diff --git a/.publish b/.publish
index 36264ac..134d171 160000
--- a/.publish
+++ b/.publish
@@ -1 +1 @@
-Subproject commit 36264ac3d7caa8d08f5ec7da0ca686df70859508
+Subproject commit 134d17104da849acd2b266cca19444254487e924
diff --git a/bower.json b/bower.json
index 813f958..799796a 100644
--- a/bower.json
+++ b/bower.json
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 {
   "name": "murk",
   "main": "./dist/murk.js",
-  "version": "0.6.0",
+  "version": "0.7.0",
   "homepage": "https://github.com/dhigginbotham/murk",
   "authors": [
     "David Higginbotham <davehigginbotham@gmail.com>"
diff --git a/dist/murk.js b/dist/murk.js
index 42837d0..34d5325 100644
--- a/dist/murk.js
+++ b/dist/murk.js
@@ -1 +1 @@
-!function(e,t){"undefined"!=typeof module&&module.exports?module.exports=t:window[e]=t}("murk",function e(t){function r(e,t,r){return"boolean"==typeof t&&"undefined"==typeof r&&(r=t,t=r),r="undefined"!=typeof r?r:!0,"undefined"!=typeof t&&"string"==typeof e?(k.model[e]=t,k.elems.hasOwnProperty(e)&&a(k.elems[e]),this):(r?P(k.model,e):k.model=e,o(),this)}function n(e){return"undefined"!=typeof e?k.model.hasOwnProperty(e)?k.model[e]:null:k.model}function o(){var e=k.dom.length?k.dom:i();Array.prototype.forEach.call(e,a)}function s(e){e="undefined"==typeof e?document:e;var t=i(e);Array.prototype.forEach.call(t,a)}function i(e){return e="undefined"==typeof e?document:e,e.getElementsByTagName("*")}function a(e){var t,r;t=b(e),r=t(v.selectorPrefix),r&&(t(v.selectorPrefix+"-id")||t(v.selectorPrefix+"-id",v.id),t(v.selectorPrefix+"-id")==v.id&&(k.elems.hasOwnProperty(r)||(k.elems[r]=e,~k.keys.indexOf(r)||(k.keys.push(r),k.dom.push(e)),e.innerHTML&&!k.model.hasOwnProperty(r)&&(k.model[r]=e.innerHTML)),k.model.hasOwnProperty(r)&&(l(r),++k.totalCount)))}function l(e){k.subscribers.hasOwnProperty(e)||(k.subscribers[e]=Array.prototype.slice.call(v.defaultSubscribers));for(var t,r=Array.prototype.slice.call(k.subscribers[e]);t=r.shift();)t.call(k.elems[e],e)}function d(e,t){function r(e){k.subscribers.hasOwnProperty(e)||(k.subscribers[e]=Array.prototype.slice.call(v.defaultSubscribers)),k.subscribers[e].push(t)}return e instanceof Array||(e=[e]),Array.prototype.forEach.call(e,r),this}function u(e){var t,r,n=b(e);if(n&&(t=n(v.selectorPrefix+"-repeat-key"),r=n(v.selectorPrefix+"-repeat-bind"),t&&this.hasOwnProperty(t)&&(e.innerHTML!=this[t]&&m(e,this[t]),r))){var o=this.$key+"."+t;n(v.selectorPrefix)||n(v.selectorPrefix,o),a(e)}}function f(e){var t,r,n,o;if(k.model[e]instanceof Array){if("none"!=this.style.display&&(this.style.display="none"),t=k.model[e],k.repeats.hasOwnProperty(e)||(k.repeats[e]={}),n=document.createDocumentFragment(),r=Object.keys(k.repeats[e]),r.length>t.length)for(var s=t.length;s<r.length;++s)"none"!=k.repeats[e][r[s]].style.display&&(k.repeats[e][r[s]].style.display="none");o=function(r,o){var s,i=e+".$"+o,a=!1;k.repeats[e].hasOwnProperty(i)||(k.repeats[e][i]=this.cloneNode(!0),a=!0),s=k.repeats[e][i],s.innerHTML!=t&&(a&&(delete s.dataset.murk,delete s.dataset.murkCount,delete s.dataset.murkBound,s.dataset.murkRepeat=i),"object"==typeof r?(r.$key=i,Array.prototype.forEach.call(s.getElementsByTagName("*"),u,r)):m(s,r),"none"==s.style.display&&(s.style.display=""),a&&n.appendChild(s))},Array.prototype.forEach.call(t,o,this),n.hasChildNodes()&&this.parentNode.appendChild(n)}}function c(e){var t,r;"murkFilter"in this.dataset&&(t=this.dataset.murkFilter,r=function(t){if(k.filters.hasOwnProperty(t)&&k.model.hasOwnProperty(e)){var r=k.filters[t].call(this,k.model[e]);m(this,r)}},-1!=t.indexOf(",")&&(t=t.split(",")),t instanceof Array||(t=[t]),Array.prototype.forEach.call(t,r,this))}function p(e,t){return e&&t&&(k.filters[e]=t),this}function y(e){k.model[e]instanceof Array||"object"==typeof k.model[e]||k.model[e]!=this.innerHTML&&m(this,k.model[e])}function h(){var e="murkCount"in this.dataset?this.dataset.murkCount:null;this.dataset.murkCount=e?parseInt(e,0)+1:1}function m(e,t){if("undefined"!=typeof t){("null"===t||null===t)&&(t="");var r=document.createTextNode(t);e.hasChildNodes()?e.childNodes[0].nodeValue=t:e.appendChild(r)}}function b(e){return"undefined"!=typeof e?function(t,r){return"undefined"==typeof r?e.getAttribute(t):"rm"==r?e.removeAttribute(t):e.setAttribute(t,r)}:null}function P(e,t){if("object"==typeof e)for(var r in t)t.hasOwnProperty(r)&&(e[r]=t[r])}if(!(this instanceof e))return new e(t);var k={model:{},dom:[],elems:{},repeats:{},subscribers:{},filters:{},keys:[],start:Date.now(),totalCount:0},v={selectorPrefix:"data-murk",dev:!1,id:k.start,defaultSubscribers:[f,y,c,h]};return t&&P(v,t),this.collectDom=s,this.emit=l,this.get=n,this.set=r,this.on=d,this.registerFilter=p,v.dev&&(this.state=k),this});
\ No newline at end of file
+!function(e,t){"undefined"!=typeof module&&module.exports?module.exports=t:window[e]=t}("murk",function e(t){function r(e,t,r){return"boolean"==typeof t&&"undefined"==typeof r&&(r=t,t=r),r="undefined"!=typeof r?r:!0,"undefined"!=typeof t&&"string"==typeof e?(x.model[e]=t,x.elems.hasOwnProperty(e)&&l(x.elems[e]),this):(r?P(x.model,e):x.model=e,n(),this)}function o(e){return"undefined"!=typeof e?x.model.hasOwnProperty(e)?x.model[e]:null:x.model}function n(){var e=x.dom.length?x.dom:i();Array.prototype.forEach.call(e,l)}function s(e){e="undefined"==typeof e?document:e;var t=i(e);Array.prototype.forEach.call(t,l)}function i(e){return e="undefined"==typeof e?document:e,e.getElementsByTagName("*")}function l(e){var t,r;t=b(e),r=t(v.selectorPrefix),r&&(t(v.selectorPrefix+"-id")||t(v.selectorPrefix+"-id",v.id),t(v.selectorPrefix+"-id")==v.id&&(x.elems.hasOwnProperty(r)||(x.elems[r]=e,~x.keys.indexOf(r)||(x.keys.push(r),x.dom.push(e)),e.innerHTML&&!x.model.hasOwnProperty(r)&&(x.model[r]=e.innerHTML)),x.model.hasOwnProperty(r)&&(a(r),++x.totalCount)))}function a(e){x.subscribers.hasOwnProperty(e)||(x.subscribers[e]=Array.prototype.slice.call(v.defaultSubscribers));for(var t,r=Array.prototype.slice.call(x.subscribers[e]);t=r.shift();)t.call(x.elems[e],e)}function f(e,t){function r(e){x.subscribers.hasOwnProperty(e)||(x.subscribers[e]=Array.prototype.slice.call(v.defaultSubscribers)),x.subscribers[e].push(t)}return e instanceof Array||(e=[e]),Array.prototype.forEach.call(e,r),this}function c(e){var t,r,o=b(e);if(o&&(t=o(v.selectorPrefix+"-repeat-key"),r=o(v.selectorPrefix+"-repeat-bind"),t&&this.hasOwnProperty(t)&&(e.innerHTML!=this[t]&&m(e,this[t]),r))){var n=this.$key+"."+t;o(v.selectorPrefix)||o(v.selectorPrefix,n),l(e)}}function d(e){var t,r,o,n,s;if(x.model[e]instanceof Array){if("none"!=this.style.display&&(this.style.display="none"),t=x.model[e],r=b(this),x.repeats.hasOwnProperty(e)||(x.repeats[e]={}),n=document.createDocumentFragment(),o=Object.keys(x.repeats[e]),o.length>t.length)for(var i=t.length;i<o.length;++i)"none"!=x.repeats[e][o[i]].style.display&&(x.repeats[e][o[i]].style.display="none");s=function(r,o){var s,i,l=e+".$"+o,a=!1;x.repeats[e].hasOwnProperty(l)||(x.repeats[e][l]=this.cloneNode(!0),a=!0),s=x.repeats[e][l],s.innerHTML!=t&&(i=b(s),a&&(i(v.selectorPrefix,"rm"),i(v.selectorPrefix+"-count","rm"),i(v.selectorPrefix+"-bound","rm"),i(v.selectorPrefix+"-repeat",l)),"object"==typeof r?(r.$key=l,Array.prototype.forEach.call(s.getElementsByTagName("*"),c,r)):m(s,r),"none"==s.style.display&&(s.style.display=""),a&&n.appendChild(s))},Array.prototype.forEach.call(t,s,this),n.hasChildNodes()&&this.parentNode.appendChild(n)}}function u(e){var t,r,o,n;t=b(this),t&&(r=t(v.selectorPrefix+"-filter"),o=t(v.selectorPrefix+"-filter-mutate"),r&&(n=function(t){if(x.filters.hasOwnProperty(t)&&x.model.hasOwnProperty(e)){var r=x.filters[t].call(this,x.model[e]);"undefined"!=typeof r&&o&&(x.model[e]=r),m(this,r)}},-1!=r.indexOf(",")&&(r=r.split(",")),r instanceof Array||(r=[r]),Array.prototype.forEach.call(r,n,this)))}function p(e,t){return e&&t&&(x.filters[e]=t),this}function y(e){x.model[e]instanceof Array||"object"==typeof x.model[e]||x.model[e]!=this.innerHTML&&m(this,x.model[e])}function h(){var e,t=b(this);e=t(v.selectorPrefix+"-count"),t(v.selectorPrefix+"-count",e?parseInt(e,0)+1:1)}function m(e,t){if("undefined"!=typeof t){("null"===t||null===t)&&(t="");var r=document.createTextNode(t);e.hasChildNodes()?e.childNodes[0].nodeValue=t:e.appendChild(r)}}function b(e){return"undefined"!=typeof e?function(t,r){return"undefined"==typeof r?e.getAttribute(t):"rm"==r?e.removeAttribute(t):e.setAttribute(t,r)}:null}function P(e,t){if("object"==typeof e)for(var r in t)t.hasOwnProperty(r)&&(e[r]=t[r])}if(!(this instanceof e))return new e(t);var x={model:{},dom:[],elems:{},repeats:{},subscribers:{},filters:{},keys:[],start:Date.now(),totalCount:0},v={selectorPrefix:"data-murk",dev:!1,id:x.start,defaultSubscribers:[d,y,u,h]};return t&&P(v,t),this.collectDom=s,this.emit=a,this.get=o,this.set=r,this.on=f,this.registerFilter=p,v.dev&&(this.state=x),this});
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/dist/murk.js.gz b/dist/murk.js.gz
index 90046ea..950bd9d 100644
Binary files a/dist/murk.js.gz and b/dist/murk.js.gz differ
diff --git a/examples/js/murk.js b/examples/js/murk.js
index 637e48d..afbeceb 100644
--- a/examples/js/murk.js
+++ b/examples/js/murk.js
@@ -191,11 +191,12 @@
   // as well as the current key being processed. it tries to be extremely
   // light by only doing reads, and saving writes until the end.
   function handleRepeat(key) {
-    var repeatModel, repeatElKeys, frag, processRepeats;
+    var repeatModel, attrs, repeatElKeys, frag, processRepeats;
     if (state.model[key] instanceof Array) {
       // hide our first elem, so we can use it later
       if (this.style.display != 'none') this.style.display = 'none';
       repeatModel = state.model[key];
+      attrs = attr(this);
       
       // we keep reference of all of our repeats
       // inside of state.repeats, so we always
@@ -222,7 +223,7 @@
 
       // processes each repeat individually
       processRepeats = function(repeat, i) {
-        var el, $key = (key + '.$' + i), newEl = false;
+        var el, atts, $key = (key + '.$' + i), newEl = false;
         
         // we make a new key, out of our current key
         // and setup any new elems that we might need
@@ -238,13 +239,14 @@
         // are fresh, and non object things
         // can be check simply like this
         if (el.innerHTML != repeatModel) {
+          atts = attr(el);
 
           // new els get sanitized
           if (newEl) {
-            delete el.dataset.murk;
-            delete el.dataset.murkCount;
-            delete el.dataset.murkBound;
-            el.dataset.murkRepeat = $key;
+            atts(opts.selectorPrefix, 'rm');
+            atts(opts.selectorPrefix + '-count', 'rm');
+            atts(opts.selectorPrefix + '-bound', 'rm');
+            atts(opts.selectorPrefix + '-repeat', $key);
           }
           if (typeof repeat == 'object') {
             // allows us to keep ref of new $key,
@@ -271,19 +273,26 @@
   // proccesses the filters added to any
   // given bound elem
   function processFiltersEvent(key) {
-    var filters, processFilter; 
-    if ('murkFilter' in this.dataset) {
-      filters = this.dataset.murkFilter;
-      processFilter = function(filter) {
-        if (state.filters.hasOwnProperty(filter) && 
-          state.model.hasOwnProperty(key)) {
-          var val = state.filters[filter].call(this, state.model[key]);
-          setupTextNode(this, val);
-        }
-      };
-      if (filters.indexOf(',') != -1) filters = filters.split(',');
-      if (!(filters instanceof Array)) filters = [filters];
-      Array.prototype.forEach.call(filters, processFilter, this);
+    var attrs, filters, filterMutate, processFilter; 
+    attrs = attr(this);
+    if (attrs) {
+      filters = attrs(opts.selectorPrefix + '-filter');
+      filterMutate = attrs(opts.selectorPrefix + '-filter-mutate');
+      if (filters) {
+        processFilter = function(filter) {
+          if (state.filters.hasOwnProperty(filter) && 
+            state.model.hasOwnProperty(key)) {
+            var val = state.filters[filter].call(this, state.model[key]);
+            if (typeof val != 'undefined' && filterMutate) {
+              state.model[key] = val;
+            }
+            setupTextNode(this, val);
+          }
+        };
+        if (filters.indexOf(',') != -1) filters = filters.split(',');
+        if (!(filters instanceof Array)) filters = [filters];
+        Array.prototype.forEach.call(filters, processFilter, this);
+      }
     }
   }
 
@@ -316,8 +325,9 @@
   // times we're interacting with our 
   // elems
   function trackCountEvent() {
-    var count = ('murkCount' in this.dataset ? this.dataset.murkCount : null);
-    this.dataset.murkCount = (count ? parseInt(count,0)+1 : 1);
+    var count, attrs = attr(this);
+    count = attrs(opts.selectorPrefix + '-count');
+    attrs(opts.selectorPrefix + '-count', (count ? parseInt(count,0)+1 : 1));
   }
 
   // handles dom manipulation
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index 8db2fe6..2d5d4e4 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "murk",
-  "version": "0.6.0",
+  "version": "0.7.0",
   "description": "data binding in new browsers",
   "main": "index.js",
   "directories": {
diff --git a/src/murk.js b/src/murk.js
index 637e48d..afbeceb 100644
--- a/src/murk.js
+++ b/src/murk.js
@@ -191,11 +191,12 @@
   // as well as the current key being processed. it tries to be extremely
   // light by only doing reads, and saving writes until the end.
   function handleRepeat(key) {
-    var repeatModel, repeatElKeys, frag, processRepeats;
+    var repeatModel, attrs, repeatElKeys, frag, processRepeats;
     if (state.model[key] instanceof Array) {
       // hide our first elem, so we can use it later
       if (this.style.display != 'none') this.style.display = 'none';
       repeatModel = state.model[key];
+      attrs = attr(this);
       
       // we keep reference of all of our repeats
       // inside of state.repeats, so we always
@@ -222,7 +223,7 @@
 
       // processes each repeat individually
       processRepeats = function(repeat, i) {
-        var el, $key = (key + '.$' + i), newEl = false;
+        var el, atts, $key = (key + '.$' + i), newEl = false;
         
         // we make a new key, out of our current key
         // and setup any new elems that we might need
@@ -238,13 +239,14 @@
         // are fresh, and non object things
         // can be check simply like this
         if (el.innerHTML != repeatModel) {
+          atts = attr(el);
 
           // new els get sanitized
           if (newEl) {
-            delete el.dataset.murk;
-            delete el.dataset.murkCount;
-            delete el.dataset.murkBound;
-            el.dataset.murkRepeat = $key;
+            atts(opts.selectorPrefix, 'rm');
+            atts(opts.selectorPrefix + '-count', 'rm');
+            atts(opts.selectorPrefix + '-bound', 'rm');
+            atts(opts.selectorPrefix + '-repeat', $key);
           }
           if (typeof repeat == 'object') {
             // allows us to keep ref of new $key,
@@ -271,19 +273,26 @@
   // proccesses the filters added to any
   // given bound elem
   function processFiltersEvent(key) {
-    var filters, processFilter; 
-    if ('murkFilter' in this.dataset) {
-      filters = this.dataset.murkFilter;
-      processFilter = function(filter) {
-        if (state.filters.hasOwnProperty(filter) && 
-          state.model.hasOwnProperty(key)) {
-          var val = state.filters[filter].call(this, state.model[key]);
-          setupTextNode(this, val);
-        }
-      };
-      if (filters.indexOf(',') != -1) filters = filters.split(',');
-      if (!(filters instanceof Array)) filters = [filters];
-      Array.prototype.forEach.call(filters, processFilter, this);
+    var attrs, filters, filterMutate, processFilter; 
+    attrs = attr(this);
+    if (attrs) {
+      filters = attrs(opts.selectorPrefix + '-filter');
+      filterMutate = attrs(opts.selectorPrefix + '-filter-mutate');
+      if (filters) {
+        processFilter = function(filter) {
+          if (state.filters.hasOwnProperty(filter) && 
+            state.model.hasOwnProperty(key)) {
+            var val = state.filters[filter].call(this, state.model[key]);
+            if (typeof val != 'undefined' && filterMutate) {
+              state.model[key] = val;
+            }
+            setupTextNode(this, val);
+          }
+        };
+        if (filters.indexOf(',') != -1) filters = filters.split(',');
+        if (!(filters instanceof Array)) filters = [filters];
+        Array.prototype.forEach.call(filters, processFilter, this);
+      }
     }
   }
 
@@ -316,8 +325,9 @@
   // times we're interacting with our 
   // elems
   function trackCountEvent() {
-    var count = ('murkCount' in this.dataset ? this.dataset.murkCount : null);
-    this.dataset.murkCount = (count ? parseInt(count,0)+1 : 1);
+    var count, attrs = attr(this);
+    count = attrs(opts.selectorPrefix + '-count');
+    attrs(opts.selectorPrefix + '-count', (count ? parseInt(count,0)+1 : 1));
   }
 
   // handles dom manipulation