order to be eventually delivered to some old man who I had no idea how many years would be apart from me in age with a ribbon wrapped around me. As for her... I did not know what she was living for but she was able to make all sorts of decisions by herself.

I could not choose anything on my own anymore. Because I had made a big choice once.

“Milady.” She sat on the bed and nestled close to me. Then slowly pulled away a tuft of hair that had stuck to my mouth with her artificial fingers.

Was the fact that she had started giving me a mellow look only at times like those despite being expressionless all the time a proof of intimacy from spending the past couple of months with me? Or could it be...

“I have tired you out a bit...”

...a technique of hers? She was truly, truly... extremely kindhearted every now and then. She was being that gentle to me because she was paid to, but even so, such gentleness could become a habit. I decided to view her in a way that left me pondering over how that was surely the reason why she was famous in the Auto-Memories Doll business.

“My deepest apologies for making you force yourself too much.”

She made people mistakenly feel almost as if they were more special than anyone else. Even someone like me.

“I will bring hot water. Please go heal your exhaustion with a bath.”

Even though she was being unreasonably told off by a selfish mistress, she did not give the slightest sign of irritation. I could not imagine her being angry, but there was a limit to how much one could bear up with in that situation. I felt like she had grown weary of me, like she had given up on me, and became anxious.

“H-Hey.” As if working on automatic, my hand moved. “I’ll go too.” I grabbed the hem of her skirt and sat up.

“Milady. The buckets are heavy for you to carry.”

“I don’t wanna make you carry it alone.”

“Milady, all you have to do is to act lady-like.”

“I will, I will. I’ll become the Milady that you want in front of everyone. But, when we’re just by ourselves...”

Maybe because I was making such a desperate face, her eyes softened a little. “Understood.”

We did about three round trips to fill my gold cat-leg porcelain tub with seethed boiling water for a hot bath and finally finished collecting the heated water. There was a large bathtub in the dormitory that everyone used collectively, but we did not fancy it. Her arms were prosthetics, and I did not want her to reveal her naked body to other people either.

As she was about to exit the bathroom with a, “Well, then, take your time”, I detained her. “Let’s go in together.”

“No, thank you.”

“If you only go in after I leave, the water will have cooled down.”

“I do not mind.”

“I’ll be happy if you go in with me.”

“Milady, I am not here to make you happy.”

“We always repeat this dialogue, but in the end, you lose your wit, so just agree upright.”

Silence.

I had complete grasp of how weak she was to pressure.

While it seemed like she wanted to say something, she uttered, “No helping it. However, please stop staring fixatedly at me when I am undressing. Please do not try to touch me without permission, either. I will quit this job the moment that any inappropriate actions take place.”

I regretted not being able to hide my ulterior motives.

We immersed ourselves in the bathtub side by side. Although the tub was wide, it was narrow for two people to go in. She sat on the edge so as not to let her prosthetics touch the heated water to the best of her abilities, while I had my knees folded inside the tub.

It was quite difficult not to stare up and down at her as she wiped her body with a cloth soaked in warm water. Unlike me, who had never done physical exercise, she had a toned body. The glossiness of her skin had a pearly gleam. She herself was the copy of a heavenly nymph from some painting. I believed that no one would manage not to pay attention to a woman with such a beautiful naked figure, regardless of gender.

I brought up a subject as naturally as I could, “By the way, that girl... called you over at the end of class by the school building’s entrance, right? See, the one who stumbled magnificently during lunch break.”

“Aah... My apologies for leaving your side that time.”

“That’s fine. But didn’t she do anything weird to you?”

“She was not the kind of person who coaxes others into kissing like Milady does.”

I wondered if I was the most dangerous person in her perception.

“Right, right... She gave me something in a wrap back then as gratitude. Those things that serve for applying color to nails... were they called ‘nail polish’? There were countless types of them in it. But I am reflecting on how to use them since my hands are prosthetics.”

Her prosthetics impressively started from around the area of both her shoulders. They gave off the impression of being fake. Perhaps because of that, her humanness was indistinct. She really did seem like a mechanical doll. Of course, the flesh part of her was extraordinarily sensual and overflowed with charm, though.

Under what sort of circumstances had she become like that? Had her arms been severed, had they rotted and fallen off? Her visible scars were not only those. From neck to toes, big and small scratches could be faintly spotted.

“Is that so...?”

The war had ended just a few years before in our continent. Even without asking about her past, I somehow could guess it. In reality, arms of white and smooth skin had used to exist there just like her other parts. Even she, who could not be said to have the body of an adult, was supposed not to like the fact that her arms had been turned into artificial ones.

That was why I said especially lightly, “I’ll paint your toe nails. When we get out of the bath. You already received it... so it’s better to wear it for that girl’s sake. She might have been happy just from you accepting it, though.”

“Milady...” She firmly squeezed her lengthy blond hair, water drops spilling from it. “Milady, you have not asked me about my arms even once.”

The droplets that fell down with dripping noises looked like hourglass sand. They made me conscious of my remaining time with her.

I approached her side and smiled. To express that molesting her was not what I intended to do, I raised both of my hands once. On top of that, I placed my cheek over her knee. It gave off the lukewarm feeling of a human being. I had imagined she would have the tender skin of a girl, but that was not the case.

“You also haven’t asked me where or how I was living before becoming the daughter of a big-name millionaire.”

Since I was in love with her, I did feel like monopolizing her future, past and present. But people had things that they did and that they did not want to talk about. I was not very smart, yet I was aware of that much. Because it was valid for me as well.

No matter what happened, I did not want to tell her about my past.

That night, we went to sleep after having painted our toenails with matching colors of nail polish.

I had a dream. A dream about my little sister. I was eating pancakes with her. It was in some place that I did not recognize. A simple wooden house... the kind of home that people would use to describe a happy household.

We had never eaten pancakes during the time we used to live together, so that might have been a manifestation of my desire. The desire of just eating something tasty with my little sister.

She could not properly hold onto the spoon yet, so I was feeding her. In the dream, we had poured plenty of honey and cream onto the pancakes and decorated them with cherry crowns. When I asked her if it was yummy, she beamed and nodded. I was so, so happy with that smile...

And then I woke up.

Overcome as I was with a feeling of great joy that exceeded any pleasure and drug, I could not suppress my tears and coughs. I wiped my snot and tears with the sleeve of my negligee. It was not as if I wanted to cry.

Still, though, what a useless body function. Tears did not serve any purpose. I knew with all of my being that no one would help me out even if I wailed.

Unable to bear lying on my side, I sat up. The disease was more agonizing if I stayed laid down. Rubbing my wheezing chest, I desperately attempted to hold back the coughs.

That disease had afflicted me ever since meeting my father, but it was no thread to my life. It was just that the coughs were painful.

I wondered why that was happening. I was supposed to be happy right now. Yet my body complained about how unlucky and tormented it was.

I had made a choice. For that child’s sake, I could do my best at anything. I had honestly thought that I would be able to endure anything. I had been confident that such feeling would not fade no matter how many cold nights I had to live through. That did not change even as of late, where my situation was different.

——Still, why am I feeling so pained?

“Milady,” a clear voice echoed throughout the bedroom that was enshrouded in night.

My shoulders flinched as I turned my face towards the bed next to mine. I wondered for how long she had been awake, for she was looking at me. Her blue eyes were like candlelight in the slightly dark room.

“My cough won’t...”

“I will bring you water.”

“It’s fine, no need. It’s useless...”

“Then I am going over there.”

She came to my side before I asked. Gathering her own pillows and cushions from the sofa, she piled many of them up. As she placed them at my back, I was able to find a comfortable position even while seated. She also sat close to me, the two of us sharing a blanket. When I stretched out my hand, she held onto it.

“Isn’t it hard for you to sleep if you can’t lie down?”

“I can sleep anywhere.”

“You have an awful job, huh? Even though you’re just an Auto-Memories Doll... you gotta spend three months with someone like me.”

But it was just for a bit more.

“There is no good or bad when it comes to work. Besides, my holding of Milady’s hand right now is not my duty.”

My time with the only person who acted as ally in my academy life full of lies was scarce.

“Yup.” I rested my head on her shoulder. “Hey, you’re nice... but why?”

“What might you mean?”

“Y’know, you’re normally strict... but you’re super nice at times like these, right? Why? Even though I was pretty disgusting. From the very start, you always...”

“‘Disgusting’...?” As if not understanding what I was talking about, she had a question mark overhead.

“Didn’t I tell you when we first met? ‘I have no intention to get familiar with you. So don’t talk to me about anything other than the bare minimum needed for my tuition’.”

Back then, I had been tossed into in a world I did not know, so every person that I saw used to look like an enemy to me. I had convinced myself that such a brazen beauty who had come over at an expensive price was also unmistakably scorning at me on the inside.

“You indeed told me so. I was doing just as you ordered until half the way.”

“Haha, because I took that order back... I am... horrible. You’re... nice...”

It had happened a week after enrollment, in the middle of the night. I had had a coughing fit due to emotional vertigo just like now. I remembered that she had reacted fast and raised her body. For a while, she had watched over me from the neighboring bed as I coughed. As she had merely stood observing, I had resented her, thinking about what a terrible person she was.

——I don’t have a single ally.

It was not as if I had been drunk on tragedy. But I had been unable to think anything other than that. Firmly suppressing tears, I had coiled up.

——I won’t lose; I can’t stay weak like this. I got this cough because my feelings are feeble.

Despite my self-scolding, the cough had only worsened and did not get better. Although it was apparently an illness called asthma, there was no specific medicine for it. I could only wait for it to subside.

——It’s hard to breathe and there’s nothing I can do.

I had been on the verge of going crazy.

——I wanna sleep but I can’t.

Even as I closed my eyelids and nodded off, the coughing had prevented my sleep. Just as I had been about to scream from that vicious cycle, I felt someone’s touch against my back. My body had then convulsed with a start. I had never experienced someone doing something like that for me.

When I bent my neck to look behind, I had found her mutely stroking my back. Albeit not saying anything, her gaze had seemed worried. She had carried on caressing my back. Our eyes had met in the darkness, and she had opened her mouth once but then closed it. I had wondered why. Finally, I had realized it.

——Aah, it’s ‘cause I...

It was because I had told her not to talk. Like a machine, she had been faithfully following what I had said. That had probably been the reason why she had not asked if I was all right... Because I had ordered so myself.

I had thought she was a terrible person.

——I’m the one who’s terrible.

I had lay face-down, hiding my tears and letting her do as she pleased.

——I’m all about myself, but this person is...

Her hand had never stopped.

Was I not actually the one being terrible to the world? Suddenly, that thought had crossed my mind. Because, see, I was supposed to be an unpleasant mistress from her point of view, yet she worried about me. She had been supposedly sleepy too. Saying that having to spend three months beside a cocky and unrefined little girl was some sort of punishment could not be considered a joke. Even so, she was kind.

——She’s nice.

Only when I was by her side could I think slightly gently of the world. I could feel that I was being taken care of. Just a little bit, my existence shone. In the world I so rejected, for the first time, I had been able to breathe in properly.

After that night had passed, I had remade my request to her. I had told her that, if she could, I wanted her to talk to me normally as a fellow girl who was close to her in age.

“I am nice...?” As expected, she remained with a questioning expression. It seemed she had no intention to do that.

I looked at our matching toenails as our feet peeked out of the blanket and laughed, “You are.”

“Is that so? I am merely copying it. One time, when I was injured, the person who was with me left cushions for me like this so that the wounded part would not hurt. Thanks to him, I was able to sleep well that day. There was also a time when I got a fever from overwork, and he woke up many times at night to give me water.”

Since she had been treated kindly, she would mimic it in a similar situation, was what she was saying.

“I see.”

I wondered how many people on this earth could manage to do that. How many of them understood the real meaning behind the merit of doing it.

“Milady, if you cannot sleep, shall we talk about constellations? I am always studying them.”

People cared mostly about themselves.

“‘Kay.”

Even being affectionate with others involved calculations and profits.

“Then, let me tell you about the anecdote of the twin stars that twinkle in the night sky at this time of the year.”

They were properly able to comprehend the wonderfulness of natural kindness only after getting hurt a lot.

“‘Kay.”

I wanted to become strong, I thought.

I wanted to have a soul that would stand tall no matter what winds and waves came at me. I wanted a heart of steel that would not budge, regardless of how much my sadness and loneliness attempted to kill me. Also, I wanted to accept several matters and be kind to people.

I believed that surely her gentleness seeped so deeply into my flesh and bones was because she had been hurt in an equal amount. There were numerous scratches carved into her body. Were they not the same as the wounds in her heart? It was precisely because she was someone who had been hurt that her kindness was different from other people’s.

I did not want to forget the emotion I was having at the time. That was what she made me feel.

Quick, quick, turn.

We repeated dance practice over and over, and when the day of the ball arrived, a package was delivered to me. It had a mail in the name of my father.

Countless large boxes were stacked in a corner of my room. Jewels, dresses and high-heel shoes revealed themselves as we unwrapped their cute casings. A part of them was for her as well.

Upon looking at the postal agency covering letter attached to the baggage, she made a face as though she were suppressing a sneeze.

“What’s wrong?”

“My dress was sent from my company’s president... so the one who delivered it to the academy’s gates was most likely a postman that I know. There is a scribble here.”

On the covering letter was the name of the postman, and next to it was a smile mark that seemed to have been drawn by a child. There was a speech bubble coming from the scribble, and on it were written the words “You playin’ around?”.

“What does this mean?”

“I imagine he wants to say, ‘hurry back home’.”

“That so?”

“My original occupation is ghostwriting, after all. The reason why I took on this job was that I received an invitation from the Drossel Kingdom, which has deep-rooted connections with the York household. Milady, this is a topic unrelated to you, but ever since being hired by them previously, I have received several job proposals... Even for a postal company, turning them down was a tough demand. As a request from the president, I am now here like this, but I myself have never been away from the agency for this long. It is also difficult to keep in touch with the outside world in this place, so I cannot report to them on a fixed term. This letter is probably his own way of showing concern.”

Her voice resounded more gently than usual as she spoke. The facial expression of just now might have been her biting back a smile.

——I see, so there are other people like this?

If it were I of until a while before, my head would have surely filled up with jealousy. But after three months had passed, I had come to know what sort of person she was, and had come to know myself through her. The values of the human being that I was had reformed but a little.

There had not been much change in her expression, but she seemed happy, so I was happy too. Of course, I felt loneliness as well.

“Hey, you leave today, right?”

“Yes. Our contract will terminate as soon as the ball ends. I will depart tonight.”

“Then, let’s have lots of fun together... in the ball,” I forced a laugh.

——Just a bit more left. I want the figure of myself that will stay within you to be something joyful.

“Well, then.”

——Because I’m fond of you. So I want you to place me in your good memories. Even if I don’t become a part of your life, even if you forget me, even if I’m the only one who will remember, I want to make a little effort. For both the girl I like and the little sister I love, I want to be something good. I want to remain as something good.

“Could you escort me?” I stretched out my hand and said so as a joke, yet she all too seriously nodded, raised one leg and kneeled down on the spot.

“With pleasure, Milady.”

Even though she was called “Lady Knight Princess”, there was no helping her coolness.

My fingerless gloves were made of black lace embroidery. Bijou straps held my slender heeled shoes.

I did not need my glasses. I had an escort, after all.

I placed a wreath woven with fresh flowers on my hair. My pastel pink square-neck satin dress, which seemed to make a laughable appeal to cuteness, was as light as a feather. A red panier that looked like piled-up roses was visible from underneath the ankle-length hem.

Since I had only ever dressed modestly in the academy, the schoolmates I passed by whispered something at the discrepancy of impression that I brought about. No, perhaps it was not me. The person that they were supposedly spreading rumors about was someone else.

“Everyone’s looking at you.”

Her high-neck dress tightly buttoned up to her collar did not allow any distracting exposure. It was a full-fledged protection so-called a long-sleeve robe. I wanted to commend the sense of the person that had chosen it. It concealed her arms of artificial mechanism in a splendidly elegant way.

“Is there anything strange about it?”

“No. It means you’re pretty.”

“But everyone is dressed-up.”

“You’re the prettiest of all.”

Decorated with a braid, her long, long golden hair cascaded down from one side of her face. Seen from behind, her figure was most charming. Like stars, there were rose adornments here and there on her hair and dress. She herself was looking slightly doubtful, but her beauty was one that could be observed forever.

The cafeteria had its appearance transformed and turned into a ball venue. Said venue, covered with white and blue glitter markings, was like a world made of night skies. Silver balloons flew and spread around over the atrium ceiling. Arranged on countless interconnected long tables were various delicacies that displayed the prowess of the academy’s cooks.

From meat dishes to fish dishes, one could eat gems of rich hues at the buffet. An overwhelming sense of presence wafted from cupcakes and cookies lined up in rows, which had icing applied even to their insides.

It seemed that the table coordination plan was committed as well. Flowers decorated the teacups, candlelight wavered from within glass blows and all glasses had chiffon ribbons tied around them.

“Sublimely expensive, huh. Almost like a wedding ceremony. I’ve never attended one, though.”

Should a land of dreams exist, I wondered if it would feel like that.

Unlike me, who was nervous from being at my first time in such a situation, she was something majestic. Actually, she no different from normal.

“Shall we get ourselves something...? Is there anything you wish for?”

I rested a hand on my stomach and groaned, “My corset is tight so it doesn’t seem like I’ll be able to eat much... Hey, don’t leave my side. My vision is pretty blurry. It’s not like I can’t see, though.”

“I promise. I will not leave your side.”

Just as declared, although many people called to her, she did not leave my side. At the height of the banquet, volunteering students gathered up bringing instruments and started playing music. Everyone began swaying and, while blindly following an inspection on the melody, they went out into the dance hall with their partners. My stomach started hurting as that time at last arrived.

——If I fail, they’ll find out that I’m not a girl of nobility.

Such act that would stain the dignity of the York family. They might then become unable to go along with the conditions established in exchange of me carrying out the duty of successor.

In spite of saying, “I don’t wanna, I don’t wanna”, I had been doing my best for that sake.

“Milady,” someone whispered into my ear, causing me to have goosebumps.

I turned my whole body, which had become stiff from anxiety, toward her direction. The one standing beside me was...

“Please be at ease. Milady, your grasp of dance is perfect. I guarantee it.”

...my sole ally.

“It might be easy to trip with shoes that you are not used to. However, if you are concerned about stumbling down, it absolutely will not happen.”

She was the only girl who knew of my circumstances.

“After all, I will protect you.”

My girl, who was like a knight.

——If you say so, there will be no failures. Because I know it. You don’t tell lies, and you definitely fulfill your promises.

It could be idiotic of me to believe so much in her even though we had only spent a few months together. If it were my former self, I would never let my guard down like that. Still...

——Still, it’s because it’s you.

“Yup, I trust you.”

——Because it’s you.

“And thank you for until now; this is your last job.”

——Because it’s you.

“I’ll leave the man role to you, but do let me say it.”

——Because it’s you, I fell in love and followed after you.

“Violet, please take my hand.”

The golden-haired, blue-eyed Auto-Memories Doll – the most beautiful and distinguished person out of the people I had encountered – Violet Evergarden – smiled the slightest bits as she spoke, “Gladly, Milady.”

After the ball, we bathed together like always, dried each other’s hair and combed them. Violet went back into the same look as when we first met, with her jacket, ribbon-tie one-piece, emerald brooch and cocoa-brown boots, departing from the academy after midnight.

The next day, I would surely be faced with a bombarding of questions. About where the Lady Knight Princess had gone to.

As we bid farewells, I made her just one request, “I’ll pay for this someday; now I’m empty-handed so I can’t give you anything, but I’ll definitely return the favor. That’s why, can I ask you something as a friend...?”

Violet Evergarden replied with her sweetly ringing voice, “Lady Amy Bartlett. I do not accept money from friends.”

Hearing that response, I became pained enough for my breathing to stop.

I never saw her again after that. Only our letter exchange continued on forever.

When the name of Isabella York was still Amy Bartlett, she had picked a little girl from a nearby prostitute district at almost the break of dawn.

“Go steal something better next time.”

A boy wearing a hunting hat and bolero that hid his body up to his neck came out of a conversion store that also dealt with stolen goods. Upon a better look, it was obvious that he was actually a girl but her not fully developed body concealed her gender. For a woman to be dressing as a man if not as a hobby, the reason mostly had to do with protecting her own chastity.

Such was that town.

While clicking her tongue and spitting curses at the shopkeeper’s greedy negotiations, Amy found a girl sitting on the ground as she exited the store.

——Aah, this kid...

Rather than a girl, she was closer to being a baby. She was the daughter of a commercial comrade that Amy was close to. Nevertheless, both the child’s parent and Amy were teenagers of the same age group.

The whole town where Amy lived was a prostitution district located in a halfway point that interconnected big cities. The economic structure of the town based itself on entertaining travelers that would run out of supplies and migrating soldiers. The most common business in town after prostitution was burglary. There were also cases where prostitutes served as thieves.

The stolen belongings were brought over to the conversion store, their owners would show up searching for them, and the shopkeeper would make a deal with them for double the original price. It was a vicious cycle of commerce where complicity happened between robbers and sellers.

Amy would often see that child whenever she exited the conversion store. She had also gossiped with the latter’s mother many times.

“Where’s your mom?”

When Amy asked so, the child pointed towards a spot not too far away. Someone had collapsed there. The way that the person’s neck twisted was strange, and so Amy immediately knew that she had died.

“Won’t move.”

“Right, she’s dead.”

Had it been trouble because of jealousy, or had it been a random attacker?

It was probably useless to tell anyone that a person had passed away. She would predictably be told that than living in such a town, where 90% of the crimes that occurred were let be, was worse.

——But since we don’t know any other place or other way of living, this is the only town where we can live.

Amy gazed down at the child who was not yet able to understand her own mother’s death. She had fluffy and curly marigold-colored hair. Although she was wearing drapes, but her facial traits had a loveliness taken after her mother.

If left alone, she would likely be taken away and sold off by some pimp. Either that or she would get caught in the gears of theft business and become unable to break free from it. If one were to presume an even more horrid outcome, her entire body would be cut apart and end up in the hands of a dilettante.

“Your mom bought bread for me once.”

In the past, Amy had been forced to make the same choice. To her, that child almost looked like herself.

“I hadn’t managed to steal any wallets at all and hadn’t eaten anything for who knows how many days, so she was a big help.”

The truth was that she had never received any bread from her, and was merely telling a lie in order to use it as reason.

“That’s why I’ll help bury her.”

Amy waltzed back into the conversion store, told its owner about the situation and borrowed the help of a man. Acquaintances of the child’s mother were present as well, but no one proposed to report to the military police.

After an examination, she was buried safely in a nearby military cemetery. Upon finishing the burial, everyone seemed heavy-eyed.

“What do we do about that thing?” The conversion store’s shopkeeper treated the child who did not attempt to move away from her mother’s grave as an object. “Cut her in pieces or sell her? If you leave it to me, I’ll give you a portion.”

In that moment, Amy’s hands grabbed ahold of the fate of that child who to her was no different from a baby.

——When it was me, this man decided to make me into a thief.

To Amy, an everyday where she had to live as a robber was the worst, but perhaps she had to be thankful that she was not pickled in formalin. No, was she actually supposed to resent him? He had forced her into a path to live in such a world.

“I’ll make her my little sister.”

“Haah?”

That was why Amy thought about bestowing the child with another choice.

“I’ll make her my sister. No cutting her in pieces or selling her.”

No one would use her, nor would she use anyone. She would be granted a choice to be loved as just a child, who might have existed even if she had not been born in that place.

“Amy. She ain’t your kid, right? What kinda sense of duty are you doing that for?”

Amy answered the conversion store’s owner while laughing, “For revenge.”

For herself, the child and the mother, Amy believed she wanted to take revenge upon the world and destiny that were subjecting them to such circumstances.

Amy had been angry ever since being born. And when her mother was murdered by a hoodlum. And when she was coerced by a man into stealing. Even now as she stood in the middle of a cemetery covered in morning fog, Amy was all the while angry. What was that world even, she wondered.

——What did I or they do? Why is the world so unfair?

It was absurd, violent and cruel enough to make her nauseated. Every day, either her body or her heart would ache. There was not a single day without pain.

——Whoever created the world, whoever gave minds to humans and dropped them down to earth is insane.

Amy cursed the perverted bastards that so liked to see people suffering.

“I’ll make this kid happy. She was actually supposed to have been unlucky. I’ll change that. It’ll serve right the horrible people who were supposed to earn money out of her and the God that had been dictating her fate. Just you watch... I’ll definitely, definitely show her a proper lifestyle.”

Amy Bartlett had become Isabella York one year after that.

Just when Amy had come to learn about loving someone, a messenger of someone who claimed to be her father paid her a visit. According to the messenger, he even now wanted the child of a lover that he had settled with over money in the distant past.

His heirs had perished one after another from an epidemic. He would get her out of that poverty. Therefore, she should present herself to him. Although the messenger spoke in a delicate manner, in the end, he had come to say such a thing.

Destiny made effective use of irrationality. The world only ever used Amy.

Amy asked about her little sister. What would happen to the latter if she went over to the York house?

The messenger looked at Amy’s sister, who she had held in her arms and not let go of ever since he had appeared, and smiled.

They could never see each other again. A person from that household was not allowed to be involved with the daughter of a prostitute. If she did everything as told, they could send her sister to an orphanage or to a family that wanted children as an adopted one.

“That would also be better for her. Will you let her live like this?” he asked while laughing.

——“Let her live like this”?

Upon being questioned, Amy looked around her apartment. Even for someone living on their own, the rooms were of a narrow plan. She had no idea how many years of construction the place had. Both the floor and roof were inclined, and if a storm came, the people who lived there would be blown away. There was a pan with leftovers of a soup that she had made two days before in the kitchen. It was the only thing they would have as meal for that day, too. One of the sides of the room’s curtains was missing. On the floor lay a doll that she had bought for her sister. There were two picture books. Both had been handouts from someone else. Those were the only child toys they owned. Due to a routine without daytime or nighttime, their laundry seemed about to overflow from its basket.

It was a messy apartment. There was nothing clean. Yet it was the most that Amy could currently manage. There was nothing else she could do. No matter how much she triturated her body and worked, God would not give her anything. They did not exist. At the very least, They had never appeared to her.

There was no hope in her life. No passion. No kindness, either. There was not a single thing that shone in such a world of thin pitch-darkness. If there was but one wonderful thing in it...

“Big Sis,” from within Amy’s arms, the most precious of the elements that composed her – her little sister – mustered out a tearful voice, “Bi-g Sis.” Perhaps having felt her guardian’s distress with her entire body, she had started making a crying face. “Big Sis.”

She was not yet able to say Amy’s name correctly, so she had been taught an abbreviation for “big sister” as a provisional pet name.

“Big Sis.”

Amy had wanted to do many things for the child once she grew up.

“Big Sis.”

She wanted her to attend school, make friends and experience many enjoyable moments.

Their relationship had started out of revenge, but that was not the case now. She had managed to find hope for living in her dissatisfaction-ridden, awful life. Saving a small living being who would not be protected by anyone but herself, that is.

Such was Amy’s sole wonderful something. It had become the reason why she was currently fighting to live.

“Come now, there is only one answer you can give, right?”

The man extending a hand to her in the thin pitch-darkness was turning out as not an angel but a demon. Alarm bells resounded in her head, telling her that those who moved forward beyond that point had to throw hope away entirely.

She could not afford to separate from the value of her life, which she had finally found. She did not want to do it. She wanted to flee.

——But...

As the man had said, there was only one answer that she could give.

Along a highway of thriving greenery, there was an orphanage established through the reformation of a building that used to be a church. In the vicinities of the national institution, which Drossel was contributing to, there were fields and pastures that served as sustenance for the inquilines.

The children that had been taken in were doing farm work while occasionally messing around with each other. As the staff watching over them admonished with, “Do it seriously”, they could hear the vehicle noises of a motorcycle, which could not be well discerned due to being far away from where they were. It was running nimbly through the road of unpaved soil.

Said motorcycle that cut through a scene of cheerful routine stopped in front of the orphanage. Just as the staff fearfully went to inquire about the guest, a man was dismounting the motorcycle.

“It’s the mail.”

He was an odd postman who wore high-heel boots that seemed to make it difficult to walk in such a rural area. His way of speaking was rough, but he had given a proper greeting.

The postal items were letters, and the recipient was a girl that had just recently come to the orphanage. She was an infant who could not yet do farm labor.

Albeit put off by the man, who asserted that he would deliver the mail in person and did not listen to anyone, the staff led him to the room where the girl was. As he entered said room, the girl was absent-mindedly observing colorful lights pouring from a stained glass that had remained intact from the times when the place was a church.

The vivid lights that had transparently melted into the room illuminated it. Perhaps the room was a place for keeping play equipment owned by the children, for there were many bookshelves and toys arranged in it. A young woman dressed as a nun, who indeed seemed to like children, was watching over the other infants.

“Yo, you’ve got two letters addressed to you.” The postman crouched down to meet the child’s gaze and offered the letters.

The child did not try to take them. It might be her first time receiving letters.

She took out of her mouth the finger that she had been sucking and pointed to herself. “Taylor.”

A gleam that seemed like it would pull people in floated on her big eyes. She was apparently welcoming the strange element that had abruptly entered her life, the postman.

The man’s voice resounded with a naturally softened pitch, “Yep, they’re for you.” His eyes narrowed and he smiled just a little.

“For Taylor?”

“That’s right. Two letters for Miss Taylor Bartlett. Can you read? I guess it’s a stupid question to ask a brat that looks like a baby. Hey, you over there; can she read?”

Suddenly talked to by the handsome postman as she stayed silent, the young nun had her face red. She then shook her head mutely.

“No helping it. Hey, Taylor, I’ll read them for you. Is that okay?”

“Taylor.”

“Cool, so it’s okay.”

“Big Bro.”

“Who’s ‘Big Bro’? I have ‘Benedict Blue’ as my awesome name... No, listen. These two envelopes have each come from a different sender. One is from Violet Evergarden. She’s my colleague. It says there that you can visit her if you have any troubles or any favors to ask in the future. She even courteously included a map to CH Postal Service... It means that you can come over if you have problems in getting a job.” The postman, Benedict, pushed the letter onto Taylor after having finished reading it. “Next: sender unknown. Written in it is... What? So short...” There was no other text even as he tried turning over the stationary, so Benedict read it as it was, “‘This is a magic word that will protect you – “Amy”. You just have to recite it’... is what it says.”

Taylor reacted with a start to that word. Her eyes opened wide, blinking several times.

Just for the sake of putting it out there, Benedict bent his neck towards the nun and threw a complaint, “You should teach this kid how to read.”

“Maybe it’s because of the environment she was raised in, but her absorption of knowledge falls behind in comparison to the other children. We have to take care of the other children as well, so we don’t have time to teach her with constant supervision...”

“I get it, but,” Benedict began, “it’s gonna be necessary for when she grows up, ain’t it? More importantly, she can’t read letters... even though I went through the trouble of delivering them. People write letters because they want them to be read, right? And there’re two. Two fellows who sent her letters. It’s okay if it takes time; just teach her.”

Unlike Auto-Memories Dolls, the postmen’s job was delivery. Regardless, even for them, the desire of properly sending the feelings that someone had entrusted them with was the same.

Auto-Memories Dolls got to see the faces of their clients, but they mostly did not see the faces of the people to whom said clients sent letters. The ones who witnessed the moment that someone’s delivery arrived were they.

Indifferent to the exchange between Benedict and the nun, Taylor was attempting to pronounce the word that she had been told, “Eh... Big Sis.”

She did try to do so, but what came out were different words. That was the nickname of the grown-up who had been together with her for a single year in her life, which had only just started.

A new bed, many strangers that she had never seen before. Within that fresh everyday, her memories of that person were fading away. Taylor no longer recalled even her own mother’s face. Surely her recollections of the person called “Big Sis” would be thrown into a furnace of oblivion eventually.

“Big Sis.”

However, now was different. She could remember the doll that that person had given her and the flavor of her soup.

“Big Sis, Big Sis.”

She could remember the warmth from the times of being embraced by her, as well as her hair that used to smell sugary.

“Big Sis.”

She could remember fact that that person used to be a significant existence to her.

As tears surfaced in her eyes, she was able to recall vestiges.

“Amy.”

To Taylor Bartlett, before she had realized, that word had become a magic spell for mustering courage.

The girl stared up at a red brick building that had a weathercock on its top.

While the girl stood by the roadside, people incessantly entered and exited that postal company of slightly old-fashioned exterior. A young man carrying a package. A young woman holding a letter to a beloved someone under her arm.

The windows seemed already open.

Within the site, a postman mounted his motorcycle while yawning. A bewitchingly beautiful woman came after him in trots. Clicking his tongue at her as she forcefully took over the passenger seat, the youth made a face that did not seem at all dissatisfied from an angle she could not see.

Lively laughter could be heard from the balcony of the third floor. So could the voice of a young woman that was angry for whatever reason. Eventually, a man made his way to the balcony with a teacup in hand. He spotted the girl, who was nothing but a part of the cityscape, and candidly wave at her despite it being their first meeting.

After that, a young woman of lustrous blond hair revealed herself.

It was a place noisier and more valuable than what she had imagined. For the girl, that place was a dreamy one.

Firmly grasping the white dress she was clad in, she stepped forward. And, at the same time, she recited the magic spell.

“Amy.”

My most beloved Taylor, this is a letter I cannot send.

From now on, I don’t have any sort of relationship with you. This is the agreement I have made.

Taylor, you see, the truth is that maybe I didn’t want to become a big sister, but a mother.

I love you, so I made this decision on my own accord. I wonder how that will affect your life. I won’t stop wishing for it to go in a good direction.

You’ll forget about me for sure. I wonder if you’ll grow up thinking you don’t have a family. But y’know, Taylor, even if I’m not around anymore, and even if I get buried away within your memories, you’ll call for me. Just that is enough.

Our bond is eternal.

The fact that I used to like your hair, the color of your eyes and your smile, and the fact that I believed I wanted to make you happy – all of it will become eternal. Since “Amy” is a name I can’t be addressed as anymore, since I loved you and since that time was an eternity to me, there will be continuation to it whenever you recite something as if it were magic. There will be continuation to the me that you’re fond of.

That’s why, my Taylor, call my name if you get lonely.

[charlotte-codes]

A $_POST about PHP (and MySQL)

PHP is great. 

No, really. It is. The syntax is very much like JavaScript, save for a few fundamental differences. 

PHP is a server-side (backend) scripting language that works in the background to enhance your HTML file and make it more dynamic. For instance, paired with a database like MySQL, it can help you create working forms (thus far, our HTML forms have looked pretty, but have done absolutely nothing useful). 

The way I see it right now is that If HTML and CSS were the contents and layout of your home, PHP and the backend is a little bit like Marie Kondo organising all of the crap in your cupboards so that if someone needs to find the Sellotape you know exactly where to look for it (a rare occurrence in our house).

It’s more complicated than that but, for now, that metaphor has carried me through.

That’s great, but how do I use it?

There’s a few things you need to do in order to start using PHP.

Unlike CSS stylesheets and Javascript files, you don’t link a PHP file to your HTML in the <head> tag and just start coding. Because PHP works in the backend, it needs a server to work with. In fact it needs a few things to make it work properly - usually in the form of a LAMP stack.

LAMP is an acronym for the four ingredients (software components) needed to make a website work:

L is for Linux (a common operating system used by Macs) 

A is for Apache (a web server)

M is for MySQL (a database)

P is for PHP (a scripting language)

These are the four things you need for a dynamic website (there are other versions of a LAMP stack [eg. a WAMP stack for Windows]).

We’ve been using Vagrant to create virtual machines (servers) on our computers so that we can learn PHP. For some reason I find this concept a bit magical and had a Zoolander moment when it was first explained to us. 

Furthermore, typing vagrant destroy into the command line feels like the programming equivalent of Daenerys Targaryen saying “Dracarys”:

PHP syntax

Once you’ve got your virtual machine running, you can start using PHP. Like Javascript, PHP deals with strings, functions, arrays and so on. Some differences between the two include things like: 

1. You use a $ to declare variables, rather than Javascript ‘let’

2. You can whack it right in the HTML if you wrap it in <?php ... ?>

3. You output stuff to the browser using echo

4. You use dots to concatenate, rather than +’s

5. Variables are often written in snake_case, rather than camelCase

6. Arrays get a bit more fancy in PHP. An associative array is made up of key => value pairs so you can do things like this ... 

I’ve just realised that will output ‘Legolas is a elf’ which is truly awful grammar but you get the idea. The <br/> added to the end means that the list will output on separate lines ...

You can have a look at what’s going on in an array using var_dump($array_name). This will return a load of info about the array that looks something like this:

array(3) {             [“Frodo”]=>            string(6) “Hobbit”            [“Aragorn”]=>            string(5) “Human”            [“Legolas”]=>            string(3) “Elf”            }

Otherwise, conditionals (for and while loops, switches) and functions work in pretty much the same way as Javascript.

PHP and Forms

Much of PHP week was spent creating a login system - of the type where you register your details using a form, then get sent a verification email with a link that takes you to a login page. 

This is something we all use all the time but I did not appreciate just how much effort and coding goes into building one from scratch. 

In order to actually do something useful with a login form, you need to use PHP to communicate between the client device and the server (i.e. the user submits a form and, on pressing ‘Send’, the information they have inputted is stored somewhere in a database and they are sent a response to tell them what to do next). 

This is done using GET and POST methods. I’ll probably talk more about these when we come to Laravel and APIs but, for now, the essential idea is that a GET method requests data from a specified resource (eg. GET asks the server for the contact.html page and the server responds by loading it) and a POST method submits data to be processed by a specified resource (eg. POST posts form inputs to the form-handler.php file on the server which then responds with a success page or whatever).

Obviously, when someone inputs information into a form, it has to go somewhere to be stored: that’s where databases come in. 

MySQL

MySQL is a database management system that helps you store all your info in neat little tables using even neater commands. 

Once you get the hang of the syntax, and how to navigate to MySQL in the first place (using vagrant ssh and typing in your username and password to access mysql), it’s really easy to figure out what’s going on in there.

For example, to create a table, you use the following command:

CREATE TABLE `people` (  `id` int(11) NOT NULL AUTO_INCREMENT,  `fullname` varchar(255) NOT NULL,  `location` varchar(255) NOT NULL,  `age` int(11) NOT NULL,  PRIMARY KEY (`id`) ) ENGINE=InnoDB  DEFAULT CHARSET=latin1 AUTO_INCREMENT=1 ;

Looks nasty, but it just says ‘create a table called ‘people’ with the following column headers: ‘id’ (that auto-increments each time a new row is added), ‘fullname’, ‘location’ and ‘age’. The table’s primary key is the ‘id’ and then there’s some default stuff at the end. 

This creates an empty table, so you set up your PHP to add data to the table as and when it is inputted by the user. 

You can also input data manually in the command line:

INSERT INTO `people` (`id`, `fullname`, `location`, `age`) VALUES (1, 'Frodo Baggins', 'The Shire', 47), (2, 'Aragorn', 'Various', 40), (3, 'Boromir', 'Minas Tirith', 38), (4, 'Galadriel', 'Lothlorien', 17988);

To check out your table, you use:

SELECT * FROM `people`;

Please don’t write in to tell me how wrong my LOTR estimates are. 

Databases are fun. There’s something satisfying about organising tables that I cannot quite explain. I’m getting married next year and one of the first things I made sure we did was to create a wedding spreadsheet, which I call ‘the wed-sheet’. Pete’s a lucky guy... 

Building a Login System

Right, I’m not going to be able to put all the fine details of building a login system here but here’s the general gist of it. 

Disclaimer: I’m writing this a few weeks after the fact, having done Wordpress, Object Oriented Programming, Laravel and React in the interim - my brain is swimming in React right now, so please forgive anything I miss out. 

1. The user inputs their details on a registration page to create an account:

2. I’ve got some conditionals in my register.php page that will alert the user if they haven’t entered a valid email address or password. If they don’t they get a variety of different error messages:

3. If they do it right, they get this success message:

A successful entry also creates a unique activation code and adds the new user details to the database securely by hashing the codes and passwords.

You can see the MySQL syntax in the db query below:

Here’s part of the entry in the MySQL db. The password looks like crazy gibberish because of the hashing. 

It then sends the new user an email with a link. The slug of the link’s URL is the activation code, so is unique.

Here’s what they see in their email inbox: 

Notice that when they click on the link, the url contains the activation code:

There are various error messages on the activation.php page for anyone who is trying to access the site without registering correctly.

4. Clicking on the link shown in the image above takes them to this login page:

Here, they re-submit their username and password. Again, there’s various conditionals in case they get it wrong, including queries to the database to check that the information they have provided actually exists.

When they’ve successfully logged in, they start a new session, which continues until they log out again. I also coded in a ‘forgot password’ system - which I’m not going to go into now but eventually I’ll add a link here to my completed login system so you can have a look.

When all of this finally came together and worked, it was potentially one of the most satisfying moments on the course up to this point. 

When it was done, I was so proud of myself that I just spent 30 minutes registering new people just to go through the motions of what I’d just created. I then made Pete do the same when I got home. Again, lucky guy. 

Who knew login systems could provide so much joy. I’m definitely going to be including it as part of my portfolio website - more on that next time when we look at Wordpress! :) 

[louislong744-blog]

Webbrowser Search History

Recovery Method Of Deleted Data And Tables From ESE Database Stack Overflow is a community of 7.3 million programmers, identical to you, helping each other. Users also have the choice of mechanically deleting information every time the close the browser window by clicking the Superior tab and checking Empty Short-term Internet Files folder when browser is closed underneath the Safety section. OBSERVE: This selection will only delete your temporary internet recordsdata and offline webpages. My present solution to this is to terminate the processes that host the COM service ( and ) after which delete the recordsdata. Faucet or click the Instruments button , point to Security, and then faucet or click on Delete browsing history. In the Delete Searching History dialog, check the boxes to delete the info you want to take away. Web explorer stores this file in the web cache which is hidden and guarded and Windows makes it almost unattainable to delete this file, but with WebCacheKiller, you possibly can clear internet history easily. To delete the recordsdata in the Temporary Web Files folder your self, comply with the steps to your model of Windows. Button, which is located near the top-right aspect of the browser window, and select History, then History once more. Deleting your Cookies and searching history on Apple's Safari is simply so simple as the earlier three browsers mentioned. A drop down menu will appear, the last entry will say About Web Explorer, About Mozilla Firefox, or something similar. Once more, you'll probably want to steer clear of deleting passwords in case you're utilizing Internet Explorer to enter them as an alternative of remembering every one. This brings up a dialog field that allows you to specify what you need to keep and what you wish to do away with. Simply check the boxes subsequent to the classes you need to take away and then click Delete. Simply since you delete your browser history here would not necessarily imply that it's gone from one other device that you have signed into together with your Microsoft Account. For OracleAS Internet Cache to support more than 1,024 connections on UNIX, the webcached executable must run with the foundation privilege. Alternatively, you possibly can navigate to Instruments > Security > Delete shopping historical past... > and choose Historical past and Obtain Historical past before hitting Delete. I have been opening these files and have quite a few web sites I've never heard of, many finish ineu or. ir andru - there are quite a few things like bing and each listed above one among my personal information. You may need to close and re-open Web Explorer for this to complete the job. Clearing your website go to historical past is straightforward: click on Clear Historical past in the main menu. I can go through and determine what assets those media recordsdata belong to manually, however we'd like a way to handle this from within Logos. One other program is in conflict with Microsoft Windows and its shared referenced files. Step 3:Within the Delete Looking Historical past test field, check every box exceptPreserve Favorites web site knowledge, after which clickDelete. Check the field that claims Empty Momentary Internet Recordsdata folder when browser is closed. By default, OracleAS Net Cache disables keep-alive for HTTPS connections from Internet Explorer. Netscape customers can delete their historical past information by clicking the Edit menu, Preferences, History, and click on the Clear Historical past button. IECacheView displays some columns that are not displayed by the cache viewer of Windows: Content Type, Number of hits, Sub-folder title, and the full-path of the cached filename. Relevance computation for HTML files, which assigns a higher relevance to HTML information that were manually saved by the person domestically. Step 1: In Web Explorer, click the Tools icon (i.e. the small gear icon) on the highest-right nook and select Web options on the menu.

You may additionally like to search your historical past to discover a web page you forgot to bookmark weeks- or even months ago. Now, whenever you or another person views the History in Internet Explorer 6 the checklist of web sites visited will probably be empty. Mozilla Firefox customers can clear their historical past by clicking the Instruments menu, Choices, clicking the Privacy button, and below Historical past click the Clear or Clear Now button. Over time, your pc accumulates junk files from normal web surfing and laptop use. Each version includes 2 USB three.zero ports, a Micro HDMI port, a media card reader, DisplayPort, headset jack and Windows 10 House. Principally, what this means is that whereas the precise file path could have changed, its incorrect former location is still recorded within the Home windows registry.

These are areas where mac stores cache and momentary files from varied programs and system utilities. If it is the rest it deletes the folder (could be consumer installed chrome/firefox cache directories), and creates the junction. You will need to attend a few minutes for the browser toreset to default settings. In the right pane, double-click on Forestall entry to Delete Browsing Historical past to open its settings box. Avanite WebCache Manager runs at logoff and tidies up internet information prior to it being captured. Observe: If you want WebExplorer to delete your browsing historical past every time you shut it, select theDelete looking historical past on exittest box before you click on Delete. To get the most out of your VR account, we advocate clearing the cache and cookies on your browser typically. On this state of affairs, as a result of the objects should not cached, OracleAS Internet Cache uses extra reminiscence processing the requests and forwarding them to the origin server than it will to cache the objects. For example, typically you may wish to take away solely your history from the past hour instead of eradicating your whole history. No matter you will have checked (selected) in the Delete Searching History window is what might be deleted each time you close IE8 or IE9. A side lacking from LNK recordsdata and the event logs is the search solutions and interim search outcomes. Mozilla Firefox has the constructed-in property to delete all of the private data automatically when you shut the Firefox browser. If you're not sure what browser you are using click on on Help' on the toolbar on the top of the browser display screen. On this article, I will show you learn how to utterly and securely delete your Internet browser history in Web Explorer. It's also possible to select to immediately very clear your browser cache or erase your cookies on exit. This tutorial explains methods to go about deleting your Google search history by means of your browser and Google account manually. That is browser cache and you'll safely delete the whole lot in that directory, however solely when software shouldn't be operating. In Internet Explorer , within the instruments / web options /searching historical past there is a settings button and if you push that button a window pops up and on the top there is a History tab. Repeatedly clear the cache to permit your browser to function more effectively and as extra protection on-line. All instructed, things ought to go fairly straightforward as there's just one technique to delete history for each browser. Similarly, just as you can clear your browser history with MozillaFirefox , Safari for iOS , and Google Chrome , so can also you clear it with Web Explorer. On the Basic tab, within the Non permanent Internet Files section, click on the Delete Information button. A file which screens and records your on-line browsing historical past is a serious concern. Leaves the LARGE query why MS don't incorporate this as an choice in IE (delete cookies on exit). Back on the Web Properties management window, you may as well select the Settings option. You can check all gadgets in the dialog field if you wish to carry out a extra full wipe of your web searching historical past. The third part from the top of the Internet Choices menu is Searching Historical past. You may as well elect to preserve any information stored out of your favorites, which means that any web sites you could have slated as a favorite might be spared while you clear you cookies and temporary Web files. Now should you REALLY want to step up your internet privacy game, listed here are extra steps you'll be able to take. Hence please share me if there are alternatives available to do by way of registry or GPO. Additionally, if the detected recordsdata are cache files (for instance, the Java webcache), get him to exclude his cache directories from TM backup - they are not needed in spite of everything. Note: Thedat extension is often used for data information (files that are not human-readable and do not maintain a document-primarily based binary file). You may delete all your internet history, however that'll delete all the pieces you've got ever searched for for the reason that starting of time. In Chrome it's referred to as Incognito Mode, in IE it is known as InPrivate Shopping and in Safari and Firefox it is merely called Personal Browsing. Each browser behaves in another way and due to this fact the steps to clear the browser history differ from browser to browser. Examples of further Home windows tracks destroyed by the app: Swap/paging information, Windows Latest, Not too long ago used docs, Windows Firewall log, and many others. The entry refers to which browser type you might be using - it is best to then consult with the related directions beneath. Cleaning up these temporary files with Disk Cleanup might not only remedy your error, but can also dramatically pace up the efficiency of your PC. To clear your browser historical past ever time you exit Firefox, go to > Firefox > Options (click it) > Privacy and set a checkmark next to Clear history when Firefox closes on the bottom of the Historical past section. Click on on the Clear button subsequent to Historical past; Saved Type Data; Cookies and Cache. Browser cache is usually overwritten if you attain a certain amount, but will retailer information about your shopping history until you clear it. It's now possible to delete individual historical past entries of edit containers, by deciding on them from the pop-up menu when the Shift secret is held. The purpose is that can assist you discover your way again to a perhaps-forgotten nook of the Web you visited as soon as upon a time. You should at all times clean your snapshot by discovering these spurious recordsdata and deleting them, same with rogue registry keys that may have been captured as part of the snapshot. So this cache killer has the ability to mechanically delete this file at regular intervals, not like Web Explorer. Within the History menu, choose Clear Latest Historical past. A prompt will pop up with a drop-down menu that exhibits the option to clear your history within the last hour. Please be aware that each page you have checked out earlier than turning on InPrivate Looking will in stored within the browser's historical past so you will want to delete it. The one real option to be actually nameless on the Internet is to not be on the Internet. Select this selection to have Oracle Internet Cache mark paperwork as invalid after which refresh them primarily based on application Web server capacity.

This file has been made tough to delete by Microsoft, as it contains monitoring data which is encrypted. PS: If you wish to enable the option once more in future, either delete the DWORD created in step four or change its value to 0. In case you have no idea the kind of browser you are using, click on on Assistance on the toolbar on the high of the browser display screen. Clearing your Google search history is fortunately still a mostlystraight-forward process. Microsoft Edge reveals websites visited within the browser's personal mode even after the personal looking session ended in accordance with a forensic evaluation of the browser's cache information. At present there is no such thing as a API in CEF to delete specific cache (ctrl+shift+delete in Google Chrome). Now it's possible you'll browse your cache utilizing the Html listing (whether clear browser history or not linked to the Internet or not). Whenever you press a browser's Back button, you are moving back one entry in the history log. Opera has an in-construct possibility which prevents you holding any traces while shopping. Delete cache solely - all what could be saved is faraway from cache and from native listing except index file. To uninstall it just click on the Setup icon labeled UNINSTALL, then delete the WEBCACHE listing if still there, after you've got saved your localized pages to a different place. To help hold your searching history personal, and to unencumberdisk housein your computer, you can clear your local browsing history. You employ a browser every day to check your email, take a look at Facebook, do some banking, maybe buy something, and naturally, use your VR account. To enter Privating Looking mode either right click the Firefox icon in your process bar and choose Enter personal shopping or click the Firefox button (Tools menu on Home windows XP) and choose Begin Personal Searching. You by no means need to be caught off-guard on the subject of your browsing historical past, so ensure that you are wiping it usually. Your history is sorted by date in three ranges: Final hour, Last week, and Older. Probably the most up to date information about Mozilla products such because the Firefox browser may be found on their assist website. Click on theMenubutton , chooseExtra instrumentsafter whichClear browsing knowledge...Or, use the keyboard shortcutCtrl+Shift+Del. The procedure is completely different for each web browser so we have detected which you might be utilizing to help you alongside. The program will continue, however the information in this listing will remain after the decision. By analyzing the access log determine, you may decide if OracleAS Internet Cache is serving the article from its cache or is forwarding the request to the origin server. A file will be created even when the logged in user browses folders of another user under their profile (so long as file permissions allow that person to write files to the opposite users' folder). If you would like to configure the Windows settings, please go to Privateness Guard>>Advanced>> Windows. Nonetheless, with the webcache file rising to 100MB and extra this will trigger a brand new concern. The values of some integer fields inevtx occasion log recordsdata weren't output in the HTML previews. Choose Tools (via the Gear Icon) > Security > Delete searching history.If the menu bar is hidden, press Alt to make it seen. Within theDelete Browsing Historical pastwindow verify ALL the boxes EXCEPT Form Data and Passwords. Step 1: Open Control Panel after which click Network and Web -> Web Choices. Every time you use the Web your Web browser saves items of information akin to pictures, search phrases or words utilized in engines like google and login names. Do not forget that it's a must to execute BrowsingHistoryView as administrator, otherwise, it will not be capable of read the history file whereas it's locked. The sixth choice, unique to Web Explorer eight, offers with InPrivate Blocking information. When deleting your browsing history in Web Explorer a useful keyboard shortcut is Ctrl-Shift-Delete. Additional on you too can specify f you need the filter to be true or false (File accommodates or does not comprise tag). Lastly, if you want to hide your looking as much as doable, we'll also discuss utilizing instruments like the Tor browser and a VPN. If you want to clear your Safari looking historical past fully it can be completed in one easy click. If you at all times want to launch chrome in incognito mode, just add the -incognito suffix at the target field of Chrome's desktop shortcut properties. A document is refreshed from the applying Internet server when the cache receives the following request for it.

For delicate websites, I simply open In-Personal looking (Incognito mode in Chrome/Chromium) - no want to fret about cache or cookies. Clearing this house of files will delete all passwords, and confidental infomation, thus making your laptop more secure. Clearing the cache from your browser is usually needed to solve sure net page issues that typically occur. Naturally, a file that data your on-line actions is a significant security risk, but it can additionally use up quite a lot of disk area for no motive. To ensure visitors is directed by means of OracleAS Net Cache, configure all absolute URLs to use the protocol, host title, and port number of OracleAS Net Cache. Over a period of time, the file within the Historical past folder - and other folders too - might turn out to be very massive. The Short-term Web Files (or cache) folder is utilized by Home windows Internet Explorer and by MSN Explorer to retailer webpage content material on the computer laborious disk for fast viewing. From the Obliterate the next objects from: drop-down menu, you may select the time frame for which you want to clear cached information. Efficiency assurance heuristics apply once you configure documents to be refreshed based mostly on when the appliance Internet servers can refresh them; efficiency assurance heuristics do not apply when paperwork are immediately eliminated. You probably have any doubts, you would possibly desire to make use of a friend's laptop, a piece computer or visit an area library or internet cafe. Situated immediately under this question is an optional checkbox known as Also delete files and settings saved byadd-ons. IECacheView shows solely the list of cache files, whereas the cache view of Windows displays a mixture of cookies and cache recordsdata. Details for Answer three: Delete Perl/Exploit.WebCache Automatically with Max Adware Detector. Step 2: Clear the browser cache Click on theDevelop menu near the centerof the primary Safari menu bar and select theEmpty Cacheschoice. This button opens up a drop-down menu that hides a ton of choices for extra skilled users that wish to tweak the browser. Now, click on the General tab and click on on the Delete button within the Shopping History section. It may search all drives, it shows the information contained throughout the webcache, and you'll view google historical past abstract information, and deletes the entire files related to the webcache.

[adriannorton450-blog]

Webbrowser Search History

Restoration Method Of Deleted Information And Tables From ESE Database Stack Overflow is a group of seven.3 million programmers, identical to you, serving to each other. Customers even have the choice of mechanically deleting recordsdata every time the close the browser window by clicking the Superior tab and checking Empty Temporary Internet Files folder when browser is closed below the Safety section. NOTE: This feature will solely delete your temporary web recordsdata and offline webpages. My present resolution to that is to terminate the processes that host the COM service ( and ) and then delete the recordsdata. Tap or click on the Instruments button , level to Security, and then faucet or click on Delete looking historical past. In the Delete Searching History dialog, check the containers to delete the info you need to take away. Internet explorer shops this file within the web cache which is hidden and guarded and Windows makes it nearly inconceivable to delete this file, however with WebCacheKiller, you possibly can clear internet history easily. To delete the files within the Temporary Web Information folder yourself, comply with the steps for your version of Windows. Button, which is situated close to the top-proper facet of the browser window, and select History, then Historical past again. Deleting your Cookies and looking history on Apple's Safari is just as simple as the previous three browsers mentioned. A drop down menu will seem, the last entry will say About Web Explorer, About Mozilla Firefox, or one thing comparable. Again, you may probably need to keep away from deleting passwords if you're utilizing Internet Explorer to enter them instead of remembering each.

This brings up a dialog box that permits you to specify what you wish to hold and what you wish to eliminate. Simply check the containers subsequent to the categories you want to remove after which click on Delete. Just because you delete your browser history here would not essentially mean that it is gone from one other gadget that you've got signed into along with your Microsoft Account. For OracleAS Web Cache to help more than 1,024 connections on UNIX, the webcached executable must run with the foundation privilege. Alternatively, you can navigate to Instruments > Safety > Delete browsing history... > and select History and Download Historical past before hitting Delete. I have been opening these files and have quite a few websites I've never heard of, many end ineu or. ir andru - there are quite a few things like bing and every listed above one of my private information. You may need to shut and re-open Web Explorer for this to complete the job. Clearing your web site visit historical past is simple: click on Clear History in the main menu. I can undergo and determine what resources these media files belong to manually, however we need a approach to handle this from within Logos. One other program is in battle with Microsoft Windows and its shared referenced recordsdata. Step three:In the Delete Looking Historical past verify box, check every box exceptProtect Favorites website information, and then clickDelete. Test the box that says Empty Non permanent Internet Files folder when browser is closed. By default, OracleAS Web Cache disables keep-alive for HTTPS connections from Web Explorer. Netscape users can delete their historical past recordsdata by clicking the Edit menu, Preferences, History, and click on the Clear History button. IECacheView displays some columns that are not displayed by the cache viewer of Home windows: Content material Type, Number of hits, Sub-folder identify, and the full-path of the cached filename. Relevance computation for HTML information, which assigns the next relevance to HTML files that have been manually saved by the consumer locally. Step 1: In Internet Explorer, click on the Instruments icon (i.e. the small gear icon) on the top-proper nook and select Internet choices on the menu. You may additionally like to go looking your history to discover a web page you forgot to bookmark weeks- and even months ago. Now, when you or someone else views the Historical past in Web Explorer 6 the list of websites visited can be empty. Mozilla Firefox customers can clear their historical past by clicking the Tools menu, Options, clicking the Privacy button, and underneath Historical past click the Clear or Clear Now button. Over time, your computer accumulates junk information from normal net surfing and laptop use. Every model contains 2 USB 3.0 ports, a Micro HDMI port, a media card reader, DisplayPort, headset jack and Windows 10 Dwelling. Mainly, what this means is that while the precise file path may have modified, its incorrect former location continues to be recorded in the Windows registry.

These are locations the place mac stores cache and short-term files from numerous programs and system utilities. Whether it is the rest it deletes the folder (would be consumer installed chrome/firefox cache directories), and creates the junction. You will want to attend a couple of minutes for the browser toreset to default settings. In the suitable pane, double-click on Stop access to Delete Searching Historical past to open its settings field. Avanite WebCache Manager runs at logoff and tidies up internet data prior to it being captured. Note: If you need WebExplorer to delete your shopping history every time you close it, choose theDelete shopping history on exitcheck field before you click Delete. To get essentially the most out of your VR account, we suggest clearing the cache and cookies on your browser often. On this situation, because the objects should not cached, OracleAS Internet Cache uses extra reminiscence processing the requests and forwarding them to the origin server than it would to cache the objects. For instance, generally you might want to take away only your history from the past hour instead of removing your complete historical past. No matter you might have checked (chosen) in the Delete Searching History window is what can be deleted each time you close IE8 or IE9. An aspect lacking from LNK files and the event logs is the search solutions and interim search outcomes. Mozilla Firefox has the built-in property to delete all the personal knowledge mechanically once you shut the Firefox browser. If you're unsure what browser you might be utilizing click on Help' on the toolbar on the prime of the browser display screen. In this article, I'm going to present you easy methods to fully and securely delete your Web browser history in Internet Explorer. You can also choose to instantly very clear your browser cache or erase your cookies on exit. This tutorial explains the way to go about deleting your Google search history through your browser and Google account manually. This is browser cache and you'll safely delete the whole lot in that listing, but solely when utility is not working. In Web Explorer , within the tools / internet choices /browsing historical past there's a settings button and if you push that button a window pops up and on the high there's a History tab. Recurrently clear the cache to allow your browser to perform extra efficiently and as further safety on-line. All advised, issues should go fairly straightforward as there's only one method to delete history for each browser. Equally, just as you'll be able to clear your browser history with MozillaFirefox , Safari for iOS , and Google Chrome , so too can you clear it with Internet Explorer. On the Common tab, in the Temporary Web Recordsdata part, click on the Delete Files button. A file which screens and information your on-line surfing historical past is a major concern. Leaves the BIG query why MS don't incorporate this as an option in IE (delete cookies on exit). Again at the Web Properties control window, it's also possible to choose the Settings possibility. You'll be able to verify all items within the dialog box if you want to perform a more full wipe of your web looking history. The third part from the highest of the Internet Choices menu is Searching History. You can too elect to protect any knowledge stored out of your favorites, which implies that any websites you've slated as a favourite shall be spared once you clear you cookies and non permanent Web files. Now when you ACTUALLY wish to step up your internet privacy game, listed here are extra steps you'll be able to take. Hence please share me if there are options available to do via registry or GPO. Also, if the detected recordsdata are cache recordsdata (for instance, the Java webcache), get him to exclude his cache directories from TM backup - they don't seem to be wanted in any case. Be aware: Thedat extension is usually used for data recordsdata (recordsdata that aren't human-readable and do not hold a doc-based binary file). You possibly can delete all of your web history, but that'll delete every little thing you've got ever looked for since the starting of time. In Chrome it's referred to as Incognito Mode, in IE it's referred to as InPrivate Looking and in Safari and Firefox it's simply referred to as Non-public Looking. Every browser behaves in another way and subsequently the steps to clear the browser history differ from browser to browser. Examples of additional Windows tracks destroyed by the app: Swap/paging recordsdata, Home windows Latest, Just lately used docs, Windows Firewall log, and so on. The entry refers to which browser sort you are utilizing - it's best to then confer with the related directions beneath. Cleaning up these non permanent files with Disk Cleanup won't only solve your error, however can even dramatically velocity up the performance of your LAPTOP. To clear your browser history ever time you exit Firefox, go to > Firefox > Options (click on it) > Privateness and set a checkmark subsequent to Clear history when Firefox closes at the backside of the History section. Click on on the Clear button next to Historical past; Saved Form Info; Cookies and Cache. Browser cache is normally overwritten while you attain a specific amount, however will store information about your looking historical past till you clear it. It's now attainable to delete individual history entries of edit containers, by choosing them from the pop-up menu when the Shift secret's held. The goal is that will help you find your manner again to a maybe-forgotten nook of the Web you visited once upon a time. It is best to all the time clear your snapshot by discovering these spurious recordsdata and deleting them, similar with rogue registry keys that will have been captured as a part of the snapshot. So this cache killer has the flexibility to mechanically delete this file at regular intervals, not like Internet Explorer. In the History menu, choose Clear Current Historical past. A prompt will pop up with a drop-down menu that reveals the choice to clear your historical past within the final hour. Please notice that every web page you've looked at before turning on InPrivate Browsing will in stored in the browser's history so you will have to delete it. The only real way to be actually anonymous on the Web is to not be on the Internet. Select this option to have Oracle Net Cache mark documents as invalid and then refresh them primarily based on utility Web server capability.

This file has been made troublesome to delete by Microsoft, because it incorporates tracking data which is encrypted. PS: If you wish to allow the option once more in future, both delete the DWORD created in step 4 or change its worth to 0. For those who do not know the type of browser you are utilizing, click on on Help on the toolbar at the top of the browser display. Clearing your Google search historical past is fortunately nonetheless a largelystraight-ahead process. Microsoft Edge reveals web sites visited in the browser's private mode even after the personal looking session ended according to a forensic evaluation of the browser's cache information. At present there is no API in CEF to delete specific cache (ctrl+shift+delete in Google Chrome). Now chances are you'll browse your cache using the Html checklist (whether delete browsing history linked to the Internet or not). While you press a browser's Again button, you're shifting again one entry within the historical past log. Opera has an in-build choice which prevents you holding any traces while browsing. Delete cache solely - all what can be saved is removed from cache and from local directory except index file. To uninstall it simply click on on the Setup icon labeled UNINSTALL, then delete the WEBCACHE listing if still there, after you've saved your localized pages to a different place. To help keep your browsing historical past personal, and to liberatedisk houseon your pc, you'll be able to clear your native browsing history. You employ a browser every single day to test your email, take a look at Facebook, do some banking, possibly purchase something, and naturally, use your VR account. To enter Privating Shopping mode both proper click the Firefox icon in your job bar and choose Enter private shopping or click the Firefox button (Tools menu on Home windows XP) and choose Start Non-public Looking. You by no means want to be caught off-guard with regards to your looking history, so ensure that you are wiping it often. Your history is sorted by date in three ranges: Final hour, Last week, and Older. The most up to date details about Mozilla merchandise such because the Firefox browser could be discovered on their support web site. Click on theMenubutton , chooseMore toolsafter whichClear searching data...Or, use the keyboard shortcutCtrl+Shift+Del. The process is completely different for each net browser so we have detected which you are using that will help you alongside. The program will proceed, but the information in this directory will remain after the decision. By analyzing the access log determine, you possibly can decide if OracleAS Web Cache is serving the item from its cache or is forwarding the request to the origin server. A file might be created even when the logged in person browses folders of another consumer under their profile (so long as file permissions allow that user to put in writing files to the other users' folder). If you want to configure the Home windows settings, please go to Privacy Guard>>Advanced>> Windows. Nevertheless, with the webcache file rising to 100MB and more this may trigger a brand new concern. The values of some integer fields inevtx occasion log recordsdata weren't output in the HTML previews. Select Instruments (through the Gear Icon) > Security > Delete looking historical past.If the menu bar is hidden, press Alt to make it seen. In theDelete Looking Historical pastwindow examine ALL the bins BESIDES Type Knowledge and Passwords. Step 1: Open Management Panel and then click on Community and Web -> Internet Options. Each time you use the Internet your Web browser saves items of knowledge akin to images, search terms or words used in search engines and login names.

Do not forget that it's important to execute BrowsingHistoryView as administrator, otherwise, it will not be able to learn the history file while it's locked. The sixth option, distinctive to Internet Explorer eight, deals with InPrivate Blocking information. When deleting your searching historical past in Internet Explorer a useful keyboard shortcut is Ctrl-Shift-Delete. Additional on it's also possible to specify f you want the filter to be true or false (File incorporates or doesn't include tag). Lastly, if you wish to hide your looking as much as potential, we'll additionally discuss using instruments just like the Tor browser and a VPN. If you need to clear your Safari searching historical past fully it may be carried out in a single easy click. If you happen to at all times wish to launch chrome in incognito mode, simply add the -incognito suffix at the goal area of Chrome's desktop shortcut properties. A doc is refreshed from the application Net server when the cache receives the following request for it. For delicate websites, I just open In-Private searching (Incognito mode in Chrome/Chromium) - no need to fret about cache or cookies. Clearing this area of information will delete all passwords, and confidental infomation, thus making your laptop more secure. Clearing the cache out of your browser is commonly necessary to unravel sure web page issues that typically occur. Naturally, a file that information your online actions is a major security risk, however it might additionally deplete lots of disk space for no purpose. To ensure site visitors is directed through OracleAS Web Cache, configure all absolute URLs to use the protocol, host identify, and port variety of OracleAS Net Cache. Over a time period, the file within the History folder - and other folders too - might grow to be very giant. The Short-term Internet Recordsdata (or cache) folder is used by Windows Web Explorer and by MSN Explorer to store webpage content on the pc exhausting disk for fast viewing. From the Obliterate the following items from: drop-down menu, you can choose the time frame for which you need to clear cached information. Efficiency assurance heuristics apply once you configure paperwork to be refreshed based mostly on when the appliance Internet servers can refresh them; efficiency assurance heuristics do not apply when documents are immediately eliminated. If you have any doubts, you would possibly prefer to use a pal's pc, a work computer or go to a neighborhood library or web cafe. Located straight below this question is an optional checkbox called Additionally delete information and settings stored byadd-ons. IECacheView shows only the list of cache files, whereas the cache view of Windows displays a mixture of cookies and cache information. Details for Solution three: Delete Perl/Exploit.WebCache Automatically with Max Adware Detector. Step 2: Clear the browser cache Click on theDevelop menu close to the centerof the main Safari menu bar and choose theEmpty Cachespossibility. This button opens up a drop-down menu that hides a ton of options for more skilled users that want to tweak the browser. Now, click on the General tab and click on the Delete button in the Looking Historical past part. It can search all drives, it shows the recordsdata contained inside the webcache, and you'll view google historical past summary information, and deletes the entire information related to the webcache.

[energitix]

I bet by now you’ve heard about the AWS S3 outage. Somewhat ironically, at 17:47 last night I was watching a training video on Amazon Web Services (AWS) Simple Storage System (S3) best practices when the video stopped. The video service, hosted on AWS as you would expect, wouldn’t refresh so I decided to look up some AWS S3 documents instead. However, my browser displayed a HTTP 500 (service unavailable) from aws.amazon.com. It was highly unusual and thus unexpected. The AWS status page was showing a sea of green so, like anyone else looking for near-real time news, I searched Twitter for “AWS 500”. Was anyone else seeing this? Yes, but just a few people. I’d encountered what was the start of the “February 28th AWS US-East-1 S3 Increase Error Rates,” or the Twitter trend called “Amazon S3 Outage.”is it just me getting HTTP 500 from https://t.co/4OvzDj0RTd? http://pic.twitter.com/EsuPVGpu2s— UK Cloud Pro (@ukcloudpro) February 28, 2017Cue social media reactions: sarcastic meme-driven humor: “Oh my god the Internet is dead”; shrieking; gloating competitors; private cloud apologists; and anti-cloud ideologues.Amazon S3 according to the #AWS status page. http://pic.twitter.com/WpMAyHs0nY— David C. Campbell (@DCCampbell) February 28, 2017However, there is “signal” in this social noise and here are five important things to take away from the AWS S3 “event.”1. AWS wasn’t down, but US East 1 was “impaired”AWS is a global cloud service made up of 16 regions and counting. When people on Twitter shrieked “AWS is down!” this wasn’t true. The reality was that an important service in one region was impaired, but other regions were A-OK.Source: Amazon Web Services These regions are completely independent of each other, except for the special US-East-1 region which handles some global services. And inside each region you have multiple availability zones (AZ) which you can think of as datacenters. These datacenters are resilient with their own redundant power and connectivity, and they’re also connected to each other inside the region so that services like S3 can automatically replicate your data three times – giving you data durability of eleven nines. The standard availability of the S3 service is four nines.Source: Amazon Web Services What we experienced yesterday was the S3 service in the Region US-East-1 suffering from what AWS called “high error rates” and the service was impaired. Other regions were mostly OK, such as EU-West-1, but the US-East-1 S3 event had a wider “blast radius” because: When you create an S3 bucket and don’t specify a region, the default is US-East-1. US-East-1 is a special region, sometimes called a “global region,” because it’s the default endpoint for “global resources” such as hosted zones, resource record sets, health checks, and cost allocation tags. The S3 in US-East-1 is used by a lot of AWS services including the AWS Status Page and the AWS documentation. US-East-1 is huge (five AZs) and is older and more popular than other regions, running a lot of well-known online applications that use S3 to host their data. Therefore, the blast radius was very public on Twitter, with many companies explaining that their downtime was due to AWS. US-East-1 is in “spy country,” which will please the conspiracy theorists!Therefore, any impact to a core AWS service in a core AWS region like U- East-1 is likely to have a ripple-out service impact across a wide blast radius.2. Why did the S3 impairment in one region have such a big impact?S3 is sometimes referred to as “the storage for the Internet” because it’s used everywhere. Any object like a thumbnail or log record put into it is easily accessible over HTTP from anywhere. Your app doesn’t have to be running on AWS, it could be running in your datacenter and accessing S3 over the Internet.When Amazon S3 is down. #awscloud #awss3 http://pic.twitter.com/KQo4sVvkAl— Fernando (@fmc_sea) February 28, 2017S3 is the epitome of one of the core “essential cloud characteristics” from the NIST Cloud Standards: broad network access. It’s what makes AWS the public cloud leader. It also means that, because S3 is cheap and easy to use by any user with no special skills required, it’s used universally as the backing store for many trillions of objects serving millions of requests per second. Both AWS services and customer applications use S3, so it was like a house of cards even though other regions’ S3 was working fine.Source: ViewYonder Awkwardly, even the status indicators on the AWS service status page rely on S3 for the storage of its health marker graphics. And thus, during the outage the status page was showing all services as green despite the service being “impaired.” AWS did add a banner to the status page to explain why this was happening, and they did issue this tweet to keep customers informed.The dashboard not changing color is related to S3 issue. See the banner at the top of the dashboard for updates.— Amazon Web Services (@awscloud) February 28, 2017Twitter was awash with companies apologizing to customers for service degradation or outage, and looking at SimilarTech data – the number of sites they claim are running on AWS S3 is significant:Source: SimilarTech.com Interestingly home users were also affected with reports that parents couldn’t get Alexa to sing nursery rhymes to their children, i.e. failing to access Amazon Music, and home automation systems locking people in their homes (or into darkness).4. People don’t always use the redundant AWS servicesEven though there are multiple AZs in one region, and multiple regions across the world, not everyone uses these availability features for a range of reasons:Unknown dependencies on S3. An application running in one region can be accessing data from an S3 in another region across the Internet – it’s just a URL, and developers are known to hardcode filesystem paths and URLs into their code. As applications age, do developers keep track of where data is coming from? You would think so, but humans make mistakes and dependencies can accrue over time to create fragile applications.Cloud-immigrant applications. Within AWS, customers can deploy applications that are not cloud native and cannot benefit from “distributed computing” that multi-AZ and multi-regions offer. It might be an old, monolithic, and fragile COTS (commercial off-the-shelf) product that stubbornly sits in a “snowflake” virtual machine running the database locally. If this virtual machine is in a failing AZ or region, then it’s back to standard backup, restore, and disaster recovery scenarios. EC2 in the US-East-1 region was affected because many EC2 virtual machines use S3 for storage.Availability isn’t worth the cost. There are those that understand the technology but don’t want to pay for the extra resources such as multi-AZ databases, or pay for lots of snapshots, or pay for cross-region replication or many of the other HA/DR (high availability/disaster recovery) features AWS makes readily available. “That app isn’t worth the costs of availability” might be the view – but has this been really worked out? Which other applications rely on this application?This isn’t unique to cloud. For as long as IT has been around, people have chosen to save money on HA/DR, or not even known it was something they needed to consider. 5. “Knee Jerks” attempt to muddy the waterWhenever AWS has an issue there are a three types of commentator to surface on social media, what I like to call “Knee Jerks”:The AWS-bashing competitor: “AWS has an outage! Time to reconsider and use our cloud.” It’s unlikely that you will see Azure or Google bashing AWS but you might see an anti-cloud enterprise technology vendor or smaller, regional service provider naively bashing AWS during an outage. I don’t know any businesses that are impressed by competitor bashing.The hybrid/private cloud ideologues: “Public cloud places all your eggs in one basket and is flawed – use our hybrid cloud and hedge your bets.” Whatever people say hybrid cloud might be, and there’s no consensus or standard, it couldn’t do what S3 does. So this point is moot and shows a lack of understanding of modern Internet and cloud architectures.The anti-cloud on-premises techie: “If it was your own kit you’d be able to troubleshoot it yourself! Can’t do that in the cloud!” But this is the whole point of cloud – I don’t want to troubleshoot it myself! AWS has all the skills and know-how and resources I don’t have. This is usually a techie blinded by their fear of the cloud, who wants us to build IT systems in a shed at the end of their garden.It’s unlikely that anyone who understands AWS will pay any attention to this kind of rhetoric, but non-cloud-savvy business users might unfortunately be influenced by this kind of fear, uncertainty, and doubt.The calm after the stormEventually, AWS got it status page working and it didn’t look pretty, in fact it was commented on that some long-running cloud users had never seen this before. It’s quite a testament to AWS long-term reliability:Source: Amazon Web ServicesAWS will fix this issue and their service will return to normal (and will be by the time this is published). Then it will work out how to never have this particular issue/problem again – they have people like James Hamilton who live to find and solve these issues. And if you use AWS, then James is working for you.AWS will also produce a post-mortem and they are unique in leading cloud service providers in doing this – in my experience, many cloud service providers either don’t write outages up, or merely provide an exec-level generic blog piece. In the AWS post-mortem, we’ll find out what went wrong, how they fixed it, and what AWS is going to do better. And I’m certain that they will also tell their customers how they can do things differently too.Image CreditThe post 5 Things You Need To Know About The AWS S3 Outage appeared first on ITSM.tools.

https://itsm.tools/2017/03/01/5-things-aws-s3-outage/