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braininventoryusa · 4 months

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LAMP vs. MEAN: A Comparison of Popular Web Development Stacks

Quick Summary: Over time, the technology utilized for constructing websites has undergone substantial advancements, resulting in the rise of specific frameworks that have gained popularity in web application development. Two widely used technology stacks are LAMP, comprising Linux, Apache, MySQL, and PHP/Python/Perl, and MEAN, incorporating MongoDB, Express.js, AngularJS, and Node.js. While the specific languages and frameworks have changed, the fundamental approach of combining databases, servers, programming languages, and libraries into a cohesive stack has remained constant. Though the acronyms highlight different tools, both LAMP and MEAN provide proven solutions for building dynamic websites and applications. This article contrasts these two approaches, looking at their characteristics, benefits, and applications to assist developers in making knowledgeable choices about utilizing them.

LAMP Stack Overview:

The commonly used software stack for web development called LAMP is made up of Linux, Apache, MySQL, and a programming language for the server side like PHP, Python, or Perl. This set of open source technologies is well-liked for constructing dynamic websites and web apps. LAMP provides a solid and open source collection of components that is widely accepted for customized web development and hosting situations, especially for dynamic web apps and content management systems. Each part of the stack is a specialized and sturdy open source technology, and when united, they present a complete solution for building and releasing web applications.

MEAN Stack Overview:

The MEAN stack, which comprises MongoDB, Express.js, Angular, and Node.js, refers to a favored collection of frameworks for developing interactive web platforms. MongoDB functions as a flexible, JSON-compatible database that provides both scalability and rapid processing. In contrast, Express.js is a light web framework for Node.js that eases server-side development by managing routing, middleware, and other typical duties. Angular is a different JavaScript framework from React. Google created it specifically for building single-page web app development. It enables capabilities like data binding and dependency injection. Node.js is a runtime setting that allows developers to execute JavaScript code on servers. This allows them to make fast, scalable server apps using event-driven, non-blocking I/O. Together these technologies provide a powerful full-stack solution for crafting robust, modern web applications.

Comparison of Components: LAMP vs. MEAN

Determining which stack is better, MEAN or LAMP, depends on various factors such as project requirements, developer expertise, scalability needs, and industry trends. Both stacks have their strengths and are suitable for different use cases. Let’s compare them based on key aspects:

Language and Ecosystem: The LAMP stack is built of a mix of Linux, Apache, MySQL, and scripting languages for the server side, such as PHP, Python, or Perl. In contrast, the MEAN stack uses JavaScript across the stack, including for the back-end and front-end. If your team is already experienced with JavaScript, MEAN may offer a more consistent development process.

Scalability and Performance: MEAN, with Node.js as the back-end runtime, is known for its event-driven, non-blocking I/O architecture, making it highly scalable and efficient for handling concurrent connections and real-time applications. LAMP can also handle scalable applications but might require additional setup or infrastructure considerations for high-performance scenarios.

Database: LAMP typically uses MySQL, a widely adopted relational database management system. MEAN stack employs MongoDB, a flexible NoSQL database that offers scalability and schema flexibility for agile development. The choice between a relational or NoSQL database depends on the specific project requirements.

Development Speed and Productivity: MEAN’s unified use of JavaScript across the entire stack allows for smoother communication and shared code between front-end and back-end developers. It can accelerate development processes and enhance developer productivity. LAMP also offers a wide range of mature libraries, frameworks, and tools that can expedite development.

Community and Support: Both LAMP and MEAN have active communities and a vast collection of resources and libraries. However, LAMP has been around for a longer period and has an extensive ecosystem with a larger developer community. Conversely, MEAN is gaining popularity and has an increasingly active community.

Industry Adoption: The LAMP technology stack has been commonly utilized for content management systems, online retail platforms, and other conventional web applications. It boasts a proven performance record and is well-entrenched across many sectors. In contrast, the MEAN stack is frequently chosen for modern cloud-hosted apps, real-time interactive apps, and single-page web apps.

Conclusion:

In wrapping up the blog, we’ll provide a concise comparison summary, offering insights into when to consider LAMP or MEAN based on project objectives, developer skills, and industry trends. We’ll emphasize that both stacks have their strengths and are well-suited for different types of custom web applications, ultimately helping developers make informed decisions based on their unique project requirements.

By covering these essential points, the blog will serve as a comprehensive resource for developers and technology enthusiasts seeking in-depth knowledge about LAMP and MEAN stacks, facilitating better-informed technology decisions and promoting the adoption of suitable development tools and frameworks.We provide web development services with many capabilities that allow us to build highly sophisticated web applications. We are extremely discerning regarding the development platforms we utilize, only opting for those that satisfy our rigorous standards. At Brain Inventory, our sole focus is on creating software programs for the web, so we have vast knowledge in coding secure, error-free code. The apps we build enable encrypted data transfers to guarantee the work we provide is safeguarded. Our code is protected from unauthorized alterations or removal because it is only accessible with a private key under our control.

#webdevelopment #lamp stack development #mean stack development services

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bestonlinemarketingcompany · 11 months

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What is a Content Management System?

CMS are web-based applications that enable users to manage and serve dynamic content to visitors. This means that customized information and even layouts can be served to individuals. In contrast to this, static websites present fixed formats and content.

Since they are web applications, CMS often remove much of the tedious work that users need to put into to create a website. Instead of requiring them to hand code every single aspect, that portion has already been taken care of.

What users need to focus on instead are design and content.

WCMS vs CMS vs EMS

These three acronyms seem closely related and in a sense, they are. To understand the differences, let’s look at each of them and what they do:

CMS is the standard content management system which we’ve outlined above. They are built to allow users the easy handling of content, including both text and multimedia. Most consumer level content sites are built using CMS such as WordPress or Drupal.

ECMS is the big brother of CMS and is an extended version. The ‘E’ in ECMS stands for Enterprise – meaning it’s intended for more comprehensive business use. Part of this lies in the fact that ECMS can integrate business tools and strategy as part of a more cohesive concept.

WCMS is a more streamlined version of ECMS but in many cases, the distinction is almost narrow to the point of being non-existent. Rather than benign a total business focused concept, WCMS places greater focus on the web content side of things.

How Does a CMS Work?

CMS are web applications, meaning they require what most others of their kind do. They typically require an environment commonly referred to as the ‘Stack’ – meaning a combination of Operating System (OS), web server software, database, and appropriate script support.

One example of a common stack is the LAMP stack, meaning Linux-Apache-MySQL-PHP. Of course, stacks can vary and the exact one you’ll need will depend on which CMS you choose to deploy.

When a CMS is sent a request, it then decides what that request needs. From there, it works with a database to extract the necessary information before rendering it and presenting the visitor with the version of the content that was asked for. This is why CMS are considered as dynamic systems.

Enterprise-level CMS | Everything You Need to Know

Consumer grade CMS like WordPress can be incredibly powerful on their own. However Enterprise-Level CMS are designed from the ground up to be complete business solutions. This means not only having pre-built business features, but the ability to follow a complete business strategy.

While this might not sound like much, some Enterprise-level CMS features might surprise the average user.

For example:

Intranet Integration – Being built for a combined workforce, these CMS are able to offer workplace unification features. They often support collaboration between various departments and can work with internal networks.

Top-notch Security – With CMS, users add on features with plugins. The problem with this is that the more plugins you use, the higher a security risk profile you gain. Enterprise-level CMS eliminates this by having everything built-in natively.

Increased Performance – Although CMS aren’t known for being the most optimized ways of delivering content, ECMS systems are built for performance. They often are the best way to deliver content effectively on multiple channels and platforms – at the same time.

Must HAVE CMS Features

User-friendly Content Editor – The content editor is a core part of any CMS and needs to be not just powerful and feature-packed, but also as usable as possible. This means a heavy reliance on WYSIWYG concepts and as nice a presentation as can be gotten.

Content Staging – One of the strong points of a CMS is the ability to make modification on the fly. However, for high volume sites this might not be the best way to do it. That’s where content staging comes in. You can make changes and view them first, before rolling them out to your live site. SEO Features – With everyone becoming an SEO expert today, having at least some level of SEO customizability is a good thing for CMS to have. In fact, it’s practically indispensable, at least for basic features like choice of URL presentation.

Theme Handling and Customizability – Dynamism means the ability to handle changes, and that’s what themes are all about. Beyond that though, it also means the capability of integration a variety of capability though those themes, such as mobile-friendliness and responsiveness.

Social Integration – Part of having great content means the willingness to market it to extend your reach. Social sharing can be a big part of that and having those features built into your CMS is a great thing to have nowadays.

Security – Having security loopholes is a possibility with any CMS that’s packed with features and extendability. However, a good CMS should also offer users the capability to close certain potential security loopholes once customizations are done – such as code locking and the like.

Vibrant Ecosystem – Opting for a popular CMS can help greatly in this area. The more popular a CMS is, the more likely it will be that an enthusiastic community not only uses it, but builds additional tools to support it, like the WordPress plugin system.

For more details on our products and services, please feel free to visit us at: Web design, Website design, Hire Dedicated Resources & Offshoring Services.

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wpwhiteboard · 1 year

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Self vs Managed WordPress Hosting : An In-Depth Comparison [2023]

The main difference between Self Hosting and Managed WordPress hosting is that Self hosting gives you full control and responsibility for your WordPress website’s server and infrastructure, whereas managed WordPress hosting provides a hands-off approach, letting the host handle security, updates, and performance optimization.

If you're starting a new WordPress website, one of the biggest decisions you'll make is whether to go with self-hosted WordPress or use a managed WordPress hosting provider.

This choice affects everything from your monthly hosting bill to the amount of control you have over your site. It's important to weigh the pros and cons carefully based on your specific needs.

In this guide, we'll dive deep into the self-hosting vs managed WordPress hosting debate and equip you with everything you need to decide. Buckle up for a bumpy ride down the WordPress hosting rabbit hole!

Self-Hosted WordPress Explained

Self-hosting means you rent a virtual private server (VPS) or dedicated server, install WordPress yourself, and manage everything at the system and application level.

With self-hosted WordPress, you take complete ownership over your hosting environment. Here's a closer look at what's involved :

Hardware Provisioning

The first step is sourcing the actual physical server your site will run on. You can rent a VPS or dedicated server from providers like :

DigitalOcean

Vultr

Linode

AWS

Google Cloud

VPS plans start around $10/month for basic setups. Dedicated servers are more expensive but give you sole access to the underlying hardware.

Make sure to choose a provider with servers near your audience for fastest performance.

Software Setup & Configuration

Once you have your VPS or dedicated box, it's time to set up the software powering your WordPress site :

Install a Linux distro like Ubuntu or CentOS

Configure the LAMP or LEMP stack (Linux, Apache/Nginx, MySQL, PHP)

Tweak the Apache/Nginx config for optimal WordPress performance

Secure MySQL, PHP, and other services

Install caching like Varnish and php-fpm

Set up a control panel like CPanel for easier management

This process requires deep Linux server and WordPress expertise. But the payoff is getting everything finely tuned for your particular site's needs.

Ongoing Management

Server setup is just the beginning. With self-hosted infrastructure, you must handle all ongoing management and maintenance yourself including :

OS and software updates

Security patching

WordPress core, plugin and theme updates

Backups and disaster recovery

Monitoring uptime and performance

Optimizing the stack as needed

Troubleshooting any issues that arise

The work never stops when you self-host! You must stay vigilant to keep your site running smoothly.

The Pros of Self-Hosted WordPress

Let's recap the biggest benefits of rolling your own WordPress hosting environment :

Total control: You make all hosting decisions to perfectly fit your specific needs.

Flexibility and customization: You can configure server software like PHP, MySQL, Nginx however you want.

Cost savings: Once optimized, self-hosted sites can cost less per month than managed WordPress hosting.

Performance and scalability: You can fully optimize and tune the server for your particular site.

No vendor lock-in: You can easily migrate between different server providers.

When to Consider Self-Hosted WordPress

Self-hosted infrastructure makes the most sense for :

Developers and engineers with server administration expertise

Sites that require total control over the stack

Companies with large budgets for hosting costs

Complex sites anticipating high traffic and load

Businesses wanting to scale sites across multiple servers

Anyone running advanced stack configurations like HHVM or custom LEMP

Potential Downsides of Self-Hosted

Self-hosting isn't all sunshine and rainbows. Here are the biggest challenges to weigh :

Time investment: Server setup and management is extremely time consuming and complex.

Technical skill required: You must have significant sysadmin, DevOps, and WordPress expertise.

Maintenance overhead: OS, software, and WordPress updates are a never-ending chore.

Security liability: You're fully responsible for protecting against threats and vulnerabilities.

No support: If (and when) problems occur, you're on your own to fix them.

Higher learning curve: Be prepared to invest many hours mastering server configuration.

As you can see, self-managed WordPress hosting is definitely not for the faint of heart!

Managed WordPress Hosting Overview

In contrast to the DIY approach of self-hosting, managed WordPress hosting providers take care of everything related to your infrastructure and server environment.

Companies like WordPress Engine, Kinsta, and Pagely handle all aspects like :

Server provisioning

WordPress installation

Software setup and configuration

Ongoing maintenance and management

Updates

Security

Backups

Caching and performance optimization

24/7 WordPress technical support

This hands-off approach allows you to focus entirely on your site content and not worry about hosting headaches.

How Managed WordPress Hosting Works

Let's look at how managed WordPress hosting operates under the hood :

Optimized Infrastructure

Hosts like WordPress Engine build their architecture specifically for WordPress. This includes :

High-performance server hardware

CDNs for blazing fast static file delivery

Multiple app and database server clusters

Batched updates and maintenance for minimal downtime

Geographic redundancy to keep sites always online

The result is WordPress performance and reliability far exceeding what most self-hosted setups can achieve.

Hardened Security

Managed hosts implement numerous security enhancements like :

Automated malware detection and removal

DDoS protection

Advanced firewalls and access control lists

Ongoing vulnerability scanning and patching

Regular penetration testing

Forced SSL to encrypt all connections

Your site stays locked down and safe from threats.

Hassle-Free Maintenance

Hosts take complete ownership of mundane but critical tasks like :

OS and software updates

Daily offsite cloud backups

WordPress core and plugin updates

Content delivery network (CDN) config

SMTP email delivery management

Performance monitoring and optimization

You'll never have to worry about this stuff again!

White-Glove Support

Managed WordPress hosting providers staff teams of WordPress experts available 24/7 to help with :

Site migrations

Configuration questions

Troubleshooting plugin and theme conflicts

Diagnosing performance problems

Outages and emergency response

Any other issues that come up

For those times when you need a lifeline, support is just a phone call or support ticket away.

The Benefits of Managed WordPress Hosting

Let's recap the biggest perks of handing off hosting management :

No technical skill required: You don't need any sysadmin or DevOps expertise.

Blazing fast performance: Providers optimize WordPress speed right out of the box.

Enhanced security: Hardened environments keep your data safe.

99.9% or better uptime: Clustering and redundancy eliminate downtime.

Automatic updates: WordPress and plugins stay up to date automatically.

Time savings: No need to manage infrastructure yourself.

24/7 expert support: Get help anytime you need it.

Daily backups: Never lose data or worry about disaster recovery.

When to Consider Managed WordPress Hosting

Managed WordPress hosting is a perfect fit for :

Bloggers who want to focus on content instead of backend complexity

Ecommerce sites and client projects needing rock-solid reliability

Publishers and media companies with large audiences

Regulated businesses requiring security and compliance

Sites where fast performance and SEO are critical

Anyone looking to offload infrastructure management

Potential Downsides of Managed Hosting

Managed WordPress hosting isn't without some tradeoffs :

Less control and flexibility: You must accept the provider's system configurations.

Limited customization: Some hosts restrict plugins or forbid code changes.

Higher cost: Managed WordPress hosting is more expensive than self-hosting.

Vendor lock-in: Migrating between managed hosts is harder than switching servers yourself.

Overkill for simple sites: Lots of overhead and cost for basic blogs.

Hybrid Hosting: Getting the Best of Both Worlds

If you like aspects of both self-hosted and fully managed WordPress hosting, hybrid options try to give you the best of both worlds.

Platforms like Cloudways, Kinsta MyKinsta, and Pantheon combine easy WordPress setup and management with more flexibility over your environment.

For example, Cloudways still handles core infrastructure like scaling and security. But you get more configuration control, choice of server location, and the ability to install whatever software you need.

Hybrid platforms can be a great middle ground. Evaluate options like :

Cloudways

Kinsta MyKinsta

Pantheon

Pagely

WordPress-Engine Genesis

DreamPress

The downside is hybrid hosts tend to offer less optimization and fewer enterprise features out of the box compared to true premium managed WordPress hosting.

Migrating Between Environments

One final thing to note - don't get analysis paralysis worrying about picking the "perfect" option upfront.

If your needs change down the road, you can always migrate from self-hosted WordPress to managed hosting or vice versa.

Just make sure to choose a platform that provides tools to make the transition as smooth as possible.

For example, hosts like WordPress Engine offer a migration service to safely transfer your site. And they provide instructions on exporting your database and files for self-migration.

The takeaway? Don't let hosting decisions delay actually launching your WordPress site! Pick an environment, get up and running, and optimize later.

Which is Right for You?

So which type of WordPress hosting should you choose? Here are some final recommendations based on common use cases :

For Bloggers

Go with managed WordPress hosting. The last thing you want is dealing with servers and infrastructure when you should be focused on creating content.

For Developers

Self-hosted is likely the best fit. You'll want access and control to run whatever stack and configurations you need.

For Ecommerce Sites

Managed hosting is ideal. You'll benefit from optimized performance, tight security, and expert support for your business.

For Enterprise Companies

Either self-hosted or managed enterprise-grade hosting. For large complex sites, leave it to the experts.

When In Doubt

You really can't go wrong starting with managed WordPress hosting, even as a developer. Let the provider handle infrastructure so you can focus on building an awesome site!

Don't Stress, Just Start!

I know that was a boatload of information to process. But don't overthink the self-hosted vs managed WordPress hosting decision.

The most important thing is to get your site launched and start sharing your passion with the world! You can always change environments later if you want more control or less complexity.

With the right host and a well-crafted strategy, you can build a WordPress site that achieves all your goals and visions. So take a deep breath, review the options, and make the best decision for today.

The perfect WordPress hosting fit for you is just a signup form away. It's time to stop dreaming and start doing - now get out there and start that site!

#wordpress #managed wordpress hosting #self vs managed wordpress #self vs managed wordpress hosting #self hosting #self vs managed hosting #self hosting vs managed hosting #managed hosting in wordpress #self vs managed hosting in wordpress

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teclogiq · 5 years

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Choosing the right development stack for your business helps you cater to your website better. Here is a LAMP and MEAN comparison to choose as per your business requirements.

#lamp stack vs. mean stack

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shaineybainey · 4 years

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“Noble Intentions”

Lab Rats [T]

The Lab Rats and Mighty Med teams face off with the greatest threat to humanity yet: The Incapacitator, a supervillain bent on becoming the most powerful in the planet. …Which makes things super awkward for Leo, considering that their newest nemesis is his father. AU. Lab Rats vs Mighty Med redux.

** DISCLAIMER: SEE CHAPTER ONE FOR DISCLAIMER **

tagging: @clockradio93 @vcnting @verified-dumbass @serpent-princess @weareoutofmaplesyrupdave @aaaaahhhhh1234 @lettersandwhiteroses @breanadaveport-mendel @cecespuffs @quimbionics @hollywoodendinq

[ By the way, if anyone doesn’t like to be tagged anymore, just tell me through a DM. I appreciate the likes, but if the tagging annoys you, I’ll respectfully leave you out on the next one :) ]

TW: disturbing imagery, death of loved ones, panic triggers

V: Late Bloomer

Leo stirs, his whole body entirely too numb. He squints as his eyes sting from the flood of light shining all around him. He waits until the pain ebbs. Soon enough, he can make shapes, spot movements. But nothing is familiar.

Nothing except the overlapping Ms on the wall – one scarlet and one chrome.

“Leo? Leo, are you okay?” a shape – then a couple of shapes – approaches him. “How are you feeling?”

He withdraws from the faceless figure even though he recognizes the voice. “Chase?”

“Yes, Leo, it’s me,” the figure replies, but in Bree’s voice. He (she?) smiles. “You’ve been out a while. We’re glad you’re okay.”

“Where are we?” he asks, still trying to see through the gray haze.

“We’re on Mighty Med. It’s a hospital for superheroes,” says Adam.

“I know that. I know what Mighty Med is,” Leo says. He sits up. He sees a vague outline of a hospital room… How come he still can’t see anyone’s face? It makes his heart thump. “Who are you? Why can’t I see you?”

“The Incapacitator’s energy field must have been too much for you,” Chase replies. At least, it’s his voice.

“It’s going to be okay,” assures Bree. “The doctors said the blindness is temporary. In two days, you’ll be able to get your vision back.”

He searches their faces, still uneasy. The outlines of the shapes look like his siblings. There were four other people, although who they are he doesn’t know.

Suddenly, a worry hits him. “Where’s The Incapacitator?”

Though he doesn’t see their faces, he senses relief. “It’s over, Leo,” says Chase.

“What’s over?”

“Him. We defeated him!”

“What?”

“Yeah! He was holding you hostage,” says the figure that was Chase. Then, in Adam’s voice he adds, “It took us some time, but we figured out how to use his own power against him. Who knew it was that simple?”

“Wait. No, no, wait. I don’t understand.” He shakes his head. “You’re not making any sense. Who are you?”

“He’s dead, Leo. He imploded,” Bree says, a cold smile evident in her voice. “He died, as he should have.”

“No. No, that’s not true!” He tries to leap out of the bed, but the shapes hold him down. “What are you doing? Let go of me!”

“Why?”

Leo looks up quickly. He freezes upon seeing Krane towering over him, half of his body terribly burned just like the last time he saw him. A hole gapes at the place where his right eye should have been.

Krane grins wolfishly, blood on his teeth. “Isn’t this your fault? You should have reported him a long time ago. Maybe he would still be alive if you had.”

“We would still be alive,” S-1 agrees, appearing on the other side of him.

“You’re not quite the hero you think you are,” Krane says, his grip on his arm tightening.

The shapes press in on him, robbing him of breathing space. “No – Stop!” he screams. “Get away from me!”

But they only converge, closer and closer and closer until the shapes merge into a tangible cloud that wraps around him. Soon, the cloud turns into water that he plunges under, and then he can’t breathe.

He screams, but no sound comes out.

He gasps for air—

– Ϟ –

Leo wakes, gasping as if breaking through a surface. He defensively pulls his arm back from the person touching it, scooting away from him.

“Easy, Leo. It’s okay. You’re safe,” Joel says. “I won’t hurt you. It’s just me.”

Leo’s eyes quickly scan the room for danger. He’s in some bedroom, one he’s never seen before, and his father, wearing jeans and an ash gray t-shirt, is the only one there with him.

It all comes rushing back. Tecton, Chase, the energy lasso.

There was also the look of murder in his eyes as he grabbed him.

He retreats farther away from his father, afraid.

Joel chuckles. “Leo, I mean it. You’re—”

Leo flinches away from his touch, his heart calming but his brain still on high alert.

Joel sighs. “Right. I know. I overdid it. I’m sorry.”

“You were going to kill me.”

“I was never going to kill you. I would never. Why would I do that?”

Why would he? Leo doesn’t know. He used to think he understands why his father would do things, but now he doesn’t. “How could you lie to me?” he asks.

“Leo, you know I don’t like you being involved in the things that I do. Especially since you still stubbornly believe that there’s room for you in the superhero world.”

“But I am involved now. You hurt my family when I asked you not to!”

“I didn’t really hurt them! Everyone is still alive when we left.”

“You hurt Chase.”

“Well, the kid was kind of stupid.”

“He was still my brother!”

“Hey.” Joel points a finger at him. “Watch it. I don’t like your tone.”

The warning registers, but it does very little to allay his anger. “How could you do this? How could you hurt a lot of people like that?”

“Come on. It’s not like you don’t know that it’s just part of the job. They got in my way, I move them out.”

“But—”

“Leo, stop. Okay? Stop nagging me about this. It isn’t right,” Joel says patiently. “You know what I am. You know what I do. I understand why you’re mad, but everything I did was for a reason.”

Leo watches him indignantly as he gets up and heads towards a wardrobe. He simmers as he observes him dig through its contents.

It doesn’t make things any better when he comes back with a fresh set of clothes, smiling as if nothing happened.

His father observes him a moment before chuckling. “That must be some dream you had,” he comments. “I’ve never seen you this angry before.”

Leo says nothing and only looks away. He can’t stand his father at the moment.

“Since it seems like you won’t ask, this is the place I’ve been wanting to take you to,” Joel says. “It’s the house where I grew up. Nana’s and Pop’s house.”

Leo stubbornly keeps his mouth shut. Still, he’s moved to examine it closely. “I didn’t know it was still standing,” he mutters begrudgingly.

“Yeah,” Joel says, looking around the room fondly. “RT and I used to share this room, but when I turned 9, Nana moved Uncle RT to her sewing room downstairs.”

It’s fascinating that the childhood room of one of the most powerful supervillains in existence looks…normal. The room itself is small. Leo thinks it’s about the size of one of the sitting rooms in the Mission Creek mansion.

Pressed against the wall to his left is a study desk, a dust-covered stack of books, a decades old lamp, and a Duck Tales pencil holder sitting atop it. Right next to the study desk is the wardrobe. By the door is a shoe rack.

Everything looks so neat and normal that it’s almost disorienting. Sure, it’s obvious that not much had been touched for a long while, but he doubts that anyone would guess the kind of man the kid who used to sleep here would grow up to be.

“So, was I right? Were you having a bad dream?” his father asks. “You’re sweating like crazy.”

“Are we in Kansas?”

Though still a bit taken aback by his resistance, Joel answers. “Yeah.”

“Why did you take me with you? You didn’t need me.”

Joel shrugs. “Many reasons. Distraction, for one. Emotions run higher when there’s a hostage involve, especially when it’s a kid,” he says. “I know for sure it frazzles Tecton. That’s one of his weaknesses: his emotion tends to get the best of him in situations like this. He becomes more impulsive, more prone to make mistakes.”

“So you’re using me as a pawn.”

“I brought you here because I didn’t want to leave you behind with your new family.” He sighs. “Your stepdad is slipping. I want them to know how easily they could lose you. You’re valuable to me, Leo. I want them to feel the same fear I feel every day.”

Leo says nothing. He doesn’t know whether he should be grateful or frustrated that his father is once again stepping into his new life.

“You’re not going to tell me about your dream?” Joel prompts, smiling.

Leo stares at him, unsure. “I know you hate my new family, especially my stepdad, but you can’t keep doing this,” he says wearily. “What are we going to do if they find out that I’m your son? They’d think I’ve been in on it all along. It’s going to make a lot of things complicated.”

“Are you ashamed of me?”

“No, Dad, I never was! But after today, maybe I am.” Leo sighs. He hunches forward, gathering his thoughts. “This is putting me in a bad spot, too. I don’t want you to get hurt. I know you have your reasons why you do the things you do, and as we agreed on our deal I’m not going to interfere with anything unless it’s super bad.”

“But…?”

“But if I keep helping you, the superhero community might start viewing me as an enemy.”

“I only see that as an advantage.”

Leo only glares.

“Why do you insist on being one of them?” Joel asks. “You’re wasting so much of your time trying to earn their respect. You’re working three times as hard as your siblings, and they treat you like you don’t matter.”

“They don’t do that.”

“Yes. They do. You just don’t what to admit it.” Reading distress on his face, he says, “You’re a lot smarter than them. Take away your stepbrother’s bionic chip, and what is he? Just an average kid with an average level of intelligence.”

“But that doesn’t change the fact that—”

“That what? He creates things that work, that make money, and you don’t?” His father’s eyes have darkened, and Leo realizes that the smile was just a mask for the poisonous anger bubbling underneath. “Before you and your mother met them, you were heading towards great things. But look at what they did to you. They took everything from you. They took advantage of your loyalty, your sacrifice – and once they didn’t need you, they discarded you.”

“Please stop,” Leo mutters, the words hollowing out his heart.

Joel’s eyes soften when he realizes how it’s all hurting him. “I know the way I do things aren’t how you’d do them. But the world doesn’t look to me the way it does to you. It’s not a bright and warm place for people like us, my son. It just takes advantage of us and leaves us in the dark.”

When his son still won’t meet his eyes, he attempts a genuine smile. “I’m doing all of this for you. I don’t want you to experience the same things I’ve experienced. I know it may seem that I just want destruction, but really, what I want is a world where no one would take away anything from you.”

Leo knows what his father means; he knows the story. His dad and his uncle were only children, 10 and 7, respectively, when their parents were killed. They were able to get away from the murderers and hide in an abandoned house not far from here.

His grandfather had been close friends with a superhero at the time. They waited and waited for him, wishing that the man would show up and rescue their parents.

But the minutes only turned to hours, and hours turned to days. Even in the funeral, no superhero showed their face.

It was the day The Incapacitator was born. Injustices with no one to help only piled up, and the anger only increased until finally, everything he once was had turned into the man who sits in that room today.

Leo understands. Or, at least, he can sympathize. But why does it have to go this far? “You do know that if you drain the whole Earth of its energy, it’s possible that it would just implode in on itself,” he points out.

Joel laughs. “I just say that to spook the superheroes. You know them. They don’t do anything unless it involves drama.”

“You kidnapped me to prove a point. It’s not like you don’t.”

“I don’t. I prefer to be practical.”

“Practical? What if you get hurt?”

Joel shrugs. “Big game, big risks.”

“What if you die?” Leo asks, exasperated. “What if this is the one to end it all? You told me that your line of work is the one where people make you retire. Why would you put them in that position when you don’t have to?”

The expression on his father’s face changes. “I’m not going to explain anything to you.”

“I don’t need you to explain it to me. I don’t want to get involved in it.”

“Yes, you’ve made that very clear.”

Leo huffs. Why can’t he understand? “Dad, please. Don’t do this.”

“This is not your fight,” his father says decisively. “You’ve never wanted to be on the same side as me. I’m letting you. But don’t interfere with my plans.”

“It’s going to hurt a lot of people.”

“People die. That’s just what they do.”

“People? People like who, Nana and Pops?” Leo regrets the words as soon as they come out of his mouth. Horrifying still is the look of shock and hurt on his father’s face, turning the silence that ensues into something stinging.

He can kick himself. He should kick himself. He should have never gone that far. “I’m sorry, Dad. That was a terrible thing to say,” he apologizes. “It was hard on you when you lost them. I’m not as young as you were, but I don’t want you to die either. No matter how many offenses the law has listed under your name and how much they’re offering people for your capture, you’re still my dad. My world will also fall apart if something happens to you.”

For a moment, Joel only glowers at him. Then, he scoffs. “I can’t believe you know that they have a bounty on my head.”

“Well, I have to find a way to pay for college,” Leo jokes cautiously.

Joel chuckles. He’s still notably upset, but it’s obvious the tactic has worked. “So was that what you were dreaming about? That I died?”

Leo nods. “I was in Mighty Med. They told me you were dead.”

A smile teases at Joel’s face. “That upset you?”

“Of course. Who would ever want to wake up in a world where their parents are gone?” Remembering more of the dream, his frown deepens. “Krane and S-1 were also there. They told me it’s my fault that you died.”

“Krane. I took care of him a long time ago.”

“I know. It was the first time I asked you for help.” Leo hesitates before pointing out, “You know, you didn’t have to go that far. You could have just overloaded them and shorted them out. You didn’t have to…”

“Eliminate them? Of course I did. He was going to hurt you. He also didn’t seem to be the kind of guy who stops after you fire a warning shot.”

“You do know that what you did technically counts as being a hero, right?”

“Hm.”

Leo smiles for the first time. “You know, if Uncle RT finds out you—”

“Don’t.” Joel directs a steely stare at him. “Don’t mention any of the three of them anymore. I don’t want to talk about the dead right now.”

The smile on his face wanes. “Okay.”

Joel nods at the set of clothes sitting on the feet of the bed. “Change into that. You’re gonna be here a while so you might as well be comfortable.”

“Wait. You’re gonna be staying in?”

“Like I said, I’m practical. The longer you’re gone, the more desperate they’ll be. It’s easier to work with desperate people.”

“Aren’t you worried that they’ll find us here?”

“How? I fried your phone while you were sleeping, you don’t have bionics that—”

“You fried what!”

“—can trace, we’re in the middle of nowhere—” Joel smiles as he walks out the room. “They’ve got nothing.”

Leo feels like his brain has shorted out from that one information. “How could you destroy my phone? I worked hard to get that paid off!”

“I can always get you a new one,” Joel calls from down the hall.

Leo groans. That one was mine, though! “Why are you doing this to me?”

His father makes no reply.

Leo sighs, defeated. “You know, I feel like if I had superpowers, we’d be having a different conversation right now.”

His father slowly drifts to the door. “Why? Do you feel like you might?”

“I said if,” Leo says, irritated. “Let’s face it, Dad: I’m 17. Yours started showing up at 5. It’s time that we both accept that I’m a loser in that genetic department.”

“You know you’re not a loser,” says Joel. He shrugs. “You never know. Maybe you’re just a late bloomer. Maybe it’s just taking you longer.”

“Or maybe it’s really just not in me.”

“Could be trigger-based, too,” Joel muses. “Stress…”

“Had four years of that in high school.”

“Life or death situation?”

“Almost died five times, on my last count.”

Joel frowns thoughtfully. “Toxic waste?”

Leo deadpanned. “There ain’t no way I’m going to let you drop me in a pool of one just to see.”

Joel watches him closely. “Do you want superpowers?”

“I don’t think it’d make a difference at this point. I mean, it’d be cool,” Leo admits, “but if I just don’t have it, I just don’t have it.”

Joel nods thoughtfully. “Well, let me know. We could make a bid for the Arcturion if it’s something you want.” He smirks. “I have a better chance at it than she does.”

“Wait,” Leo calls after his father. He swings his feet off the bed, and it’s then that he realizes he’s chained. “Dad, what is this? Why’d you bolt me to the floor?”

“In case they do find us here!”

Leo fiddles with the lock a moment but decides to abandon it for now. “What’s the Arcturion? What’s that?”

“Do you want to help me with this one device I’d been working on? I could never get the mechanics quite right. Maybe you’d have an idea on how to fix it.”

“Yeah, sure – but what’s the Arcturion?”

Joel only chuckles. The real reason why I wanted this transponder, he thinks but as with all unspoken words Leo doesn’t hear it.

Not that he should. He has decided his son can’t know about it yet.

After all, it’s the true key for The Incapacitator to be the most powerful of them all.

#Lab Rats #Mighty Med #chapter five #Noble Intentions #Leo Dooley #The Incapacitator #Victor Krane #S-1/Taylor

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evergreen-dryad · 4 years

Text

Which snippet (3 vs 17) for 6 more sentences?

Third rounds aka ...quarterfinals!!! Now this is getting interesting!! These snippets all promise more plot and meat to them!

3 - (Previously) “Ooh,” they cooed softly, on sight of the blue-green sphere.

“We have detected primitive stock of lifeforms similar to ours on that planet,” said one, standing as straight as possible, without swaying too left or right.

“Planet S constitutes a lot of the energy substance ‘sugar’ as its atmosphere exceeds the atoms needed to create sugar,” another continued where it had left off, presenting the report to the Mothership.

The rest cheered on hearing the news. “This means…!”

“Command descent,” the order blared over all channels, monotone in its robotic conversion. The antennae of the mokke on board waggled in good cheer, shimmering teal in the spacecraft yellow of the lamps. ~ They didn’t see the small little spacesuits descend, but they did hear the thuds as they landed with a jarring THUMP.

All was silent.

Finally the mokke dared to peek. Among the strewn glass, the grey-green spacesuits tottered, seemingly unused to … bouncing. Or perhaps they were trying to, and failing.

One managed to shuffle a step forward. "Take us to your..." Its rickety voice climbed, and the mokke leant forward despite themselves, almost amazed to hear almost a similar voice to theirs.

It fell over. "...Sugar." Its electric-ky voice squeaked.

All was still. Then-

"Huh?" One mokke squeaked, bewildered.

17 - (Previously) “Are they just like amoeba? Can we squish all of them into one huge mokke?” He continued rattling on, visibly excited as he whirled around on the roller chair. Fingers tapped away restlessly and honey-gold eyes blinked at a hummingbird’s pace. “Playdough!” He exclaimed to himself, a finger raised in counterpoint as his eyes darted to a corner of the ceiling.

Boy, he clearly was bored staying in this boundary all the time, Natsuhiko thought, only really listening with half an ear.

"Squishing them together isn't enough to force them to merge," Tsukasa mused, twirling a finger in the air idly. The mokke watched him in frozen terror, eyes never straying far from his motions. "What about rolling or compressing them? Or yelling at them~" he sang to himself, as he herded all the mokke into one nice spot. There. Hmm no, they'd probably run off once he moved, wouldn't they.

Time to tie up all the mokke into one huge pile, preferably one long pile like a stack of karate tiles~

Let me know what your vote is either by commenting on this post, or if you’re shy the poll I’ll leave in the comments because tumblr doesn’t like outside links (tumblr why must you make my life so hard)!!

Tournament bracket here.

Other 3rd round posts: 2, 3, 4

#jibaku shounen hanako kun #toilet bound hanako kun #jshk #tbhk #mokke #fanfic snippets #fic royale #my writing

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aj-the-psycho · 5 years

Text

The Hour: A Sanders Sides Story - Chapter 15

FROM FLORIDA TO SAINT PETERSBURG

TW: None

Summary: Patton dragged Damien to the park; Damien is missing someone.

Note: So, I headcannoned that Deceit would make a real great lawyer, and I was right (Selfishness vs. Selflessness episode). I didn’t steal the idea, I swear and this chapter has been up on AO3 for almost seven to eight months, so yeah. Just saying. Enjoy!

AO3 Link

It’s weekend again. That means no classes and he would be free of stress. Not that he ever gets too stressed. That day, his body decided that waking up in an unusually early hour is a good idea. He tried to put himself back to sleep, but he couldn’t seem to fall into slumber once again. He chose to get up instead. He went out of his room and opened the door next to his room. His brother was still asleep, which was a normal thing since it was only 06:30.

Patton didn’t actually know what he wanted to do. He could maybe try to cook, but that was usually Damien’s thing and he wasn’t in the mood either. He went to the kitchen and had a glass of water. Retreating back to his room, his mind drifted to random things. ‘What would happen in the future? Will Damien and I still stay together and share everything like we are right now? Will he be a successful lawyer like he wants to be? How about Logan?’ His mind halted at the thought.

Logan. The stiff, somewhat robotic soulmate of his. He remembered how he had offered reassurance that time in the coffee shop a few days ago. Having Logan there to just hold his hand made a big difference. It was as if his presence and their little contact drowned out all the tension that was hovering above them. His mind started to wander again, thinking of what life would bring him in the future. Once again, his thought drifted to those icy blue eyes, cool and mysterious.

Patton hadn’t actually known Logan for long. Only a month and a few weeks. There’s still a lot they don’t know about each other. And Patton was eager to find out more about his soulmate.

---------

“Hey, Dee,” Patton broke the comforting silence that settled in the kitchen. Breakfast that morning was simple, but good. Two waffles for each of them—with strawberries—and bacon. The twins didn’t have any plans for the day, so they were going to stay in.

“Ya?”

“Why did you want to be a lawyer?”

“Well… ‘cause I’m a good liar, good at bullshitting,” Damien said, then he added, “and I sound convincing, so yeah.”

Patton only nodded in response. Damien had always have a habit of lying, especially in high-stress situations. Sometimes, it wasn’t even lies. Instead, he would just speak in reverse. Though, Patton got used to it. His brother was bullied for his odd speech when they were younger, but now Damien have learned to control it better. Patton had been furious the first time someone called his brother a ‘slimy snake,’ but Damien just went with it. He just started hissing at people when they called him snake. ‘Living up to my name to the fullest, I guess,’ Damien had thought. Now, he doesn’t do that anymore, but he still feel the urge to hiss at people he doesn’t like.

After breakfast, Damien was about to turn the TV on. He wasn’t in the mood for too much social interaction. Everyone knew that Damien wasn’t a people person, but he wasn’t all that bad with people. Some people find his cool demeanor charming and mysterious. Damien himself didn’t understand how or why people find him charming or even remotely attractive and he didn’t how to react to that information. He once thought that maybe people see him that way, because he’s basically an identical copy of his brother, who most people find cute. Well, almost identical, anyway. When you’ve seen your face and your twin’s face side-by-side for who knows how many times, it’s going to start looking very different.

Patton, though, had other ideas. He really wanted to do something today. He wanted to go out and just enjoy the warmth of the still-rising sun or the still-cool, fresh breeze of the morning. His thoughts of soulmates from that morning came back to him. Remy and Damien had gone on a date—was it a date?—when they were in the coffee shop a few days ago. He doesn’t know a lot about Remy yet, but his brother seemed to like that boy. And Patton knew that Damien didn’t usually like people all that much. So, that must have said something about Remy—right?

“Dee, let’s go out. To the park! So we can see the little doggies!” Patton said with excitement, already pulling his brother out of the living room. “I swear, it’ll be fun!”

Damien didn’t like that. Not one bit. He really didn’t want to go out. However, he didn’t really have an excuse not to go either, so he obliged. “Kay, kay, yeah. Whatever, Pat.”

---------

The coffee was getting cold. He had bought the coffee at the stall near the entrance of the park earlier. Patton was playing with the little dogs that were running around the park and Damien was left to sit alone on the bench, sipping his coffee. Honestly, Damien didn’t really mind to be left alone in the park, as long as he can see his brother in his field of vision. However, alone also meant that he was left with his thoughts.

His mind would drift to random topics. ‘Do tiger cubs meow? What would happen to my brain if I isolate myself? It’s weird that we cook bacon and we bake cookies… What’s in the fridge in the apartment right now? How do I not know that? I literally cooked this morning.’ After a while, his mind started to run through his memories. One by one, moment through moment. Then, he stumbled on the memory of his hour.

‘Oh yeah… that was wild.’

---------

Damien was out alone again. It’s the middle of summer and he had too much free time in his hands. So, he chose to spend his time in his favorite coffee shop, Jacked Up Coffee. The atmosphere there was always so relaxing to him. The smell of coffee, the reddish hue of the sunset sweeping across the interior of the cafe and the sound of smooth jazz in the background.

While waiting for his order to come, he took out his phone and browsed through it. His social life wasn’t the most exciting thing on the planet, so his social media feeds weren’t that interesting either. It’s mostly just memes. Bad ones. A few boring minutes later, he put his phone down on the table—oh and look, the coffee is here. Finally!

All of a sudden, he felt a throbbing pain at the back of his head. It wasn’t intense, but it wasn’t a welcomed sensation either. He held his head in his hands, resting his elbows on the table for support. When the pain went away, he looked up again. And then the pain was back. ‘Am I getting sick or something? It’s annoying.’ He closed his eyes, hoping the pesky headache would go away soon.

When he opened his eyes again, he was greeted with darkness. Literally, darkness. He was sitting in a dark room with the lower half of his body covered with thick fabric. ‘Blanket,’ He vaguely noted. He quickly realized he was sitting on a bed in a darkened bedroom. Once his eyes adjusted to the dark, he could see the outline of the room properly. He went to turn the lights on.

The bed he was sitting on wasn’t that small. It could fit two people, though it would be a tight fit. It was covered in soft, black and brown sheets with white accents. To the left of the bed was a small desk with minimal decoration. Next to the desk, tucked in the corner against the wall was a stack of canvases. The smallest one was visible. It was a painting of a small bird. On the other side of the bed was a wooden bedside table with an alarm clock on it and a lamp. Next to the bedside table was the door, next to which he was standing. There were posters on the wall and two of those were of a band he didn’t recognize. ‘Leningrad?’

Damien was wondering how he got there. Was he dreaming? ‘I thought I was in the coffee shop a second ago?’ When he drew the blinds open, it was dark outside. ‘The fuck…’ What is happening?

He looked around the room to see if something else was wrong. His eyes found the alarm clock. 00:00. ‘How is it midnight? I thought it was five p.m.! Where the hell am I? What is happening?’ Then, he noticed a phone on the desk, still charging. He unlocked the phone using fingerprint—and he vaguely realized that it wasn’t his phone, even though he could unlock it with his fingerprint, but he was too confused and slightly panicked to care—and checked the date and location.

“Okay, okay,” Damien thought out loud to help himself think. “So, I’m in Russia. In motherfucking Russia! And it’s seven hours ahead of Florida here.” He walked in circles in the room, trying to make sense of what is happening. “Alright, Dee, you got this! How did you end up here?”

His eyes darted around the room again. Then, he saw it. It was a small card with words written on it.

С днем рождения!

What is that? What does that mean? He unlocked the phone again and typed in the phrase on the browser to find what the phrase said. He had to draw out the characters one by one, which read ‘S dnem rozhdeniya!’ Then he typed that out for a translation. ‘Happy birthday!’ was the translation result. Birthday? Who’s birthday? Oh… Oh…

“I’m in the fuckin’ hour! Holy shit, my soulmate is Russian?!” He was starting to freak out again. What was he supposed to do? One minute he was in Florida, enjoying a nice evening alone and then a second later he was in a dark bedroom in Saint Petersburg. Who wouldn’t freak out? He was literally in a different continent!

Alright, so, note first! He walked to the desk, hoping to find something that he could use to write. He found a bundle of post-it notes and a pen. He needed to sort his head out first. What to write first and all that. He can freak out—and maybe rant on the note—later.

Damien Harvey (21)

Florida, United States

Sanders University - economics and pol. Science

(I want to be a lawyer)

I have a twin brother (I’m older)

Well, I’m sorry if you don’t speak English,

but it’s the only language I speak.

It was annoying that each post-it only fit eight broken lines. He added the last two lines, because… well, he didn’t know why. If his soulmate did speak English, those two lines would be redundant. If they don’t speak English, those two lines would mean nothing to his soulmate. However, he continued his rant anyway. He added another post-it note and wrote again.

I was planning to write a small little thing,

but it looks like I’m not doing that right now.

So, I’m in Russia. It’s insane.

What if someone came in and decided to

talk to me? How am I gonna answer?

I don’t know why I’m ranting here, you might

not even understand what I’m talking about.

Feeling like he’d had enough with the note, he checked the time again. He still had forty minutes. Which was a lot of time to do nothing else. So, he decided to go outside. The house wasn’t too big, but it wasn’t small either. The living room was big, with an equally gigantic fireplace on the opposite wall of the entrance. He kept walking through the house. When he reached the kitchen, he was quite amazed. It was big with marble counter tops and a big kitchen island in the middle. Upon closer look, on the side of the island was two small fridges built into the structure.‘That’s pretty hecking cool.’

Suddenly, there was a voice behind him. “Remus, pochemú ty ne spish'?”

Damien whipped his head back, finding a middle aged man looking at him with sleepy eyes. ‘Oh fuck, what do I do?’ He tried to find his words, to say something, but his mind advised him to stay silent. ‘It’s not like I know any Russian…’ He remembered writing a possible scenario of someone finding him while he was having his hour on the note. Well, his fear came true. At the end, he just nodded nervously and head back to the room in a rush. He could feel the man stare at his back, but he didn’t dare look back again.

Once he got the door closed, he leaned against it and sagged in relief. Out of the corner of his eyes, he spotted another door opposite the window. Next to the door was a light switch, indicating that it was a bathroom. Damien decided to go into the bathroom to see his soulmate for the first time. It’s not like he cared if his soulmate was actually good looking or not, he was just curious.

The mirror in the bathroom wasn’t too big, but it was big enough for him to be able to see half of his body. When he saw the reflection in the mirror, his mind went blank. ‘Geez, what is it with Russia and gorgeous people?’

The first thing he noticed from his soulmate was those eyes. It was such a weird color. The green color of the eyes is so pale, but it was definitely green. Like a pair of beautiful jade beads. The deep auburn hair complimented the color of those pale eyes so well, it made the subtle color pop. The jawlines were so ungodly defined, Damien had to trail his finger over it. Pink lips adorned the face, which curl into a sweet smile. Looking down, he could see the white shirt he was wearing fit very well, though a bit loose at the waist. He dared to put one hand under the shirt, feeling bumps of muscle. He felt one strong, straight line down the middle of the abs. Going a little bit up, he could feel his chest, flat and a little hard.

He was getting more curious, so he lifted his shirt up to see underneath. ‘Oh man…’ Damien couldn’t help himself but trace over the subtle lines of muscle on the waist. The forearms also had visible cuts, though not extreme. ‘This guys is probably the hottest person I’ve ever seen...’

Going back into the bedroom, he sat on the bed. He didn’t know what else he was supposed to do. He still had twenty five minutes to kill. So, he turned the lights back off and wrapped himself in the soft, thick blanket. He supposed it made sense to have thick blankets here, since Russia gets really cold in winters.

Damien never thought he would ever have a soulmate. Having a soulmate was always a weird thought to him. He thought, he didn’t have a soulmate and for a while he was fine with that. Now, though, he was having his hour and he had been stuck in his soulmate’s body for about forty to forty five minutes. Thinking about the idea of him living his life alone was getting a little sad and depressing.

Damien had never liked being alone. He wanted to have many friends, but he knew it wasn’t his scene. He was always awkward and he constantly lie when he’s in a bad mood or in a high-stress situation. Sitting on that bed, Damien was starting to think that maybe a life alone would not be very interesting. Maybe, it wasn’t so bad to have a person in your life that you could depend on and you could… love.

He kept thinking about soulmates and his life in the future. He was getting deeper into his mind, so he wasn’t aware that his times was almost up. When he felt a headache coming, he thought nothing of it. Then, he remembered that the headache meant he had to go back. It was time. As another wave of headache came, he thought, ‘There’s so much distance between us, when will we ever meet each other?’

A minute later, he was back at Jacked Up Coffee. Nothing seemed to change and no one around him seemed to even notice what just happened. The girl a few tables away was still reading her book and that guy sitting across the room was still on his phone. When he looked down, he saw that his coffee was already halfway done and he could taste the slightly bitter taste of coffee in his mouth. ‘That’s interesting.’ Another thing that he found on the table was a small note.

Remus Galanicheff (19)

Yes I’m Russian. And yes, I speak English.

See you whenever I’ll see you.

The note was short, but it stirred something inside Damien. He folded the note carefully and put it in his pocket.

---------

Damien was pulled out of his memory when a small dog approached him, butting its head softly on his leg. He put his now-cold half-cup of coffee on the bench and reached down to pet the dog. Patton came running and flopped himself next to his brother on the bench.

“Oh my goodness, it’s so cute!” Patton reached his hand down to pet the dog.

“Skittles! Skittles, don’t annoy people. I told you to stay with me.” A young boy came and squatted next to the dog. Then, the boy looked up at Damien and said, “Sorry, mister. Skittles was having too much fun, I thought I lost him again.”

“That’s alright kid. Your dog’s pretty cute.” The boy only nodded in reply and smiled. The boy looked to Damien’s side—at Patton—and back at Damien again.

“Are you guys twins?” The boy asked timidly.

“Yep!” Patton answered enthusiastically. He always liked it when people asked about their twin-ship—Patton wasn’t sure if that’s a word, but that’s what he call his relationship with his brother. “He’s eight minutes older,” Patton said, pointing at Damien with his thumb.

The boy nodded again. “That’s cool. I’ve never seen adult twins before. All the pair of twins I know are my age.” The boy said with a hint of fascination. “Alright, I have to go now. Bye.” Without waiting for a reply, the kid ran off with his dog.

Once the boy was out of sight, Damien spoke up. “It’s weird that people still ask if we’re twins. You think being asked that question for twenty one years would make you get used to it.”

“Well, I’m fine with it.” After that, it was silence. The good kind of silence. The one that you enjoy, where you just absorb your surroundings. The birds singing in the trees, the warm sun hitting their skin and the sound of children playing in the park.

“Hey Pat, what did it feel like the first time you met Logan?” Damien asked after a long moment of silence.

Patton still remembered that morning in the coffee shop when he met Logan for the first time. It felt so long ago when it was only been about a month and two or three weeks. The first time he recognized Logan it felt relieving. There was no other way to describe it. It felt like he had just found something he thought he lost. Like that satisfying feel when you finish a herculean task.

“Well, I…” Patton tried to piece his thoughts together. “At first it was weird. Like, ‘oh wait, I know you even though I’ve never met you.’ It just felt…right? As if there was some kind of magic.”

“Yeah, magic kinda makes sense Pat. I mean, no one on Earth has ever explained this phenomenon of people having their souls transferred into their soulmate’s body for an hour and all that. It’s literally magic.”

“I guess so… Why’d ya ask?”

“Oh, nothing. Just curious.”

Patton looked unconvinced by Damien’s answer, but he nodded anyway. He still, however, threw his brother a skeptical look. Little did he know, Damien was thinking about his soulmate again. What is he doing right now? Is he alright after that whole fighting thing a few days ago? Damien didn’t realize this at that moment, but he was actually missing his soulmate. It was a very peculiar thought, given that they’ve only known each other for a week. But, Damien missed Remy. He just didn’t realize that.

*********

And once again, you've reached the end of the chapter. As I said earlier, the next chapter would—hopefully—be more exciting. Thank you so much for reading!! Please leave some feedback in the comment section, let me know what I should add or take out. --- Russian stuff (tell me of an mistakes!):

С днем рождения S dnem rozhdeniya [Happy birthday]

почему ты не спишь? pochemú ty ne spish'? [why aren't you sleeping?]

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chukwunonsorobert · 5 years

Text

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN WEBSITE AND WEB APPLICATION

What is a Website?

A website is a group of globally accessible, interlinked web pages which have a single domain name. It can be developed and maintained by an individual, business or organization. The website aims to serve a variety of purposes. Example: Blogs.

A website is hosted on a single or multiple web server. It is accessible via a network like the Internet or a private local area network via IP address.

What is a Web Application?

A web application is a software or program which is accessible using any web browser. Its frontend is usually created using languages like HTML, CSS, JavaScript, which are supported by major browsers. While the backend could use any programming stack like LAMP, MEAN, etc. Unlike mobile apps, there is no specific SDK for developing web applications.

Web Applications came to prominence with the advent of Software as a Service (SaaS) movement.

Why you Might need a Website?

Here, are prime reasons why you might need a website:

An effective method to showcase your products and services

Developing a site helps you to create your social proof

Helps you in branding your business

Helps you to achieve your business goals

Allows you to increase your customer support

Why you Might need a Web Application?

Web applications are more popular because of the following reasons:

Compared to desktop applications, web applications are easier to maintain by as they use the same code in the entire application. There are no compatibility issues.

Web applications can be used on any platform: Windows, Linux, Mac… as they all support modern browsers.

Mobile App store approval not required in web applications.

Released any time and in any form. No need to remind users to update their applications.

You can access these web applications 24 hours of the day and 365 days a year from any PC.

You can either make use of the computer or your mobile device to access the required data.

Web applications are a cost-effective option for any organization. Seat Licenses for Desktop software are expensive where SasS, are generally, pay as you go.

Web-Based Apps are Internet-enabled apps that are accessed through the mobile's web browser. Therefore, you don't require to download or install them.

Characteristics Of Websites

Quality and relevant Web Content is which richly displayed.

User-friendly navigation and web design

Can be easily searched using search engines like Google.

Characteristics Of Web Applications

Cloud-hosted and highly scalable

Mostly Cross-platform

Modular and loosely coupled

It is easily tested with automated tests.

Web Application vs. Website

Summary:

A website is a group of globally accessible, interlinked web pages which have a single domain name.

A web application is a software or program which is accessible using any web browser.

Developing your website helps you in branding your business.

App store approval not required in web applications

Quality and relevant Web Content are the most important characteristics of a good web site.

Cloud-hosted and highly scalable are the most vital characteristics of a good web application.

Reference: https://www.guru99.com/difference-web-application-website.html

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talentelgia · 2 years

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#Lamp stack #mean stack #lamp stack development #lamp vs mean

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neuxue · 6 years

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Wheel of Time liveblogging: The Gathering Storm ch 34

Everything from fireworks to Fourier transforms, because why the hell not. Oh and Mat is there. (Or is he?)

Chapter 34: Legends

Oh it’s Mat.

I have very little enthusiasm for Mat, especially this book’s Mat, but at the same time maybe it’s good to have a chapter that isn’t guaranteed to ruin me, just for a change of pace and a chance to catch my breath and regrow my limited supply of emotions.

Occasionally, the wind would blow, and a small sprinkle of dead pine needles would shake free from the boughs above

I see what you’re doing there, with your wind associated with death and release.

Mat’s clearly still a little shaken by Hinderstap, and is not particularly keen to go running into this next town. Can’t say I blame him.

This time he would plan and he would be ready. He nodded to himself in satisfaction.

Yeah, no, still not getting the cadence right here. It’s too…deliberately set up to be funny. Exaggerated. It’s like he’s being written as a caricature of himself.

Apparently it’s a woman who’s looking for him…I thought the pictures of him and Perrin were linked to Moridin’s directive to kill them – we’ve seen at least one attempt on each of them since then – but this sounds like someone who just wants to find him. Who, though? It doesn’t seem like it could be Tuon, and most of the other characters are tied up elsewhere, and none have recently mentioned trying to find Mat.

And it would probably be more efficient to just…read and find out than to try to list out all of the named female characters in the series thus far and cross-reference them against Mat’s story to figure out why they might be looking for him, wouldn’t it? I’ll leave the listing of ladies to Rand.

We’re getting fireworks as signal flares again, and I do have to applaud the ingenuity of the charactesr in this series. So far we’ve got fireworks used as: a distraction, entertainment, currency, battering ram, therapy, weapon, communication device. Have I missed anything?

Also, the red-for-danger, green-for-all-clear system brings another question to mind that maybe someone out there has an answer to: why do we continue to rely so heavily on red/green for important signalling distinctions (port/starboard, stop/go – things you really don’t want to mix up) when red-green is the most common spectrum of colourblindness?

I suppose the choice of colours predated any solid statistics on things like rates of colourblindness, and boats have the whole whistle system as well, and traffic lights have position as well as colour, but still.

Maybe it’s a chemistry thing? If red and green are the easiest colours to make in a fire or lamp or flare or light, it would make sense that those would have become the colours used for signalling when coloured lights were first used in such a way, and then it’s the kind of thing that would stick. So maybe lithium/strontium/barium/copper were more readily available, or happened to be used/discovered as colourants first?

And that was a tangent.

Meanwhile, Mat’s pulling a whole Argo here, creating false identities for the people he’s sending into the town. Okay, a reverse Argo, maybe, as that was exfiltration and this is infiltration but shhh. (Great movie, by the way, if you’ve not seen it – one of those ‘stranger than fiction’ true stories).

“Wait, Mat,” Mandevwin said, scratching his face near his eye patch. “I’m to be an apprentice gleeman? I’m not certain my voice is suited to fine signing. You’ve heard me, I warrant. And with only one eye, I doubt I’ll fare well at juggling.”

So I think by now we all know my thoughts on what ‘give up half the light of the world’ means, what with Mat being as Odin as it’s possible to be this side of actual Norse mythology…and yeah that doesn’t bode well for his juggling and knife-throwing skills, does it? Now I wonder if those skills were given to him intentionally not just as a fitting trait for a character of his archetype but to twist the knife a little in that sacrifice. Like Rand’s skill with the sword and then the loss of his hand.

(Also his skill at being a person and the eventual loss of his sanity, but we’ll just leave that one alone for the moment.)

“Aren’t I a little old to be an apprentice, though?”

“Nonsense,” Mat said. “You’re young at heart, and since you never married – the only woman you ever loved ran away with the tanner’s son – Thom’s arrival offered you an opportunity to start fresh.”

“But I don’t want to leave my great-aunt,” Mandevwin protested. “She’s cared for me since I was a child! It’s not honest of a man to abandon an elderly woman just because she gets a little confused.”

“There is no great-aunt,” Mat said with exasperation. “This is just a legend, a story to go with your false name.”

The thing is, if you take it completely out of context – as in, out of the Wheel of Time completely – there’s nothing particularly wrong with this exchange. It’s not the funniest thing I’ve ever read in my life, but it’s entertaining and a fun sort of ‘yes and’ game between characters. It builds a sense of their relationship, adds a little bit of depth to Mandevwin, presents Mat as creative and a little more fond of stories than he might admit while being a general…

But you have to completely dissociate it from the actual characters for it to work. It’s an alright scene, if it’s not about Matrim Cauthon in The Wheel of Time. If you read it as being from a different story entirely, with characters that just happen to have these names.

And that’s pretty much the problem with Mat. Other characters may see their lexicon shift a bit, or their tendency to externalise their thoughts a little more, but Mat’s been replaced with another character entirely.

I mean, so has Rand, but that’s his own damn fault.

“Too late,” Mat said, rifling through a stack on his desk, searching out a cluster of five pages covered in scrawled handwriting. “You can’t change now. I spent half the night working on your story. It’s the best out of the lot.”

I could almost give the rest a pass, because Mat coming up with false identities that make a fine story but will probably end up falling apart is not too far out of character, even if the conversation felt nothing like him – it’s not unlike what he did with himself, Egeanin, Tuon, and the others when they ran away with Luca’s show, after all – but Mat spending half a night writing up stories for each of them? I can’t make that fit.

“Are you sure we’re not taking this a little too far, lad?” Thom asked.

I think it’s meant to be a little out of character, as a way of showing how on edge he is. The fact that Thom comments on it serves as a narrative cue that this is intentionally off. But it’s too far and not quite in the right direction, so instead of helping us understand where Mat’s head is right now, it’s just…weird.

“I’m tired of walking into traps unprepared. I plan to take command of my own destiny, stop running from problem to problem. It’s time to be in charge.”

And the fact that Mat is so off in this book makes it hard for me to say anything about his actual story or character, because I don’t completely…trust any of it enough. So on the one hand I want to unpack this line, because there’s a lot there in terms of Mat’s own character arc, and his struggle between denial and acceptance of his role, and between luck and improvisation vs planning and strategy. But on the other hand, it’s hard to find any real motivation to do that when I feel like this isn’t really Mat. If that makes sense.

So actually, I’m going to do something a little out of character myself, here. I’m going to read the rest of this scene before commenting further, just to see if I can get a better sense of what’s going on from the general shape of it than from following it line-by-line.

Okay. Mat talks Talmanes through his own constructed backstory, then goes and inspects the camp and thinks about the Band and their current situation and also crossbows, and now he’s visiting Aludra so I’ll stop here for a moment before we get into that.

The bit with the crossbows comes closer to feeling like Mat again. The rest…still feels like it belongs in another book entirely. Also, weird how Mat knows two guys named Talmanes, right?

There are two main issues at play here, as far as I can figure it. The first is the issue of perception and distortion, which, broken down, looks something like this:

Jordan creates the character of Mat in his head

Jordan commits that character to writing. There’s distortion and filtering even here, because words are limiting and no writer isthatgood, and some information will not be conveyed or will be conveyed only obliquely, other things given more prominence, etc. Just like a photo is never going to be a perfect representation of an actual person, because you only have two dimensions to show something that exists in three.

Sanderson (or any reader) reads Mat. Filtering happens here because of how brains work; we’re not perfect machines that can take in every piece of information and give it equal and unbiased weight. Different things will register differently with different readers based on everything about them.

Sanderson (or any reader) creates a mental image/construct/version of Mat, adding the new information to it as it comes along – like making a sculpture from a drawing of a photo. This again is prone to filtering and distortion because of what information registers more or less strongly, how it’s interpreted, and all kinds of other factors.

Sanderson commits his version of Mat to writing, imperfectly portraying his own mental image of the character.

The reader reads Sanderson’s version of Mat, repeating steps 3 and 4.

Obviously this would apply to any character, not just Mat, but I think with Mat it’s an issue of a stronger filter/bias at steps 3, 4, and 5 but especially 4.

It’s something you see a lot in fanfiction, actually, especially in fanfiction centred on characters that can be strongly linked to a specific archetype. If you have the mental fortitude for it, check out some Avengers fanfiction sometime, and you’ll see a huge variation in how these iconic, archetypal characters are portrayed. Because they go through these processing and reconstruction steps, and so much of that is affected by each person’s own experience with or existing idea of the shape of those archetypes.

So we get into things like confirmation bias – if you have a pre-existing ‘outline’ of a character in your head based on the first impression they give, you’re going to end up paying more attention to things that fit into that outline, and ignoring things that don’t. And with these kinds of archetypal characters, it’s hard not to have that pre-existing outline unless you’ve been literally living under a rock for your entire life. In which case you have bigger problems. Also, I think with those sorts of characters, because you have this pre-existing model, your brain is more likely to essentially take short-cuts and go ‘yep, I know what this is’, whereas with characters that aren’t so easily categorised or immediately identified, you’ll rely more on the information directly presented, rather than on that outline.

That affects what you pay attention or give weight to, and that affects how you reconstruct the character in your mind, which creates an ongoing feedback loop but/and also affects how you portray the character yourself, should you ever do so.

It’s a process akin to…okay the first analogy that comes to mind is a Fourier transform followed by the addition of noise or any kind of alteration to any of the resulting frequencies, followed by an inverse Fourier transform to bring you back to something that no longer perfectly resembles the original. Because I’m a fucking nerd. In case that wasn’t already abundantly clear from everything about me.

But perhaps a more broadly accessible analogy is the game of taking a word or phrase or song or whatever and sticking it through a few different languages on google translate, and then translating the result back to the starting language and laughing and how ridiculous it ends up sounding.

(On a tangent from my tangent, I think this is part of why outsider POV can be so interesting. It’s a chance to watch this entire process take place in the minds of other characters, who essentially each create their own version of the character in question.)

Anyway, I think this is the first issue: Sanderson reads Mat, his brain goes ‘oh look, a trickster/rogue! I know what that is!’, which colours how he continues to read and interpret Mat, which shapes the Mat that lives in his head, which shapes how he then writes Mat.

The second problem, I think, is that Sanderson is somewhat aware that he’s doing this. Why is that a problem, you ask? Because it means that, while he’s not writing Jordan’s version of Mat, he also avoids committing completely to his own style of portraying a trickster/rogue. Which leaves us stranded somewhere in the middle, and you can feel the uncertainty and discomfort and tension between what he thinks he’s meant to be doing and what he wants to do. And Mat’s not the kind of character you can commit to halfway.

Okay, picking back up in a more normal fashion, hopefully (unless this next scene goes the way of the first).

Aludra’s making fireworks, Egeanin’s helping, and Mat’s trying to remember that he is a married man now.

Mat still had trouble figuring out what to call the woman. She wanted to be known as Leilwin, and sometimes he thought of her like that. It was foolish to go about changing your name just because someone said you had to

I like this, because it can be extended to a broader commentary on changing not just your name but your identity based on who or what you believe you must be. Tuon has the power, in the society in which Egeanin was raised, the society that shaped her mindset and identity and sense of self, to command that she take a new name and a new place. And that sticks even when – and perhaps even because – she chooses to remove herself from Seanchan society. She is a different person now, and the name is part cause and part symbol of that.

But it has a broader meaning here, for Mat himself and for Rand and for Egwene and for so many others. It’s the question of accepting a name or an identity that is given – the Dragon Reborn or the trickster or the Prince of the Ravens or son of battles or Amyrlin or wolf king. Prophecy and Pattern demand those roles be filled, and ask that they fill those roles, and so do they change to do so? Do they take on those names and fit themselves to those outlines, and if so is it by choice or by force?

Seems like all is not well between Mat and Aludra these days. Another word of advice: try to avoid pissing off the person who makes your explosives.

Honestly, I thought I was unqualified to give dating advice. But Mat and Gawyn and honestly the whole lot of them are really making me question that.

Then again, I thought Aludra and Mat were fine after Aludra made it clear she wasn’t interested in pursuing or being pursued by Mat once he began courting Tuon. Has he done something since then to irritate her?

“Are these the plans for the dragons?” Mat asked eagerly. He knelt down on one knee to inspect the sheets, without touching them. Aludra could be particular about that kind of thing.

“Yes.” She was still tapping with her hammer. She eyed him, looking just faintly uncomfortable. Because of Tuon, he suspected.

“And these figures?” Mat tried to ignore the awkwardness.

“Supply requirements,” she said.

So one thing I’ve been thinking about, and which this exchange highlights rather well, is why Mat seems to be the one so closely linked with and arguably credited with the weaponization of gunpowder, when in reality it’s pretty much all Aludra.

I’m curious as to whether this is just me, or whether it’s true of fandom as a whole – that gunpowder is linked and credited to Mat. Because narratively it seems like it’s set up that way – he plays with the fireworks Aludra gives him in TDR, and then there’s Egwene dreaming of him reaching up to grab a firework from the sky and knowing this will change the world, and dreaming again of him bowling with human lives as the bowling pins and knowing it’s linked to the same thing. And he’s the one who plans the battles in which Aludra’s explosives are used.

But he doesn’t actually come up with any of the ideas – he just incorporates them. She already has plans for her ‘dragons’ when she sets him the bellfounder riddle. She’s already thought through how her fireworks can be altered for various uses in battle. She doesn’t have the funding or resources, but she has the rest of it.

So I wonder if my brain has just taken the shortcut here of crediting Mat with the advent of gunpowder weaponry because he’s a far more major character, he’s the battle strategist, and he’s given all these pieces of foreshadowing and prophecy that link him to this innovation.

I also wonder if some element of it is unconscious gender bias on my part – that while I love the fact that it’s a woman who invents this, and that there’s no downplaying of the rather dark and destructive potential this has to change battle and war and the entire world, some part of me finds it much easier to associate that with a man than a woman. Something to think about, I suppose.

How would the common people react if they knew that the majestic nightflowers were just paper, powder, and – of all things – bat dung? No wonder Illuminators were so secretive with their craft. It wasn’t just about preventing competition. The more you knew about the process, the less wondrous and more ordinary it became.

There’s a great deal of truth to that.

And that, actually, seems like a very in-character observation for Mat to make. It’s something a trickster and a gambler and a strategist or general would understand: the value of knowing how things work, but also the value of misdirection and sleight-of-hand.

It’s a fitting realisation as well in a series that deals so much with the nature of information and knowledge and perception, and the interplay between them.

“This is a lot of material,” Mat said.

“A miracle, that is what you asked me for, Matrim Cauthon,” she replied, handing her nightflower to Leilwin and picking up her writing board. She made some notations on the sheet strapped to the front. “That miracle, I have broken down into a list of ingredients. A feat which is in itself miraculous, yes? Do not complain of the heat when someone offers you the sun in the palm of her hands.”

Hard to argue with that.

I do like Aludra – I always have; she’s a fun character. And a more complex one than her relatively little screen-time would ordinarily allow. As she has to be, I think; her place in the story but especially in her world is itself complex. Her innovation will change the world, and once unleashed that’s not something you can take back. Introducing gunpowder to a world is a heavy role for an otherwise bit-part character, but she’s written in such a way that it works. I do think that’s part of why the narrative leans on Mat so heavily in that regard, as a way of…offloading some of that weight onto a more central character.

“The Dragon Reborn, he can afford such costs.”

If nothing else, he’ll be relieved to be dealing with high costs in such an ordinary currency, after having had to pay such steep prices in less conventional ones – flesh, soul, sanity…

Maybe Rand could manage costs like these, but Matcertainly couldn’t. He’d have to dice with the queen of Andor herself to find this kind of coin!

I think Elayne would quite enjoy that, actually.

But that was Rand’s problem.

Honestly, Rand has well over 99 problems and I’m not even sure this makes the list. But okay.

Burn him, he’d better appreciate what Mat was going through for him.

At this point it’s all he can do to appreciate things like the fact that Nynaeve wants him to live, so I wouldn’t hold my breath.

“How many bellfounders are you going to need for this project?”

“Every one you can get,” Aludra said curtly. “Is that not what you promised me? Every bellfounder from Andor to Tear.”

“I suppose,” Mat said. He hadn’t actually expected her to take him literally on that. “What about copper and tin? You don’t have an estimate of those.”

“I need all of it.”

Okay, this is genuinely funny. Most of the credit goes to Aludra, who is written better than pretty much anyone else in Mat’s chapters so far this book. But this is great.

But then you stop laughing, and it becomes very much a sign of how non-trivial the invention of cannons and weaponised explosives is. This is not a small endeavour. This is not something that will be used in one battle and can then either catch on or fade back into obscurity. This is huge, and world-changing. A larger scale than Mat dreamed of and now he’s having to face the full reality of it. It’s one thing to see this in battle and know theoretically that this is going to change everything. It’s another thing to see it written out in figures that demand all the copper and tin that can be found on an entire continent.

Their eyes met for a moment, and Mat realised he’d probably been too curt with her. Maybe he was uncomfortable around her. A little. They’d been getting close before Tuon. And was that pain, hidden in Aludra’s eyes?

“I’m sorry, Aludra,” he said. “I shouldn’t have talked like that.”

She shrugged.

He took a deep breath. “Look, I know that…well, it’s odd how Tuon—”

She waved a hand, cutting him off. “It is nothing. I have my dragons. You have brought me the chance to create them. Other matters are no longer of concern. I wish you happiness.”

I guess I’m just confused because I thought we already did this, with Aludra telling Mat that she wouldn’t tell him the secrets that would make him blush and that she had no plans of being juggled. I sort of figured that was it. But I also thought it was just a bit of fun for both of them, while this would suggest that there were maybe a few feelings involved – just one or two, mind you – which I suppose would account for some continued awkwardness.

That and the fact that Mat has no idea how he’s supposed to behave around women now that he’s married.

Nice of him to offer a sincere apology, though. I’ll give him that.

“But it will take much time, and yet you refuse to tell me when the dragons will be needed.”

“Can’t tell you things I don’t know myself, Aludra,” Mat said, glancing northward. He felt a strange tugging, as if someone had hooked a fisherman’s line about his insides and was softly – but insistently – pulling on it. Rand, is that you, burn you? Colours swirled. “Soon, Aludra,” he found himself saying. “Time is short. So short.”

The storm is coming, and we must go north.

Mat tells Egeanin that he doesn’t want her giving the secret of these weapons to the Seanchan, but…yeah, this isn’t something you’re going to be able to control, once they’re used. And I think he still doesn’t quite see that, doesn’t quite grasp the magnitude of what this is. Which isn’t all that surprising, because it’s the sort of thing that’s almost too much to wrap your head around until it happens. It’s like trying to imagine the ubiquity and myriad uses of smartphones when you’ve only just figured out how to harness lightning.

“By the way, I nearly forgot. Do you know anything about crossbows, Aludra?”

Ha. This is such a classic ‘I know nothing about your field/profession, so I figure you do all of it?’ It’s like when my grandmother asks me to predict the weather because that’s definitely covered under ‘geology’…

She’s the closest thing to an engineer he has, so sure, why not? And your paediatrician could probably perform a bit of neurosurgery on the side, right?

Now, if you wanted to modify a handheld projectile weapon so that its projectiles exploded…

Oh hey it’s the mystery person who’s been looking for him. OH. An Aes Sedai.

OH HEY IT’S VERIN.

Haven’t seen her since she left Rand with that letter and went off to conduct her own mysterious business. What have you been up to, Verin?

How long ago was that, in this timeline? Rand’s apparently a head of the rest of them now, if he saw Mat in Caemlyn, so maybe this isn’t actually all that long after Verin left Rand in KoD.

But why did she leave and why is she here and hi, Verin!

Well that solves one problem for him: she can Travel, so he can get to Caemlyn in time for supper. Time to move the plot along.

He hesitated, eyeing Verin, forcing himself to contain his excitement. There was always a cost when Aes Sedai were involved.

“What do you want?” he asked.

GOOD. QUESTION. Yes, Verin, tell us. What exactly do you want?

She just says she’s been held here because of his own ta’veren effect. Which…is certainly possible, but almost as certainly not the entire truth.

Next (TGS ch 35) Previous (TGS ch 33)

#TELL ME YOUR SECRETS VERIN #Wheel of Time #neuxue liveblogs WoT #The Gathering Storm

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boutsofbanter · 6 years

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A Southern Snow Day

Prompt 1: Snow Day

Warnings: None

Pairings: Platonic LAMP

Word Count: 1.7 k

A/N: Happy Holidays! I’m hoping to get back into the writing spirit with the 12 adorable holiday prompts from @sanderssidescelebrations. Enjoy!

~*~*~*~*

When sleep decides that it’s done with him for the time being, Virgil has three thoughts:

1. Jeez it’s cold.

2. Either there’s a rat problem in the mindscape or Patton just squealed.

3. Why. Is. It. So. Freakin’. Cold.

Eventually, lying around in bed wondering why he’s freezing when he’s wearing a hoodie and huddling under a weighted blanket loses its charm, so Virgil sighs and sits up. He blinks blearily, noticing that his room is far more…bright?…than it usually is? It’s not normal daytime bright though, it’s sort of whiter and softer, if that makes any sort of sense to his barely-awake state of mind.

Shivering sort of sucks, so Virgil resigns himself to putting on the new Christmas sweater that he got from Roman and Patton the other day (“Didn't you guys already make us ones last year?” “You can never have enough Christmas sweaters!!!”) and heading downstairs to find something warm.

Logan exits his room at the same time, nodding in acknowledgement to Virgil. They don’t say anything, as neither of them are morning-people, but Virgil gives Logan a sleepy blink for a greeting and they head downstairs. Coffee’s already going in the kitchen, which means Patton is definitely awake and already starting the day. There’s the clattering of pans and cups and silverware, as well as Patton’s way-too-awake-this-early-I-mean-seriously-how-is-he-so-energized voice and Roman’s booming laughter.

“—hope they get up soon!”

“They will, coffee always draws them out of their little hovels.”

“Wow, rude,” Virgil grumbles.

“Virgil! Logan!” Patton greets, nearly losing the pancake that he was in the middle of flipping.

“Morning, Pat,” Virgil says with a small smile, making a beeline for the coffee machine. The hazelnut creamer is already on the counter next to his usual mug and he can’t help but grin a little wider.

“I don’t get a good morning, Sleeping Beauty?” Roman pouts, poking Virgil’s shoulder as he passes.

“No, good mornings are for considerate people only.”

“Me? Inconsiderate? The nerve! Just wait until you see!”

Roman’s got that look like he just did something that he thinks is spectacular, which immediately sets Virgil on edge (because who knows what Princey got up to before anyone got the chance to tell him no). He glances at Patton with a raised eyebrow and is met with only a gigantic smile and an enthusiastic, “We’ll show you after breakfast, Roman really outdid himself!”

Logan shares a Look with him over the edge of his own mug of coffee (black, because he’s a heathen like that) as they sit at the table.

“I saw that!”

Virgil smirks and Logan adjusts his glasses to hide his own amusement.

“Well, eat up everyone! We have a big day ahead of us,” Patton says, placing a Disney-cruise-buffet worthy stack of pancakes in the center of the table.

“That is an alarming amount of calories that you just set on the table, Patton,” Logan remarks, looking a bit shocked at the spread.

“Like I said, big day!”

Anxiety starts creeping in. “What exactly are we doing today?”

“You’ll see! Just eat and we’ll show you after breakfast,” Patton promises, sitting at the table and already snatching up three pancakes.

“Comforting,” Virgil grumbles, grabbing one for himself.

The four of them chat through breakfast, making relatively quick work of Patton’s fluffy pancake mountain. Logan talks about planning their schedule for the holidays, which is always a hectic time and Mr. Perfectionist never seems satisfied with the schedule until he’s redone it a hundred times. Roman and Patton go over potential gift ideas for Thomas’s friends and family, and Virgil offers (what he hopes to be) constructive criticism, which Logan backs reassuringly. Some gift ideas are better left wrapped up and hidden in the “do not open ever” corner of the mind.

Once all the plates are cleared and the mugs are emptied, everything gets dumped in the sink.

“Aren’t we going to wash those?” Logan asks.

“No time, Logical Disaster! Adventure does not wait for chores!” Roman declares, standing at the doorway to the living room with his hands on his hips, tapping his foot impatiently.

“We’ll take care of them later, you guys have to come and see!” Patton’s bouncing up and down like an excited little puppy, and no one can deny him when he gets like this, so off they go.

Virgil and Logan follow them into the living room, which has the same weird softish light from Virgil’s bedroom. The blinds are drawn because whatever Roman did must be outside the house (never let it be said that he lacks a flair for the dramatic).

“Ready?” Roman grins expectantly as he grabs the tassel to pull the blinds aside. Virgil and Logan share a glance with Patton, both sufficiently confused (and nervous, in one case).

“There’s no sense in dragging this out any longer, Roman. Show us,” Logan says.

“Alright, alright, fine. Sorry for enjoying a bit of a theatrical reveal now and again, ya buzzkill,” Roman says sarcastically, then yanks on the line.

The plastic shutters open and they’re met with blinding white. It takes a moment for Virgil’s eyes to adjust, but once they do, Patton’s sheer joy and anticipation makes perfect sense.

“Snow day!!!” Patton exclaims, whipping around to see Virgil’s and Logan’s reactions.

Logan merely stares and blinks for a few seconds before, “…You are aware of the fact that we live in Florida, correct?”

“Ugh, that’s the point, Logan!” Roman rolls his eyes. “We never get to see snow while living in the swampy basement of North America, so I decided to bring the snow to us.”

“I understand that, but this much snow falling at a location that is as close to the equator as Florida is is incredibly illogical. Our climate would not support it, especially with global warming being taken into account. It’s December, yet it was 85 degrees Fahrenheit the other day. Snow does not seem like it would thrive here.”

“That’s what makes it fun, Lo!” Patton says, his eyes sparkling with unbridled happiness. Virgil immediately appreciates Roman’s actions just from that one look. Yeah, there’s some visceral part of him that wants to freak out at all the snow in a place like Florida. It screams wrong and bad and what if it’s a sign of the apocalypse, but if it makes Patton so happy, he can ignore those thoughts for today.

“Patton’s right, this is…pretty cool,” Virgil says, knowing Patton will appreciate the pun.

Right on cue, their resident Dad-friend gasps and Patton’s hands fly to cover his mouth (as if they could possibly hide a smile that wide, c’mon Pat).

“Oh no, not you as well, Virgil,” Logan says, looking exasperated yet fond at the same time. Virgil shrugs with a small smirk and Logan sighs in defeat.

“So, I assume that we are going to indulge in this illogical weather pattern all day today?”

“You got that right, and I absolutely refuse to let you suck the magic out of this day!” Roman says, snapping his fingers and instantly changing them all into snow clothes.

As soon as Patton realizes that he’s now properly dressed, he throws open the front door and runs out into the snow, flopping down in a huge powdery drift and disappearing in a sea of white. The others follow, Virgil with a bit of concern until he sees the bright blue of Patton’s jacket. He’s making a snow angel, and Roman runs to join him, dramatically diving into the ground. It snowed at least two feet already and it’s still coming down in light flakes that tickle and freeze when they hit bare skin. It’s a strangely thrilling feeling.

“This is a crime against nature, even if we are within the mindscape,” Logan complains, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Oh, don’t be such a goody-two-shoes. It’s kinda fun to bend logic a little,” Virgil says, elbowing the other gently.

Logan gives him an unimpressed look, but when he glances back out and sees Roman and Patton comparing their snow angels, he smiles unintentionally at their antics. “I suppose I can let this one instance go, but only on one condition.”

Virgil raises his eyebrow and turns to Logan, “And what condition would that be?”

“We ambush Roman with an impromptu snowball fight.” As soon as the words are out of Logan’s mouth, Virgil is leaning over and grabbing a huge handful of snow to shape. They grin conspiratorially at each other and Logan starts making his own ammunition.

With larger-than-strictly-necessary snowballs in hand, they casually make their way closer to Roman and Patton. Once they’re within firing range, Logan (having mapped out the distance in his head and calculated the force and angle at which to throw his projectile) lets his go, and it explodes into white powder on the back of Roman’s neck.

“Hey!” he yells, quickly turning to face them, only to be met with Virgil’s own snowball hitting him in the face.

Virgil and Logan take one look and burst out laughing at the shocked and somewhat confused expression on their victim’s face. Even Patton is giggling, though he tries to hide it when he says, “That was cruel, boys!”

“Someone had to make the first strike!” Virgil calls back.

Roman shakes off the cold and his eyes narrow in determination. “I’m going to have my revenge!”

And just like that, they’re having a vicious snowball fight. It starts off in teams, Logan and Virgil vs. Patton and Roman, but it quickly devolves into a free-for-all. No mercy is shown as Logan aims for faces and turned backs, Roman for chinks in their armor (where jackets can’t cover them), Patton for those who are just about to throw, and with Virgil stockpiling ammo so he can have an endless volley of attacks.

At one point, Roman gathers up a huge armfull of snow and dumps it into the back of Logan’s jacket. There’s an indignant yelp across the battlefield which is followed by Roman’s victorious laughter. In retaliation, Patton tackles Roman into the snow and starts burying him and when Virgil goes over to help, Roman snatches his leg and he goes down in a flurry. Logan, while trying to maneuver the snow out of his jacket, trips over them and they all collapse in a heap on the ground, laughing and frozen and all kinds of happy.

Even if it doesn’t make any sense, Virgil guesses he can get used to Florida snow days.

#sanders sides holiday month #Sanders Sides #Virgil Sanders #Logan Sanders #Patton Sanders #Roman Sanders #platonic LAMP #fics #my fics

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braininventoryusa · 4 months

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LAMP vs. MEAN: Web Development Stack Comparison

Explore the differences between LAMP (Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP) and MEAN (MongoDB, Express.js, AngularJS, Node.js) stacks to choose the right one for your web development needs.

#lamp web development company #lamp development services #mean stack web development company

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superspectsuniverse · 3 years

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MEANSTACK VS LAMPSTACK

With several organizations round the world intensely betting on programming for his or her everyday endeavor, the requirement for giant business level applications, sites, and servers has become apparent. LAMP and MEAN are 2 of the foremost fashionable development stacks. And even though they consider totally different technologies for backend languages, server surroundings, and databases, there has been loads of rivalry regarding that if the 2 is best.

What is LAMP?

LAMP could be a set of software system subsystems that are combined to perform tasks while not dependencies on external software system or information. It’s the short type for UNIX system, Apache, MySQL, and PHP. LAMP works as a bunch of software system programs that permit seamless and swish integration with one another, therefore turning into one in every of the foremost potent platforms for internet application development.

Its elements include:

Linux (Operating System)

Apache (Web Server)

MySQL (Code Managing the Database)

PHP (Programming Language)

Historically, LAMP has been the foremost reliable and extremely effective platform to develop internet apps at the enterprise level.

What are the pros and Cons of LAMP Stack

Pros

One of the best edges of victimization LAMP is its widespread support. The PHP and MySQL backend techs are noted by several and supports many hosting suppliers. Therefore, you’ll be able to host all over and access the foremost sturdy CMS engines.

Since LAMP stack is an ASCII text file, interactions between end-users and therefore the supply may be modified to suit the developer’s wants.

PHP and MySQL programs are straightforward to understand, and thus, they create LAMP convenient for beginners. This is often as a result of its readying is seamless because it uses PHP as Associate in Nursing APACHE module and facilitates uploads PHP files through MySQL info.

The non-blocking structure of the LAMP makes it a lot of climbable and quicker to develop.

For distinctive requirements, developers will customize modules victimization the LAMP stack.

Cons

This internet stack solely supports variants UNIX system software system.

LAMP makes it formidable to switch between PHP or Python and so use hypertext mark-up language or JavaScript.

What is MEAN?

MEAN may be outlined as a software system bundle that stands for MongoDB, ExpressJS, AngularJS, and NodeJS. Operating along, these software system programs helps to change the online development method. The core strength of MEAN stack is in its centralization of JavaScript as its primary artificial language.

Each part during this internet stack is written in JavaScript and therefore the info stores information in JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) format. This implies that JS isn’t solely used as a client-side scripting language however additionally within the entire application, that will increase productivity. Its integral elements include:

MongoDB (data persistence)

Express.js (server-side application framework)

Angular (client-side application)

Node.JS (server-side environment)

MEAN Stack helps to develop apps that ar climbable, flexible, and protrusile, that makes it the perfect candidate for cloud hosting.

What are the pros and Cons of MEAN Stack?

Pros

The main reason why most developers get pleasure from victimization mean is that the use of one language (JavaScript), that permits shift between the shopper and therefore the server easier.

With MEAN, you’ll be able to produce straightforward ASCII text file solutions which may be accustomed develop sturdy and rectifiable applications.

It permits period of time demonstration of apps.

It is cloud compatible. With cloud functionalities turning into Associate in nursing integral a part of fashionable websites and apps, the MongoDB in MEAN permits you to develop, test, and deploy those functionalities with abundant ease.

It’s efficient and time-conscious.

Cons

MongoDB may be ideal for little and mid-size applications, except for large-scale applications, it may doubtless result in loss of knowledge once networking partitioning happens.

Express.js provides poor isolation of server from business logic. This will curtail the reprocess of bound services like batching operations.

It becomes difficult to travel back to the recent approach once you develop the primary website victimization MEAN Stack technology.

Differences between LAMP VS MEAN Stack

A large community of individual and company contributors and sponsors back the technologies within the MEAN Stack and therefore the MEAN Stack itself. There are programmers, experts, everyday people that have worked on one in every of the technologies within the past. Once you are unable to write a nasty piece of code, they’re the individuals you request facilitate from.

Both software system development stacks are about to still play a crucial role within the development of internet applications for years to come back. However, the last word selection for your start-up can come back right down to the use-cases and business priorities for the app that’s below development.

With a powerful wage and tremendous growth opportunities, MEAN Stack is here to remain. Developers during this field usually go on to figure as technical architects. MEAN is unquestionably the much-needed technology of the long run. MEAN STACK is one among the trending programs that each developer wishes to master.

Through a Best MEAN STACK Training in Kochi provided by the most effective coaching can be an asset to your future. Many business consultants provide the most effective MEAN STACK courses in Kochi by real operating MEAN STACK professionals, this is an additional edge.

#Mean Stack Training in Kochi #Mean stack training institute in kochi

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