diff --git a/archive/v0.1.23/mithril-tests.js b/archive/v0.1.23/mithril-tests.js
index 99bac36d..4a488b4f 100644
--- a/archive/v0.1.23/mithril-tests.js
+++ b/archive/v0.1.23/mithril-tests.js
@@ -1,10 +1,6 @@
 Mithril = m = new function app(window, undefined) {
-	var sObj = "[object Object]", sArr = "[object Array]", sStr = "[object String]"
-	function type(obj) {return {}.toString.call(obj)}
-	function isObj(obj) {return obj != null && type(obj) == sObj}
-	function isArr(obj) {return type(obj) == sArr}
-	function isFn(obj) {return typeof obj == "function"}
-	function isStr(obj){ return type(obj) == sStr}
+	var sObj = "[object Object]", sArr = "[object Array]", sStr = "[object String]", sFn = "function"
+	var type = {}.toString
 	var parser = /(?:(^|#|\.)([^#\.\[\]]+))|(\[.+?\])/g, attrParser = /\[(.+?)(?:=("|'|)(.*?)\2)?\]/
 	var voidElements = /AREA|BASE|BR|COL|COMMAND|EMBED|HR|IMG|INPUT|KEYGEN|LINK|META|PARAM|SOURCE|TRACK|WBR/
 
@@ -23,7 +19,7 @@ Mithril = m = new function app(window, undefined) {
 	 */
 	function m() {
 		var args = [].slice.call(arguments)
-		var hasAttrs = isObj(args[1]) && !("tag" in args[1]) && !("subtree" in args[1])
+		var hasAttrs = args[1] != null && type.call(args[1]) == sObj && !("tag" in args[1]) && !("subtree" in args[1])
 		var attrs = hasAttrs ? args[1] : {}
 		var classAttrName = "class" in attrs ? "class" : "className"
 		var cell = {tag: "div", attrs: {}}
@@ -41,7 +37,7 @@ Mithril = m = new function app(window, undefined) {
 
 
 		var children = hasAttrs ? args[2] : args[1]
-		if (isArr(children)) {
+		if (type.call(children) == sArr) {
 			cell.children = children
 		}
 		else {
@@ -82,7 +78,7 @@ Mithril = m = new function app(window, undefined) {
 		//- it simplifies diffing code
 		if (data == null) data = ""
 		if (data.subtree === "retain") return cached
-		var cachedType = type(cached), dataType = type(data)
+		var cachedType = type.call(cached), dataType = type.call(data)
 		if (cached == null || cachedType != dataType) {
 			if (cached != null) {
 				if (parentCache && parentCache.nodes) {
@@ -170,7 +166,13 @@ Mithril = m = new function app(window, undefined) {
 				var item = build(parentElement, parentTag, cached, index, data[i], cached[cacheCount], shouldReattach, index + subArrayCount || subArrayCount, editable, namespace, configs)
 				if (item === undefined) continue
 				if (!item.nodes.intact) intact = false
-				subArrayCount += isArr(item) ? item.length : 1
+				if (item.$trusted) {
+					//fix offset of next element if item was a trusted string w/ more than one html element
+					//the first clause in the regexp matches elements
+					//the second clause (after the pipe) matches text nodes
+					subArrayCount += (item.match(/<[^\/]|\>\s*[^<]/g) || []).length
+				}
+				else subArrayCount += type.call(item) == sArr ? item.length : 1
 				cached[cacheCount++] = item
 			}
 			if (!intact) {
@@ -194,12 +196,16 @@ Mithril = m = new function app(window, undefined) {
 			}
 		}
 		else if (data != null && dataType == sObj) {
+			if (!data.attrs) data.attrs = {}
+			if (!cached.attrs) cached.attrs = {}
+			
+			var dataAttrKeys = Object.keys(data.attrs)
 			//if an element is different enough from the one in cache, recreate it
-			if (data.tag != cached.tag || Object.keys(data.attrs).join() != Object.keys(cached.attrs).join() || data.attrs.id != cached.attrs.id) {
-				clear(cached.nodes)
-				if (cached.configContext && isFn(cached.configContext.onunload)) cached.configContext.onunload()
+			if (data.tag != cached.tag || dataAttrKeys.join() != Object.keys(cached.attrs).join() || data.attrs.id != cached.attrs.id) {
+				if (cached.nodes.length) clear(cached.nodes)
+				if (cached.configContext && typeof cached.configContext.onunload == sFn) cached.configContext.onunload()
 			}
-			if (!isStr(data.tag)) return
+			if (type.call(data.tag) != sStr) return
 
 			var node, isNew = cached.nodes.length === 0
 			if (data.attrs.xmlns) namespace = data.attrs.xmlns
@@ -210,23 +216,26 @@ Mithril = m = new function app(window, undefined) {
 				cached = {
 					tag: data.tag,
 					//set attributes first, then create children
-					attrs: setAttributes(node, data.tag, data.attrs, {}, namespace),
-					children: build(node, data.tag, undefined, undefined, data.children, cached.children, true, 0, data.attrs.contenteditable ? node : editable, namespace, configs),
+					attrs: dataAttrKeys.length ? setAttributes(node, data.tag, data.attrs, {}, namespace) : {},
+					children: data.children != null && data.children.length > 0 ?
+						build(node, data.tag, undefined, undefined, data.children, cached.children, true, 0, data.attrs.contenteditable ? node : editable, namespace, configs) :
+						data.children,
 					nodes: [node]
 				}
+				if (cached.children && !cached.children.nodes) cached.children.nodes = []
 				//edge case: setting value on <select> doesn't work before children exist, so set it again after children have been created
 				if (data.tag == "select" && data.attrs.value) setAttributes(node, data.tag, {value: data.attrs.value}, {}, namespace)
 				parentElement.insertBefore(node, parentElement.childNodes[index] || null)
 			}
 			else {
 				node = cached.nodes[0]
-				setAttributes(node, data.tag, data.attrs, cached.attrs, namespace)
+				if (dataAttrKeys.length) setAttributes(node, data.tag, data.attrs, cached.attrs, namespace)
 				cached.children = build(node, data.tag, undefined, undefined, data.children, cached.children, false, 0, data.attrs.contenteditable ? node : editable, namespace, configs)
 				cached.nodes.intact = true
 				if (shouldReattach === true && node != null) parentElement.insertBefore(node, parentElement.childNodes[index] || null)
 			}
 			//schedule configs to be called. They are called after `build` finishes running
-			if (isFn(data.attrs["config"])) {
+			if (typeof data.attrs["config"] == sFn) {
 				var context = cached.configContext = cached.configContext || {}
 
 				// bind
@@ -238,7 +247,7 @@ Mithril = m = new function app(window, undefined) {
 				configs.push(callback(data, [node, !isNew, context, cached]))
 			}
 		}
-		else if (!isFn(dataType)) {
+		else if (typeof dataType != sFn) {
 			//handle text nodes
 			var nodes
 			if (cached.nodes.length === 0) {
@@ -293,11 +302,11 @@ Mithril = m = new function app(window, undefined) {
 					//we don't ignore `key` because it must be unique and having it on the DOM helps debugging
 					if (attrName === "config") continue
 					//hook event handlers to the auto-redrawing system
-					else if (isFn(dataAttr) && attrName.indexOf("on") == 0) {
+					else if (typeof dataAttr == sFn && attrName.indexOf("on") == 0) {
 						node[attrName] = autoredraw(dataAttr, node)
 					}
 					//handle `style: {...}`
-					else if (attrName === "style" && isObj(dataAttr)) {
+					else if (attrName === "style" && dataAttr != null && type.call(dataAttr) == sObj) {
 						for (var rule in dataAttr) {
 							if (cachedAttr == null || cachedAttr[rule] !== dataAttr[rule]) node.style[rule] = dataAttr[rule]
 						}
@@ -338,9 +347,9 @@ Mithril = m = new function app(window, undefined) {
 		if (nodes.length != 0) nodes.length = 0
 	}
 	function unload(cached) {
-		if (cached.configContext && isFn(cached.configContext.onunload)) cached.configContext.onunload()
+		if (cached.configContext && typeof cached.configContext.onunload == sFn) cached.configContext.onunload()
 		if (cached.children) {
-			if (isArr(cached.children)) {
+			if (type.call(cached.children) == sArr) {
 				for (var i = 0; i < cached.children.length; i++) unload(cached.children[i])
 			}
 			else if (cached.children.tag) unload(cached.children)
@@ -367,13 +376,19 @@ Mithril = m = new function app(window, undefined) {
 		return nodes
 	}
 	function flatten(data) {
-		var flattened = []
-		for (var i = 0; i < data.length; i++) {
-			var item = data[i]
-			if (isArr(item)) flattened.push.apply(flattened, flatten(item))
-			else flattened.push(item)
+		var index = 0
+		loop: while (true) {
+			for (var i = index; i < data.length; i++) {
+				var item = data[i]
+				if (type.call(data[i]) == sArr) {
+					index = i
+					data = data.concat.apply([], data)
+					continue loop
+				}
+			}
+			break
 		}
-		return flattened
+		return data
 	}
 	function autoredraw(callback, object) {
 		return function(e) {
@@ -436,33 +451,25 @@ Mithril = m = new function app(window, undefined) {
 			return store
 		}
 
-		prop.toString = function(){
-			return store.toString();
-		}
-
-		prop.valueOf = function(){
-			return store.valueOf();
-		}
-
 		return prop
 	}
 
 	m.prop = function (store) {
 		//note: using non-strict equality check here because we're checking if store is null OR undefined
-		if ((isObj(store) || isFn(store)) && store != null && isFn(store.then)) {
+		if (((store != null && type.call(store) == sObj) || typeof store == sFn) && typeof store.then == sFn) {
 			return propify(store)
 		}
 
 		return gettersetter(store)
 	}
 
-	var roots = [], modules = [], controllers = [], lastRedrawId = null, lastRedrawCallTime = 0, computePostRedrawHook = null, prevented = false
+	var roots = [], modules = [], controllers = [], lastRedrawId = null, lastRedrawCallTime = 0, computePostRedrawHook = null, prevented = false, topModule
 	var FRAME_BUDGET = 16 //60 frames per second = 1 call per 16 ms
 	m.module = function(root, module) {
 		var index = roots.indexOf(root)
 		if (index < 0) index = roots.length
 		var isPrevented = false
-		if (controllers[index] && isFn(controllers[index].onunload)) {
+		if (controllers[index] && typeof controllers[index].onunload == sFn) {
 			var event = {
 				preventDefault: function() {isPrevented = true}
 			}
@@ -472,8 +479,14 @@ Mithril = m = new function app(window, undefined) {
 			m.redraw.strategy("all")
 			m.startComputation()
 			roots[index] = root
-			modules[index] = module
-			controllers[index] = new module.controller
+			var currentModule = topModule = module
+			var controller = new module.controller
+			//controllers may call m.module recursively (via m.route redirects, for example)
+			//this conditional ensures only the last recursive m.module call is applied
+			if (currentModule == topModule) {
+				controllers[index] = controller
+				modules[index] = module
+			}
 			m.endComputation()
 			return controllers[index]
 		}
@@ -500,7 +513,9 @@ Mithril = m = new function app(window, undefined) {
 	function redraw() {
 		var mode = m.redraw.strategy()
 		for (var i = 0; i < roots.length; i++) {
-			if (controllers[i] && mode != "none") m.render(roots[i], modules[i].view(controllers[i]), mode == "all")
+			if (controllers[i] && mode != "none") {
+				m.render(roots[i], modules[i].view(controllers[i]), mode == "all")
+			}
 		}
 		//after rendering within a routed context, we need to scroll back to the top, and fetch the document title for history.pushState
 		if (computePostRedrawHook) {
@@ -531,8 +546,9 @@ Mithril = m = new function app(window, undefined) {
 	var modes = {pathname: "", hash: "#", search: "?"}
 	var redirect = function() {}, routeParams = {}, currentRoute
 	m.route = function() {
+		//m.route()
 		if (arguments.length === 0) return currentRoute
-		else if (arguments.length === 3 && isStr(arguments[1])) {
+		else if (arguments.length === 3 && type.call(arguments[1]) == sStr) {
 			var root = arguments[0], defaultRoute = arguments[1], router = arguments[2]
 			redirect = function(source) {
 				var path = currentRoute = normalizeRoute(source)
@@ -549,20 +565,19 @@ Mithril = m = new function app(window, undefined) {
 			computePostRedrawHook = setScroll
 			window[listener]()
 		}
+		//config: m.route
 		else if (arguments[0].addEventListener) {
 			var element = arguments[0]
 			var isInitialized = arguments[1]
 			var context = arguments[2]
-			if (!isInitialized) {
-				context.href = element.getAttribute("href")
-				element.href = (m.route.mode !== 'pathname' ? window.location.pathname : '') + modes[m.route.mode] + context.href
-				element.removeEventListener("click", routeUnobtrusive)
-				element.addEventListener("click", routeUnobtrusive)
-			}
+			element.href = (m.route.mode !== 'pathname' ? window.location.pathname : '') + modes[m.route.mode] + this.attrs.href
+			element.removeEventListener("click", routeUnobtrusive)
+			element.addEventListener("click", routeUnobtrusive)
 		}
-		else if (isStr(arguments[0])) {
+		//m.route(route)
+		else if (type.call(arguments[0]) == sStr) {
 			currentRoute = arguments[0]
-			var querystring = isObj(arguments[1]) ? buildQueryString(arguments[1]) : null
+			var querystring = arguments[1] != null && type.call(arguments[1]) == sObj ? buildQueryString(arguments[1]) : null
 			if (querystring) currentRoute += (currentRoute.indexOf("?") === -1 ? "?" : "&") + querystring
 
 			var shouldReplaceHistoryEntry = (arguments.length == 3 ? arguments[2] : arguments[1]) === true
@@ -614,7 +629,8 @@ Mithril = m = new function app(window, undefined) {
 		if (e.preventDefault) e.preventDefault()
 		else e.returnValue = false
 		var currentTarget = e.currentTarget || this
-		m.route(currentTarget[m.route.mode].slice(modes[m.route.mode].length))
+		var args = m.route.mode == "pathname" && currentTarget.search ? parseQueryString(currentTarget.search.slice(1)) : {}
+		m.route(currentTarget[m.route.mode].slice(modes[m.route.mode].length), args)
 	}
 	function setScroll() {
 		if (m.route.mode != "hash" && window.location.hash) window.location.hash = window.location.hash
@@ -624,7 +640,7 @@ Mithril = m = new function app(window, undefined) {
 		var str = []
 		for(var prop in object) {
 			var key = prefix ? prefix + "[" + prop + "]" : prop, value = object[prop]
-			str.push(isObj(value) ? buildQueryString(value, key) : encodeURIComponent(key) + "=" + encodeURIComponent(value))
+			str.push(value != null && type.call(value) == sObj ? buildQueryString(value, key) : encodeURIComponent(key) + "=" + encodeURIComponent(value))
 		}
 		return str.join("&")
 	}
@@ -651,7 +667,7 @@ Mithril = m = new function app(window, undefined) {
 		return deferred
 	}
 	function propify(promise) {
-		prop = m.prop()
+		var prop = m.prop()
 		promise.then(prop)
 		prop.then = function(resolve, reject) {
 			return propify(promise.then(resolve, reject))
@@ -710,7 +726,7 @@ Mithril = m = new function app(window, undefined) {
 		}
 
 		function thennable(then, successCallback, failureCallback, notThennableCallback) {
-			if ((isObj(promiseValue) || isFn(promiseValue)) && isFn(then)) {
+			if (((promiseValue != null && type.call(promiseValue) == sObj) || typeof promiseValue == sFn) && typeof then == sFn) {
 				try {
 					// count protects against abuse calls from spec checker
 					var count = 0
@@ -754,10 +770,10 @@ Mithril = m = new function app(window, undefined) {
 				fire()
 			}, function() {
 				try {
-					if (state == RESOLVING && isFn(successCallback)) {
+					if (state == RESOLVING && typeof successCallback == sFn) {
 						promiseValue = successCallback(promiseValue)
 					}
-					else if (state == REJECTING && isFn(failureCallback)) {
+					else if (state == REJECTING && typeof failureCallback == "function") {
 						promiseValue = failureCallback(promiseValue)
 						state = RESOLVING
 					}
@@ -783,7 +799,7 @@ Mithril = m = new function app(window, undefined) {
 		}
 	}
 	m.deferred.onerror = function(e) {
-		if (type(e) == "[object Error]" && !e.constructor.toString().match(/ Error/)) throw e
+		if (type.call(e) == "[object Error]" && !e.constructor.toString().match(/ Error/)) throw e
 	}
 
 	m.sync = function(args) {
@@ -808,7 +824,7 @@ Mithril = m = new function app(window, undefined) {
 				args[i].then(synchronizer(i, true), synchronizer(i, false))
 			}
 		}
-		else deferred.resolve()
+		else deferred.resolve([])
 
 		return deferred.promise
 	}
@@ -871,22 +887,23 @@ Mithril = m = new function app(window, undefined) {
 			if (options.deserialize == JSON.parse) {
 				xhr.setRequestHeader("Accept", "application/json, text/*");
 			}
-			if (isFn(options.config)) {
+			if (typeof options.config == sFn) {
 				var maybeXhr = options.config(xhr, options)
 				if (maybeXhr != null) xhr = maybeXhr
 			}
 
+			if (options.data && (type.call(options.data) != sStr && options.data.constructor != window.FormData)) throw "Request data should be either be a string or FormData. Check the `serialize` option in `m.request`"
 			xhr.send(options.method == "GET" || !options.data ? "" : options.data)
 			return xhr
 		}
 	}
 	function bindData(xhrOptions, data, serialize) {
-		if (data && Object.keys(data).length > 0) {
-			if (xhrOptions.method == "GET" && xhrOptions.dataType != "jsonp") {
-				xhrOptions.url = xhrOptions.url + (xhrOptions.url.indexOf("?") < 0 ? "?" : "&") + buildQueryString(data)
-			}
-			else xhrOptions.data = serialize(data)
+		if (xhrOptions.method == "GET" && xhrOptions.dataType != "jsonp") {
+			var prefix = xhrOptions.url.indexOf("?") < 0 ? "?" : "&"
+			var querystring = buildQueryString(data)
+			xhrOptions.url = xhrOptions.url + (querystring ? prefix + querystring : "")
 		}
+		else xhrOptions.data = serialize(data)
 		return xhrOptions
 	}
 	function parameterizeUrl(url, data) {
@@ -918,7 +935,7 @@ Mithril = m = new function app(window, undefined) {
 				var unwrap = (e.type == "load" ? xhrOptions.unwrapSuccess : xhrOptions.unwrapError) || identity
 				var response = unwrap(deserialize(extract(e.target, xhrOptions)))
 				if (e.type == "load") {
-					if (isArr(response) && xhrOptions.type) {
+					if (type.call(response) == sArr && xhrOptions.type) {
 						for (var i = 0; i < response.length; i++) response[i] = new xhrOptions.type(response[i])
 					}
 					else if (xhrOptions.type) response = new xhrOptions.type(response)
@@ -932,6 +949,7 @@ Mithril = m = new function app(window, undefined) {
 			if (xhrOptions.background !== true) m.endComputation()
 		}
 		ajax(xhrOptions)
+		deferred.promise(xhrOptions.initialValue)
 		return deferred.promise
 	}
 
@@ -948,6 +966,9 @@ if (typeof define == "function" && define.amd) define(function() {return m})
 
 ;;;
 
+//make "use strict" and nodejs happy
+var window = this
+
 //test reporting for saucelabs
 if (typeof window != "undefined") {
 	window.global_test_results = {
@@ -969,7 +990,7 @@ function test(condition) {
 	var result = true
 	test.total++
 
-	if (this.performance != null && performance.now) {
+	if (typeof performance != "undefined" && performance.now) {
 		start = performance.now()
 	}
 	try {
@@ -980,11 +1001,11 @@ function test(condition) {
 		console.error(e)
 		test.failures.push(condition)
 	}
-	if (this.performance != null && performance.now) {
+	if (typeof performance != "undefined" && performance.now) {
 		duration = performance.now() - start
 	}
 
-	test_obj = {
+	window.test_obj = {
 		name: "" + test.total,
 		result: result,
 		duration: duration
@@ -992,7 +1013,7 @@ function test(condition) {
 
 	if (typeof window != "undefined") {
 		if (!result) {
-			window.global_test_results.tests.push(test_obj)
+			window.global_test_results.tests.push(window.test_obj)
 		}
 
 		window.global_test_results.duration += duration
@@ -1961,6 +1982,11 @@ function testMithril(mock) {
 		m.render(root, new Field())
 		return root.childNodes.length == 1
 	})
+	test(function() {
+		var root = mock.document.createElement("div")
+		m.render(root, {foo: 123})
+		return root.childNodes.length == 0
+	})
 	//end m.render
 
 	//m.redraw
@@ -2756,6 +2782,28 @@ function testMithril(mock) {
 		})
 		return value == "foo+bar"
 	})
+	test(function() {
+		mock.requestAnimationFrame.$resolve()
+		mock.location.search = "?"
+		
+		var root = mock.document.createElement("div")
+		
+		var a = {}
+		a.controller = function() {m.route("/b")}
+		a.view = function() {return "a"}
+
+		var b = {}
+		b.controller = function() {}
+		b.view = function(ctrl) {return "b"}
+
+		m.route(root, "/a", {
+			"/a": a,
+			"/b": b
+		})
+		mock.requestAnimationFrame.$resolve()
+		
+		return root.childNodes[0].nodeValue == "b"
+	})
 	//end m.route
 
 	//m.prop
@@ -2846,6 +2894,18 @@ function testMithril(mock) {
 		xhr.onreadystatechange()
 		return xhr.$headers["Content-Type"] === undefined
 	})
+	test(function() {
+		var prop = m.request({method: "POST", url: "test", initialValue: "foo"})
+		var initialValue = prop();
+		mock.XMLHttpRequest.$instances.pop().onreadystatechange()
+
+		return initialValue === "foo"
+	})
+	test(function() {
+		var prop = m.request({method: "POST", url: "test", initialValue: "foo"}).then(function(value) {return "bar"})
+		mock.XMLHttpRequest.$instances.pop().onreadystatechange()
+		return prop() === "bar"
+	})
 
 	// m.request over jsonp
 	test(function(){
@@ -3136,6 +3196,11 @@ function testMithril(mock) {
 		m.sync([]).then(function() {value = 2})
 		return value == 2
 	})
+	test(function() {
+		var success
+		m.sync([]).then(function(value) {success = value instanceof Array})
+		return success
+	})
 
 	//m.startComputation/m.endComputation
 	test(function() {
diff --git a/mithril.js b/mithril.js
index c28ec3ad..9f82faa7 100644
--- a/mithril.js
+++ b/mithril.js
@@ -949,7 +949,7 @@ Mithril = m = new function app(window, undefined) {
 			if (xhrOptions.background !== true) m.endComputation()
 		}
 		ajax(xhrOptions)
-		deferred.promise(xhrOptions.default)
+		deferred.promise(xhrOptions.initialValue)
 		return deferred.promise
 	}
 
diff --git a/tests/mithril-tests.js b/tests/mithril-tests.js
index 560a34ef..ecc27d3d 100644
--- a/tests/mithril-tests.js
+++ b/tests/mithril-tests.js
@@ -1688,11 +1688,14 @@ function testMithril(mock) {
 		return xhr.$headers["Content-Type"] === undefined
 	})
 	test(function() {
-		var prop = m.request({method: "POST", url: "test", default: "foo"})
-		return prop() === "foo"
+		var prop = m.request({method: "POST", url: "test", initialValue: "foo"})
+		var initialValue = prop();
+		mock.XMLHttpRequest.$instances.pop().onreadystatechange()
+
+		return initialValue === "foo"
 	})
 	test(function() {
-		var prop = m.request({method: "POST", url: "test", default: "foo"}).then(function(value) {return "bar"})
+		var prop = m.request({method: "POST", url: "test", initialValue: "foo"}).then(function(value) {return "bar"})
 		mock.XMLHttpRequest.$instances.pop().onreadystatechange()
 		return prop() === "bar"
 	})