#even more when you consider that these movies have become more and more reliant on vfx work

[fonteyn]

Imagine thinking that the recent "failure" (by Disney standards) of Phase 4 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe is because of the addition of "diversity wokeism" (their words, not mine) and a lack of focus from the architects of the MCU (mostly Kevin Feige) on the overarching storyline that binds all movies & shows and not due to the fundamentally unsustainable structure currently in place that attempts to make several gigantic billion dollar movies every year for the last 12 years whilst obviously relying on the exploitation of workers, particularly vfx artists, so much that it's driving people out of the industry, and milking as much money as possible through it all...

Like, sorry to say but: they aren't making movies...they're just rolling another product off the assembly line at this point.

[drdemonprince]

if you ever have the time and space to answer this i'd be very thankful

how can i take any let downs by friends less personal and continue giving people chances/inviting them in and being vulnerable without hurting myself/gettung hurt in the process? i'm guessing the answer is to find a balance, but are there ways to go about it easier? no matter how much i try to communicate and and manage expectations... i appreciate my friends greatly, but still i often feel let down when they cant come to things that are important to me though i understand that things can happen and theres usually reasons for not being able to make something and i am not their priority number one in a system that exhausts all of us- it just keeps happening and i don't want to grow bitter and alone but cherish the people in my life and trust they are trying their best

I think you can start by practicing being more flaky and unreliable and more reliant up on your friends' grace as well! When we feel resentful, it is often a sign that we are doing far too much, and not having our needs cared for. I used to be one of the most reliable mother fuckers around -- it was my senior superlative, actually, Most Reliable! ha! -- and I resented just about everyone for being less put together, less likely to follow through, less prone to doing what they said and saying what they'd do than me. I was a bitter little Type A overachieving cunt who considered myself superior to everyone (in part because my hyper literal Autistic ass believed that if you said you were going to do something, that meant you absolutely Had to Do It and Why Would Anybody Lie about a thing like that?)

Today I am a fuckin MESS and I am a much better person for it. I amble up just barely on time, I cancel plans, I forget things, I tell someone I can't make it even if in the most literal sense I could but I don't feel like it -- and many of my friends are tired, spent, fuzzy brained exhausted messes too! And it's fine! I have some friends that I regularly rely upon to cancel our plans because it frees up a little extra room in my schedule that I always wind up needing. I'm not mad or disappointed in them for bailing, my ass is relieved because I definitely have some shit to get to myself and probably four other people that I'm kinda letting down at the moment. It's not that any of us lack concern for one another, that's just what being a busy adult is in this day and age. We have work and creative pursuits and lots of friends and fucking and exercise and tile to regrout. Shit happens. It's not a big deal if I end up needing to see the movie solo or if we need to reschedule our breakfast date. Shit happens. I have too many actual problems to make a problem out of someone having a hangover and not being able to show up to my birthday or whatever. I missed their birthday last year, but I'll make it there this year, and maybe next time they'll make mine, too. The grace of accepting chaos washes it all away. My friends are my fellow comrades in the fuckin trenches and we each get to make one another's tours a little less miserable by understanding shit's crazy and fucked and that none of it is personal and that at the end, we still love eachother and are doing our best.

With time, may you find that kind of serenity and that ability to just keep on moving in life rather than fixating on the little slights and unpredictable things that will happen whether we fight them or not. Don't read too much into anyone's cancellation of plans or lateness or flakiness. Put your mind toward more interesting problems in your life, ones that some thinking can help solve. Easier said than done, but you'll get there. If my bitter anal retentive ass could become so sloppy and lovingly blase so can you!

[qoqurt]

° ᡣ𐭩 . ° . AHNTOPIA .ᐟ

daisy + her relationship with her siblings .ᐟ

read about daisy here | au masterlist

.𖥔 ݁ ˖ JIHOON AHN .ᐟ

born on may 4, 1998 — making him the oldest of the ahn siblings at 25

took on a father figure role after daisy and david were born, due to the fact that their parents were oftentimes busy with work

but because of this, all the ahn siblings are incredibly close

a taekwondo instructor — has been doing it since 2018, but has been taking classes himself since he was a kid

has taught daisy most of what she knows

she looks up to him a lot, and often goes to him for advice

theres a recurring gag / bit going on in which a vast majority of daisy’s friends find jihoon attractive or have had a crush on him — which peeves her to no end (affectionately)

was most likely the one to teach daisy how to drive

he reminds daisy of tadashi hamada from big hero 6

daisy inherits the Hopeless Romantic trait from him

currently residing in toronto for work

has bought flowers for their mom, daisy and yujin for valentines since daisy was 12 and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future

will just show up at daisy’s place to visit (with david)

tunes into ahn on the air every chance he gets. oftentimes texts daisy after broadcasting with his opinions on that day’s ‘sing you to sleep’ segment

.𖥔 ݁ ˖ YUJIN AHN .ᐟ

daisy’s oldest sister! born june 19, 2001 — making her oldest after jihoon at 22 years old

lives probably the farthest out of all of her siblings, currently living in seoul

daisy stays with her when she travels there

a popular twitch streamer in korea, often plays games like valorant and league

will have daisy on stream when she does val sometimes

definitely dotes on daisy a little more than jihoon does, but it’s because daisy’s a little more reliant on yujin

formula 1 junkie — she and daisy often talk about the races together

was the one who gifted daisy her first and only guitar — which daisy lovingly named ‘jin’ after her older sister

a lot of daisy’s clothes are yujin’s handmedowns

is the more introverted of the ahn siblings

both she and jihoon were forced to become camp counsellors at the same camp david and daisy attended — much to yujin’s chagrin

most of daisy and yujin’s hangouts consist of them staying home and watching movies or cooking together — or going shopping

they’re pen pals, often writing each other cute letters despite being able to text each other

.𖥔 ݁ ˖ DOYUN ‘DAVID’ AHN .ᐟ

daisy’s twin! both february babies (february 26th, 2003)

they’re definitely the closest out of all the siblings, but that’s a given considering the fact that they’re twins

they’re 100% each other’s person

because david got into hockey, daisy was quick to follow his footsteps by taking figure skating

have only really been apart for small increments of time (ie : when daisy visits stella and the hughes family, trips to korea, etc)

dealt with their first big separation when daisy moved to michigan for university, while david hung back and went to ubc

people often describe daisy and david as “one in the same,” having similar personalities but completely different interests

text and call very often

david has been playing hockey since he was a kid — even playing against luke and jack’s team once as children

he still plays hockey in university, but only recreationally now

.𖥔 ݁ ˖ GENERAL FACTS .ᐟ

their sibling group chat is called “ahn clan 🫶🏻” — and it’s used pretty frequently. they regularly keep in touch with one another

they regularly try to be there for each others functions when it’s possible

they try to at least have one family trip together every year

huge fights are incredibly rare, but they’ll have their petty squabbles more often than not (typically it’s david and yujin)

note from mei ꒰ᐢ. .ᐢ꒱ finally posted this bad boy!! i hope u like her siblings just as much as u like her 💔 they’re so dear and precious to me…

pookie tags ( ask to be added ! ) : @wintfleur @lovings4turn @iceflwers

[spaceorphan18]

Hey, I remembered your displeasure with Agatha Christie's book covers!

I'm so annoyed by all the boring covers of romance books right now, for example. I don't know if it's just the German editions or in the U.S. too, but we have a glut of kind of monochrome covers right now, mostly pastel (but sometimes dark if it's supposed to be spicier) with the (often boring and bland) title on it in a fancy font.

It's so boring, it says nothing about the book, it's not individual at all and it looks like the ten books next to it. It doesn't make me want to read it at all. Also, when I see ads or recs I can not even remember the book by cover, because they are all the same!

I just had an ad on Insta that reminded me of it again, I've attached it here to show what I mean.

Oh my gosh, dear! Where's @ckerouac -- we have had numerous conversations about the distaste of certain genres of fiction lately. And, you know what, I'm gonna diatribe a bit, it'll be good since I have to go back to work today.

Book cover marketing has always been a thing but lately everything has become more homogeneous -- which is intentional by the publisher, so it'll get you to buy the same kind of book that you've read before. I do agree that it's boring, and takes away a book's individuality. But nowhere is that more apparent than the romance genre. Why? Because these books are (for better or worse) a dime a dozen. Publishers, and even readers, don't necessarily take these books very seriously, and consider them all, in some respects, to be interchangeable.

The romance genre, right now, can be broken up into three-ish big categories (there are some side ones, I'll talk about that in a second) -- and I've labeled them Rom-Coms, Soft-Core Porn, and Hard-Core Porn respectably. (No, seriously, at work, this is how I label them in my head.) Now, all of them have explicit sex in them (that didn't used to be the case actually) but you'll see why I've broken it up that way in a sec...

The Rom-Coms

These books are basically your equivalent to Hallmark movies -- cheezy plots, lighthearted shenanigans, and reliant on very tropish things like -- there's only one bed! (Though a ton of them are friends to lovers and/or (lite) enemies to lovers). There's also this trend right now where sports related books (especially hockey, interestingly) are becoming popular. They are also all guaranteed to have happy ending -- just look how happy the couple is on the cover!

Anyway, the covers of all these books are cartoonish in nature -- implying that they're supposed to be light and fun and easily digestible. They kind of imply comedic hijinx (though the comedy in most of these is questionable). But mostly, if you trip over one of these covers - it's basically like a rating system, you won't have to worry about tripping over any kind of hard core kinks in the smut.

The Soft-Core Porn

Okay, so first of all, yeah - I know I'm not using 'soft-core porn' entirely correctly. Let me be clear, these books are just as explicit as the other titles I'll get to in a second, but these are kind of the middle range of romance books. (And, the one you posted above - the second I saw it, I was like, oh yeah - I know exactly what type of book it is.)

These books are all the drama focused books. There is a range from -- soap opera-y love dynamics to somewhat twisted love situations, but they're going to stay in their somewhat mellowdramatic lane. These are also the books where they may not guarantee a happy ending.

These covers are usually the worst in that they're so bland, but they are doing something. They're simple, and somewhat melancholy (as either the situation or the ending will probably be sad), hence the pastel colors. They also kind of evoke that CW Teen drama-esque feel (while some of these books origins might be YA, none of them are YA in content).

The Hard-Core Porn

You can thank EL James's Fifty Shades of Gray (or maybe Stephanie Meyer's Twilight) for the uptick in popularity for these books. These books are rough -- dealing with very dark subjects such as rape, incest, and death. But also sometimes some supernatural elements. But also, these are going to have the kinkiest types of sex -- such as BSDM, etc. (It's also an interesting aside, that these books have always been around -- but it wasn't until Fifty Shades that made them come out into the light a little more. This stuff used to be saved, mostly, for things like fanfiction).

The covers are all black, with pops of bright colors (usually pink - to signify the feminine romance angle or red due to the color's sexual connotation), to incite a warning to the reader. They're intentionally striking so to let you know that these books aren't playing around.

Also. It should be noted that, unlike the first two categories where you get a story involved, these books are primarily just smut. The story is loosely there as a framing device, and only a backdrop for the huge amount of kinky sex going on in these books. These books don't care about plot. They're intention is to be porn.

So, those are the big three, but there are other things to note....

Historical Romance

Alright, so, historical romance has always been popular, and twenty, thirty years ago, it was what really sold. Even during my tenure of selling books, there was a large array of historical fiction -- I once did an entire display of books with the word 'duke' in the title.

The reason I'm using the same Julia Quinn novel as an example is that there's been a shift in design of romance covers. The one on the left is what it used to be -- kind of evoking that materialistic femineity of a time long past. They also often featured two hot people on the cover, usually in some state of undress (see below). It was meant to be provocative -- and, as marketing really hasn't changed all that much, show you exactly what you'd be getting.

These days, historical romance is now designed like the cover on the right -- and usually falls more into the rom-com genre of book design, only having a more historical twist on it.

The other funny thing about these books is that they were once supposed to be the most scandalous and are now kind of quaint. Even the rom-com genre of books have more explicit sex than the Julia Quinn books from twenty years ago. (It's kind of funny -- we had a discussion at work about how Bridgerton would basically be PG-13, if it weren't for a few steamy scenes.)

[Also as an aside, there are the Harlequin Mass Markets -- which are the cheapy, dime a dozen books. Historical romance and the Harlequins were kind of the same thing, and that's all the romance genre used to be. Harlequin is mostly forgotten these days, at least by anyone under the age of fifty.]

And... then there's a gap I'm missing when it comes to romance, but that's because it kind of crosses two genres - romance and fantasy.

Romantacy

Thank you Sarah J Maas for this craze. The thing about these books is that while there are definite patterns to them (and there are...) these books get to be a little different. The reason for this is that they fall into the fantasy category -- and one element of the fantasy category is aesthetic.

They have to get you on board with their fancy designs because they're selling you a different kind of product -- one that relies on unusual worlds and more supernatural and fantastical elements. So, almost by design of the (sub-)genre, they're going to stand out.

And it's funny -- while these books do cross the genre barrier, they are more romance than fantasy, they're just using fantasy as the packaging instead of the real world.

*****

So there you go - a run down of the romance genre and it's marketing. Like I said above, the whole point of all of this is to tell you what kind of book it is, rather than what the story is. It's purposeful in that -- you'll pick up the book and know whether you're getting a happy or sad ending, or what level of smut you're going to get. It's purposefully intentional to keep the reader coming back to get more of the same thing as before.

But, yeah, it does strip the books of individuality (you want individuality? go read general fic - the publishers say).

I did not know that the outside of US markets did it, too, but I'm not wholly surprised. And every genre and category of books do this.

Anyway - thanks for letting me indulge! :)

[tankmanaj]

i think i made a bn oc a bit detailed but behold!

Calyspo Angéle (totally didnt pick Rosalie just for marcus to make fun of if he ever finds out his real last name. cackling evilly)

anywaysss calypso moved from greenville illinois to rackleff, maine eve. when he went to PS38 school he was first a bit nervous because well, hes got two rare conditions, albinism and vitiligo (though i doubt that a person can have two conditions combined but it wont hurt to make it slightly possible in a fictional world!)

once he stepped into the school, he had eyes all over him, which made him worry that theyll see him differently because of his combined condition. turns out, to his surprise, that the kids found him as 'cool looking', along with the jacket he wore on the first day of school. he became all happy yet a little shy by so many kids complimenting him, some kids (such as randy, marcus, and other kids i might not know) dont like him at all. but the only kid who hates him is no one but the one who used to be the popular kid in school, marcus goode. when he found out about calypso being the new popular kid in school, this made him infuriated and he realized with the major feeling of jealousy and hatred for calypso, its confirmed that he has found his actual rival instead of nate becoming a trendsetter aswell before the new kid stepped in.

personality: though he is outgoing, trustworthy, patient, pure-hearted, optimistic, friendly, and basically that guy you would like to hang out with, he does have a bit of a fierce side if someone ticks him off. he's sort of tough-talking, very independent (but its possible for him to change his appearance if someone insulted him pretty badly), self-reliant and a bit sassy, incredibly honest to the fact that hell possibly hurt someones feelings, that's because he sometimes doesnt think before doing it. but he has a softer and more understanding side shown when someone who was rude to him actually turned out to be just hurt. he comforts them and help them become a better person. he is strong but not strong as some bullies in school... chester would pretty much let him know what a deathbed would feel like/j

grade/age: 12 y/o 7th grader

nationality n race: a french mix african american born in a town in illinois. so he does speak english but french also

gender: male, he/him

likes: helping, learning new things, making friends, cooking/baking, the midnight sky, such as the stars and the moon, parks, 1930s french or american movies, sports, photography, anything that was in the vintage days, bunnies and other animals that are considered adorable, painting, singing, space, mar- ermm marvin the martian ! yea !! hes such a cool alien character because he likes spacee, listening to podcasts/people talking, putting on clothes that fits his appearance, decorating, sweet treats and drinks, hanging out with people (hes an extrovert!), playing video games, winter

dislikes: anything that involves danger, being disrespectful or even controlling to his posse, disrespectful people such as bullies, people making fun of him for looking like a girl or having a last name that sounds like its a feminine name, gossiping, heights, being followed by people who admire him (he does appreciate the good side of popularity but he does not like being followed, fighting or anything that involves violence, sixth graders being seen as pathetic

favorite music genre: french pop, orchestral, folk, indie, r&b, hip hop

hobbies: arts n crafts, photography, writing, culinary, singing, pottery, designing, knitting

and i think thats all

[kataraslove]

I just really hope that the new ATLA movie will be interesting, bright and exciting, that it will pay tribute to all the characters, but especially to Katara. And there will be kataang in it: wonderful, respectful, supportive relationships. And a huge number of pro-Katara, pro-Aang and pro-kataang new fans will come to the fandom. I hope that the time will come when a respectful and competent and deeper gaze of the canon and canonical characters will dominate the fandom, and the toxic z/tara will remain in the minority (I have nothing against zutara as a ship but I am against lying about characters and hatred, and, unfortunately, I saw most of this in the z/tara fandom). Let the era of peace and kindness finally come for the fandom, as Zuko would say.

one can only hope for that, anon! after that leaked image of adult gaang came out, i saw antis do a complete 180 about their perceptions on kataang. so who knows? however, considering that it's been 15 years, i don't think perceptions on here - or in other places - are really going to change much from people who vehemently despise kataang. i think every interaction and scene between katara and aang, no matter how positive it is, will be spun to be made as if it's negative. i mean, we literally saw their reactions to a COOKBOOK that stated that aang liked to cook for katara. "wow, i can't believe you need a cookbook to confirm that aang does the bare minimum," or, my personal favourite, "katara has to literally baby aang by controlling how much sugar he eats!"

that being said, i'm not interested in changing the minds of people who genuinely believe kataang to be an abusive relationship. what i do want instead is for the adult gaang movie to provide a fandom environment in which kataang shippers are not afraid to admit that they ship kataang. for a whole week after the leaked image was released, there was a kataang renaissance that occurred on twitter, with viral kataang tweets and people coming out and admitting that they enjoyed kataang. much like the kataang renaissance that occurred after the legend of korra first aired (with canon confirmation that katara and aang had three children before bryke ripped that perfect family perception to shreds), i want that same thing to happen following the adult gaang movie, except in a much larger scale, with much more fandom content.

at the end of the day, though, what i really want is for katara to be done justice by this movie; for her to receive the recognition that she deserves after 15 long years of absolutely null. i do believe that she will receive justice in the form of good writing and canon recognition - the signs are all there - but at the same time, i am a little cautious just because it is bryke behind the wheels. those two, in their efforts to explore what they believe to be nuance, tend to leave out a whole bunch of details. simply put, they're not the best writers, and even worse, they've been horrible at receiving criticism in the past. so i hope those are attributes of theirs that have changed over the years, as they've matured and gained more industry experience. i think it has, just based on the things that i've heard from the two, and the fact that they're now part of a gigantic hollywood megacorporation and streaming service that is dependent on the success of avatar studios. speaking of which, you have no idea just how much paramount is riding on avatar studios to become a commercial success. the fate and future of avatar studios are absolutely reliant on this adult gaang movie becoming a huge commercial hit.

... which is my other area of concern. just what are bryke willing to do to ensure that the movie will be a huge hit? what plot points will they introduce? what will they do with the characters? i don't think that they're going to pander to fandom demands (have certain ships become romantic) because they said that they're not going to do that. at the same time, however, what exactly are they going to do? katara and aang aren't the most popular characters in the series, their romantic relationship is an area of contention and controversy among the fanbase; from a business standpoint, how exactly will avatar studios handle this? i don't want any cheap, convoluted, soap-opera. i also don't want a marvel movie in the form of avatar. i want fulfilling character arcs and dynamics and plot points that stay true to the themes of avatar the last airbender. as we've seen with the kyoshi novels, we know that the spirit of avatar can be replicated if the right creative voices are in the writing room, holding the pen.

i suppose that's something that bryke will have to deal with and figure out. no use losing sleep over things we know nothing about. just based on the things that i've seen and read, the contextual clues over the years, the new content from avatar studios, i think we can expect the best, especially as kataang shippers. however, i do approach this whole scenario with some (read: a lot of) caution.

but i absolutely agree with you here (and what you said about zutara shippers):

And a huge number of pro-Katara, pro-Aang and pro-kataang new fans will come to the fandom. I hope that the time will come when a respectful and competent and deeper gaze of the canon and canonical characters will dominate the fandom.

i long for a future in which katara fandom analysis isn't essentially, "she's horribly mistreated by the gaang as their resident Mother. that is, until zuko the liberator comes save her. this is why she would be a perfect firelady." if nothing else, please let the outcome of the movie allow for nuanced perspectives of katara's character.

[mkhyemi]

hello hello hello! i'm kalo (21, she/her, est) and this is hyemi! she does NOT want to be here, but surely her time at lumera will shape her into a perfectly suitable magickai... right??? until then, she just has to be the disney channel movie character who somehow missed the chance to say "no mom... this isn't my dream, it's yours..." and follow her real passion. tbh, that hasn't even crossed her mind at all! so she's simply accommodating herself to what's expected of her and will continue to do so until she either learns to like it or she dissipates into the ocean or something... three cheers for repression! a more detailed delve-into hyemi can be found below the cut! it's been give or take 2 and a half years since i last did this whole rp thing, so please bear with me while i shake the rust off! (and while i finish up with my semester... lol) i'm very excited to write and have a fun time with you all! feel free to give this post a like and i'll pop into your ims as quick as possible for some plotting!

profile | bio | plots (empty links will be filled when finished ;;;)

hyemi is the youngest daughter of her family, her mother is an untrained magi (her companion died fairly early after her powers awoke), her father is a human, and her older sister is also a human.

her mother is essentially living vicariously through hyemi's becoming a magickai, to the point where she moved with hyemi from ulsan to seoul so she could enroll in the memoria of seoul. very pageant-mom vibes. hyemi loves her mom though and is very much reliant on her approval, which is what led her to her compliance re: enrolling at lumera and pursuing life as a magickai.

in reality, hyemi isn't too thrilled with the premise of being a magical soldier, no matter what fancy kind of name it's given. she's very envious of the more normal kind of life her older sister is living back home

her companion is a hedgehog named needles, who is a big pain in her ass and only adds to the pressure to get serious about her training. hearing feedback from someone who knows that all of her studying and training is essentially a front hurts a little more than she'd like to admit, especially considering it's coming from an animal that can fit in the palm of her hand. suffice to say, they don't get along very well.

regarding her powers, her control over them is very finicky, and is very easily swayed by her emotions. please anticipate finding her half-submurged into the ground or various walls. to counteract this somewhat, she tends to wear wetsuits or other swim-shirt adjacent items to help keep her in one piece, to middling results. at least it stops her clothes from getting wet? #styleicon. her minor power lets her turn whatever part of her that's water into ice, but she mainly just uses this to punch things a bit harder. she's admittedly no strategist.

her fighting style is very upfront. her powers aren't conducive towards offense on an especially grand scale, and fit more towards the role of a facetank, as her water form absorbs most forms of pain.

on that note, has been taking boxing and self-defense lessons since the awakening of her powers (she uses it as stress relief, but it has synergized with her up-close fighting style and the fact that her weapon is a pair of gauntlets)

maintains a very packed schedule both to distract herself from her general sense of dissatisfaction but also to exert some form of control over what she's doing at lumera (ie: her classes, her extracurricular lessons, hiking club, working at soap and suds, etc.) she's very particular about her schedule and about punctuality in general!

on a social level, hyemi is very much a people-pleaser, and thus takes great pains to not show off her frustrations with her current lifestyle. however, this leads her to be evasive and pretty resistant to forming substantial connections with people... whoops! she tends to shape her behavior to fit with other people and is definitely more of a follower-type than a leader-type. however, her temper is a bit of a ticking time bomb at this point (though, the fuse is pretty long!) so it probably will all blow up in her face eventually. hopefully it won't all land on the wrong target?

some quickfire connection/plot ideas!:

anyone who also attended the memoria of seoul! study buddies/academic rivals/etc.

you think her power (or rather, her lack of control over her power) is hilarious, and try to devise increasingly outlandish pranks/ways of catching her by surprise to watch her collapse into a puddle. (whether this is friendly or antagonistic is up to interpretation!)

someone to help her work through her newly-developed fear of large bodies of water

bad(?) influence: or otherwise someone who wants to break her from her rigid routine-based way of living

she's a caffeine fiend, so if your muse either works at or also habitually visits the coffee shop, they could hang out there?

sparring partners / work out buddies

[chaos0pikachu]

Isao Takahata, Studio Ghibli's co-founder and director/screenwriter of Grave of the Fireflies also intended the film to be a condemnation of Japanese nationalism. A lot of folks - myself included originally - took GotF as a simple "war is harmful to the children" sad narrative or commonly as an "anti-war" movie. But that wasn't Takahata's actual intention, nor did he believe in the concept of an "anti-war" film:

"Grave of the Fireflies is considered an anti-war film, but while anti-war films are meant to prevent wars and stop them, that movie doesn't fulfill that kind of role, even though that might surprise most people. No matter how often you talk about the experience of being in the horrible position of being attacked, it would be hard for that to stop war. Why is that? When statesmen start the next war, they'll say, "We're fighting a war so we won't be in that position." It's a war for self-defense. They'll appeal to your emotions by using the urgent thought, "We don't want that tragedy to be repeated."" (source)

"Unfortunately for Takahata, his intended message ended up going over the heads of most audiences. Grave of the Fireflies is often described by observers both in Japan and in the West as an “anti-war” film, but that’s a label Takahata vehemently denied right up until he died in 2018.

Many postwar films, such as Twenty-Four Eyes and The Burmese Harp, portrayed the Japanese people as victims who were dragged or duped into the conflict. But as Dudok de Wit notes this is a viewpoint that Grave of the Fireflies subverts. Characters are shown fanatically believing in the Empire until the very end, with the war being largely supported nationwide.

While Takahata himself was critical of the war effort, his larger intention with Grave of the Fireflies was attempting to educate a generation of young Japanese people who he felt had grown selfish, lazy and over-reliant on materialism. According to Dudok de Wit, the film serves as a critique of what happens when people in a society fail to collaborate." (source)

[An excerpt from a Takahata interview about Omihide Poroporo, in which he mentioned Grave of the Fireflies.]

Takahata: It wasn't my intention to give people the catharsis of crying. Yet, many people say "I cried so much," and some even say "I cried so much, and I don't want to see it again." I tell them, "it would be more fun if you watch it one more time." -laughs-

Takahata also went on to speak out against former Prime Minster Shinzo Abe (y'all probably know him as the dude was who assassinated but he was the leader of the conservative party in Japan, the Liberal Democratic Party and was often accused of being a nationalist)

"You could also say, "Even if we go to war, we won't fail again. We'll be smarter. The times have changed from 70 years ago." Really? Have we advanced compared to people during the war? I don't believe that looking at the reactions of politicians after [the devastating tsunami and nuclear meltdown in March 2011], when the myth of safety around nuclear energy was shattered. Just by slithering along on our current path, we'll reach a point eventually where we'll give up, saying, "What's the use?" It's the same way we lost that war.

It's precisely because of Article 9 [in the constitution] that Japan doesn't kill anyone even if it's killed in war. It ties down our policies. Abe's policy is to completely overturn that. What's more, he isn't asking the public to amend the constitution, he's altering its interpretation.

We don't need to become a "normal country." We should continue being a unique country. If we become able to make war, we will surely make war. When the Cabinet decided to recognize collective self-defense, Article 9 was suddenly destroyed. Aren't we facing the most shocking crisis ever? I know, because I know war. What's important is the time before war begins — now. If it begins, we'll be swept away by it. So we need to completely slam on the brakes, not just a little. That's what Article 9 did.

[During World War II] there were a lot of people who cooperated reluctantly, but most of us marched down the procession of lanterns, cheering for victory. Ordinary people would call other ordinary people who didn't agree with them "unpatriotic." Young people say to "read the air." When I hear that, I fall into despair. We Japanese haven't changed at all. Cooperating with those around us is fine, but "reading the air" doesn't mean cooperation, it means agreement. Falling into step is becoming an absolute value. [...] Since old times, this attitude has led Japan into the bog of war. I call it a "slithering attitude," but whenever I hear about "reading the air," from now on I can only feel that sense of risk." (source)

Baffled.

[thorntonkrell-blog-blog]

f you had to choose up to three objects to show what life is like now, either for you personally or people generally, what would they be? What stories would they tell? Looking forward to hearing about them!ChatGPT

If I had to choose three objects to show what life is like now for myself personally and for people in general; these are the choices I would make and the clues they reveal about who we are, what we want and what is coming.

Let's begin with smartphones. They're everywhere. We use them to communicate, to entertain, to work and to provide a portal to our digital lives. As long as we carry our phones, we are reachable, plugged in and ready to record what we see and hear.

Next let's go with our streaming devices which represent our further transformation of entertainment consumption. The stream has enabled us to have more choices in how we watch teevee, and movies. We love the convenience, choice and flexible personalization as well as the on demand, instantly gratified pursuit of content.

Finally, I choose the Amazon Prime Box.This simple cardboard container represents the convenience and prevalence of online shopping in contemporary culture. These boxes arrive at our doorsteps filled with products ranging from everyday essentials to luxury items. They symbolize the ease of access to goods, the influence of digital marketplaces, and the evolving nature of retail.

All three of my choices have become vital to our current version of human existence in America. We are reachable, plugged in and ready to record. We love convenience, choice, persoanlization and instnat gratification. We love shopping without leaving our houses and the accesibility of digital marketplaces.

Yet, they also reflect concerns about consumerism, packaging waste, and the impact of large corporations on local businesses. They tend to addict us to inertia while making us evermore dependent upon technology even as we stumble towards quantum computing which threatens the essence of humanity itself.

Inertia, in this sense, refers to a state of passivity or inactivity, where we become so absorbed in our digital devices or the convenience of online shopping that we disengage from other aspects of life.

Technology, particularly smartphones and streaming devices provide a constant stream of notifications, the endless scroll of social media feeds, and the binge-watching culture facilitated by streaming services all contribute to a sedentary lifestyle and a lack of engagement with the physical world.

This is who we are, what we wanted, what we got and where we may arrive if we continue in our current behavioral orbit.

Moreover, the convenience of online shopping can lead to a reliance on instant gratification and impulsive buying behavior, further reinforcing a cycle of inertia and dependency on digital platforms.

The danger of addiction to inertia lies in its potential to erode our capacity for critical thinking, creativity, and social interaction. When we become overly reliant on technology for entertainment, communication, and consumption, we may neglect other aspects of our well-being, such as physical activity, face-to-face interactions, and personal development.

he danger of addiction to inertia is an important aspect to consider in the context of modern technology and consumer culture. Inertia, in this sense, refers to a state of passivity or inactivity, where individuals become so absorbed in their digital devices or the convenience of online shopping that they disengage from other aspects of life.

Technology, particularly smartphones and streaming devices, has the potential to encourage passive consumption and distract individuals from more meaningful activities. The constant stream of notifications, the endless scroll of social media feeds, and the binge-watching culture facilitated by streaming services can all contribute to a sedentary lifestyle and a lack of engagement with the physical world.

Moreover, the convenience of online shopping can lead to a reliance on instant gratification and impulsive buying behavior, further reinforcing a cycle of inertia and dependency on digital platforms.

The danger of addiction to inertia lies in its potential to erode our capacity for critical thinking, creativity, and social interaction. When we become overly reliant on technology for entertainment, communication, and consumption, we may neglect other aspects of our well-being, such as physical activity, face-to-face interactions, and personal development.

Furthermore, addiction to inertia can contribute to feelings of isolation, disconnection, and dissatisfaction with life. By prioritizing convenience and instant gratification over deeper forms of fulfillment, individuals may find themselves trapped in a cycle of consumption and passivity, devoid of meaning and purpose.

Addressing the danger of addiction to inertia requires a multifaceted approach that emphasizes mindfulness, moderation, and conscious consumption. Encouraging digital literacy and media literacy can help individuals develop a more critical awareness of their online behaviors and the impact of technology on their lives. Promoting balance between digital engagement and offline activities, such as exercise, hobbies, and socializing, is essential for maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

Additionally, fostering a culture of sustainability and ethical consumption can help mitigate the negative consequences of consumerism and reduce the environmental impact of our consumption habits. By cultivating a greater sense of mindfulness and intentionality in our interactions with technology and consumer culture, we can strive to create a more balanced and fulfilling way of life.

User and the threat of AI and quantum computers ChatGPT The threat of AI and quantum computers poses significant challenges and implications for humanity's future. Both AI and quantum computing represent transformative technologies with the potential to revolutionize various aspects of society, but they also raise profound ethical, social, and existential concerns.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has already demonstrated remarkable capabilities in fields such as automation, data analysis, and decision-making. While AI holds promise for improving efficiency, productivity, and innovation across diverse sectors, its rapid advancement also raises concerns about job displacement, algorithmic bias, and loss of human autonomy.

One of the primary concerns regarding AI is its potential to outpace human intelligence and control. As AI systems become increasingly sophisticated and autonomous, there is a risk of unintended consequences and unforeseen outcomes, particularly if AI systems are deployed without adequate safeguards or ethical guidelines.

Moreover, the emergence of superintelligent AI—AI systems that surpass human intelligence—poses existential risks to humanity. The prospect of AI systems with capabilities beyond human comprehension raises questions about control, alignment, and the ethical implications of creating entities that may surpass or subjugate humanity.

Similarly, quantum computing represents a paradigm shift in computational power and capability. Quantum computers harness the principles of quantum mechanics to perform calculations at speeds and scales far beyond the capabilities of classical computers. While quantum computing holds immense potential for solving complex problems in fields such as cryptography, materials science, and drug discovery, it also poses security risks and challenges to existing encryption methods.

One of the most significant threats posed by quantum computing is its potential to undermine current encryption standards, including those used to secure sensitive information such as financial transactions, personal data, and national security communications. Quantum computers could theoretically break encryption algorithms that rely on the difficulty of factoring large numbers, such as RSA and ECC, rendering much of today's digital infrastructure vulnerable to cyberattacks and data breaches.

Furthermore, the development of quantum AI—AI systems powered by quantum computing—could further amplify the capabilities and risks associated with both technologies. Quantum AI has the potential to accelerate scientific discovery, optimize complex systems, and revolutionize machine learning algorithms. However, it also raises concerns about the ethical implications of creating AI systems with unprecedented computational power and autonomy.

Addressing the threats posed by AI and quantum computing requires a multidisciplinary approach that combines technological innovation with ethical reflection, regulatory oversight, and international cooperation. Efforts to develop robust AI safety mechanisms, ensure algorithmic transparency and accountability, and establish ethical guidelines for AI development are essential for mitigating the risks associated with AI.

Similarly, investments in quantum-resistant cryptography, quantum-safe encryption standards, and cybersecurity infrastructure are crucial for safeguarding against the potential threats posed by quantum computing. Additionally, fostering dialogue and collaboration among stakeholders—including policymakers, technologists, ethicists, and civil society—is essential for navigating the ethical, social, and existential challenges posed by AI and quantum computing in the 21st century.

ChatGPT

That's an intriguing question! Let's delve into it:

Smartphone: The omnipresent smartphone would be one of the first objects I'd choose. It's not just a device; it's a portal to our digital lives, a tool for communication, entertainment, work, and much more. Its screen reflects our constant connectivity, our reliance on technology, and the blurring lines between our physical and digital worlds. It tells the story of how we're always reachable, always plugged in, and how our lives are increasingly intertwined with the virtual realm.

Reusable Water Bottle: This seemingly mundane object symbolizes the growing awareness of environmental sustainability and our efforts to live more eco-consciously. It tells the story of our collective push towards reducing single-use plastic, conserving resources, and combating climate change. It represents a shift in mindset towards more mindful consumption and a recognition of our interconnectedness with the planet.

Face Mask: While I hope that by the time you ask this question, the need for face masks has lessened, they remain a potent symbol of the challenges we've faced in recent times. A face mask represents resilience, adaptation, and collective responsibility. It tells the story of a global community coming together to combat a common threat, the sacrifices made to protect ourselves and others, and the hope for a healthier, safer future.

Each of these objects speaks volumes about the zeitgeist of our era, reflecting the complexities, challenges, and aspirations of contemporary life.

You

give me two moreChatGPT

ChatGPT

Certainly! Here are two more objects that could reflect aspects of contemporary life:

Streaming Device (e.g., Roku, Apple TV): This object embodies the transformation of our entertainment consumption habits. With the rise of streaming services, we've witnessed a paradigm shift in how we watch movies, TV shows, and other forms of media. It symbolizes the era of on-demand content, personalized viewing experiences, and the decline of traditional cable television. This device tells the story of our desire for convenience, choice, and flexibility in accessing entertainment, as well as the influence of technology on shaping our leisure activities.

Yoga Mat: The yoga mat represents the growing emphasis on wellness and self-care in contemporary society. It signifies our pursuit of physical and mental well-being amidst the hustle and bustle of modern life. Whether used for yoga, meditation, or other forms of exercise, the yoga mat reflects our desire to find balance, inner peace, and mindfulness in a world filled with stress and distractions. It tells the story of our quest for holistic health, self-discovery, and the recognition of the importance of taking care of ourselves in order to thrive.

You

two more please ChatGPT

ChatGPT

Of course, here are two more objects that capture aspects of modern life:

Electric Vehicle (EV) Charger: The EV charger symbolizes the ongoing shift towards sustainable transportation and the fight against climate change. As more people embrace electric vehicles, this object represents our collective efforts to reduce carbon emissions, lessen our dependence on fossil fuels, and transition towards a greener future. It tells the story of innovation in transportation technology, the push for renewable energy sources, and the recognition of the environmental impact of our commuting habits. The EV charger serves as a tangible reminder of our commitment to building a more environmentally conscious society.

Amazon Prime Box: This ubiquitous cardboard box represents the convenience and prevalence of online shopping in contemporary culture. As e-commerce continues to flourish, these boxes arrive at our doorsteps filled with products ranging from everyday essentials to luxury items. They symbolize the ease of access to goods, the influence of digital marketplaces, and the evolving nature of retail. Yet, they also reflect concerns about consumerism, packaging waste, and the impact of large corporations on local businesses. The Amazon Prime box tells the story of convenience-driven consumption, the power of technology in reshaping commerce, and the ongoing debates surrounding the ethics and sustainability of our purchasing habits.

You

and two moreChatGPT

ChatGPT

Absolutely, here are two more objects that shed light on contemporary life:

Fitness Tracker (e.g., Fitbit, Apple Watch): This wearable device epitomizes the increasing focus on health and wellness monitoring in modern society. With features like step counting, heart rate tracking, and sleep analysis, fitness trackers have become integral tools for many individuals striving to lead healthier lifestyles. They symbolize our growing interest in self-quantification, data-driven fitness goals, and the integration of technology into personal health management. These devices tell the story of our desire for proactive health maintenance, the influence of digital technology on our well-being routines, and the blurring of boundaries between the physical and digital realms in pursuit of optimal health.

Remote Work Setup: Whether it's a laptop, a comfortable chair, or a designated home office space, the remote work setup embodies the widespread adoption of telecommuting and flexible work arrangements. In the wake of global events necessitating remote work, this setup has become a staple in many households, reflecting the shifting dynamics of work-life balance and the decentralization of traditional office spaces. It tells the story of adaptation to changing work environments, the challenges and opportunities of remote collaboration, and the reimagining of productivity norms. This setup represents the intersection of technology, workplace culture, and lifestyle preferences in shaping the future of work.

[phenomanemone]

o14

“I want to talk more about you.” Sage declares suddenly, startling an only half present Chai.

“Do you?” he asks, bemused.

Externally, he is calm. However, his hand has a subtle tremor as he reaches for his coffee. He's nervous.

“We're equals, right?” she asks with a sharp grin. “But first— Dani. Is she the same one who turned up two nights in a row?”

Chai considers this, stroking his thumb over the handle of his mug.

“Not exactly. They belong to the same group, though. I think that part is deconstructing the smaller parts that make it up in order to understand itself.”

“And Dani is a smaller part,” Sage realises, thoughtful. “How long have they had that name?”

Chai scratches his cheek as he says “I changed the spelling on a whim, to kind of tie them closer to Hunter. He likes that song, Dani California? The name they always used to refer to themselves was Danny, and that was… age ten? I think? Around that time.

Sage's eyes flicker back and forth as she searches the memories accumulated regarding Dani.

“Okay, explain the house. It was three floors, right?”

Chai hesitates. He drinks his coffee to buy time. Even though Sage is the one sitting in front of him, he still feels Dani's embarrassment and shame over daydreams that were beyond her control.

“Okay, so I'm not sure about the exact age, but it's from the same time as Evvie, right? That's when the constant daydreams were at their height. They were so complex. Kiddo was building expansive worlds to frolic in, but there was a decisive split.”

As if summoned, the small, brown creature pads into the room. It sits a small distance away from them, watching with sorrow. They're talking about it, and it feels the need to be present. It doesn't remember those days, but it longs for the adventures it had.

“Hi, Evvie.” Sage cooes, picking it up and cradling it to her stomach. “You want some answers too, huh?” Then, she returns her attention to Chai. “Go on,”

Chai loses his momentum, but tries to recover swiftly.

“Well, there was the day-to-day stuff. Then there was the escapism. It was The Sims, Pokémon, and music. Music and The Sims ended up colluding in one set of daydreams, but the other was just Pokémon.”

He reaches out to scratch the creature, the Pokémon, behind one ear. 

“There were two personas for the different daydreams, and they would last for hours. Kiddo would stick in some earbuds, listen to the radio, and balance along the gutters of the cul de sac, lost in these imaginative worlds for hours.”

Sage hummed, “So Dani and Evvie are those personas?”

“Essentially, yeah,” Chai says. “These daydreams ended up becoming so frequent that whenever Kiddo's mind wasn't occupied, they'd instinctively sink into them. It got to the point where I swear they were always living in at least two daydreams. Real life events became narrative tools.”

He blinks suddenly, looking embarrassed. 

“But this is supposed to be about Dani. Okay. …So, their daydreams were also split into two. There was “younger Danny” and “older Danny”. Younger Danny lived in their favourite house from The Sims 2. Several floors, and plenty of adventures to be had. They had parents who were doting and loving, but still strict enough to lead to hijinks. I hung out with them there, being the older brother that all her friends had crushes on, but she thought was a complete dork.”

He smiles to himself, reminiscent. 

“Older Danny lived in a more metro area. More… Oh man, I can't think of the right way to say this. They were influenced a lot by constant listening to Eminem, and the 8 Mile movie. They didn't have a house in that fantasy, but they were squatting in a rundown building where her mother was in bed due to some illness and was reliant on her for money. She was grifting, pickpocketing, and participating in rap battles to make money.”

Sage frowns, “But why? Why would you daydream about that stuff?”

Chai shrugs, “Well, at the time they didn't remember, but they'd been living in poverty for a substantial amount of their early years. I think it was a way to process that. Not to mention, a mother who is not only emotionally distant, but straight up gone a lot of the time? Also, I hate to bring it up, but there was a lot of DV happening at that time too.”

“So ‘younger Danny’ was escapism, while ‘older Danny’ was processing.” Sage realises, awed.

“Younger Danny is closer to the girl who visited twice in a row, but I can't yet explain how.” Chai laments.

“Is Evvie part of their group?” Sage asks, as she presses down on the soft pads on the creature's feet.

Chai looks at Evvie contemplative, before shaking his head.

“No, she's closer to Pubby, and the dog.” He says, before pouting theatrically. “But not to the Dreamkeeper— which is weird! His whole thing is animals!”

Sage sneered, before scratching Evvie's belly and cooing. Usually, Evvie soaked up this kind of affection, but this time, it was unresponsive, lost in thought.

Its bushy tail flickered once, before Sage looked up at Chai, sharp and accusing.

“We were gonna talk about you! You distracted me!”

“Haha, oops!” Chai gulps down the rest of his coffee before rising to his feet. “Well, we're out of time, so it'll have to wait until next time!”

“That's not how this works!” Sage barks, jolting Evvie out of their own head. “C'mon, we always focus on me and the others!”

“Sorry, can't hear ya! Gotta get ready for therapy!”

He leaves the room, and Sage glowers at the door, frustrated.

“It's not like we can heal if he stays stagnant!” she complains, and Evvie barks its agreement, it's fluffy tail wagging.

[rahuldevgandhi]

The Role of AI in the Growth of Ecommerce

In the past decade, ecommerce has soared from a burgeoning industry to a dominant force in the global market. Online shopping carts have steadily replaced in-person queues, and companies are ever more reliant on digital platforms to reach consumers. But what truly stands out in this digital metamorphosis is the crucial role played by Artificial Intelligence (AI). No longer confined to the realms of sci-fi movies or complex scientific research, AI is actively shaping the ecommerce landscape in ways we could have only imagined a few years ago. As we stand on the precipice of even more groundbreaking advancements in AI, this article delves into how these technologies are revolutionizing ecommerce—from enhancing customer experience to optimizing supply chain management.

With the ability to analyze enormous datasets, predict consumer behavior, and even interact with customers, AI technologies are not just a trend but an indispensable component in the future of ecommerce.

The Scope of AI in Ecommerce

Types of AI Technologies Relevant to Ecommerce

Artificial Intelligence is a broad field, encompassing a range of technologies that are being applied in ecommerce settings. Machine learning algorithms are powering product recommendation engines, natural language processing (NLP) is behind those intuitive chatbots you interact with, and computer vision is being used to offer advanced features like visual search. These AI technologies are no longer a novelty; they are necessities for ecommerce businesses wanting to stay ahead.

Real-World Examples of AI in Ecommerce

While the scope of AI technologies might seem vast and abstract, its real-world applications are highly tangible. Take Amazon's recommendation system, for instance. It utilizes machine learning algorithms to predict consumer preferences, thereby driving a significant chunk of the company's revenue. Or consider how Shopify employs AI to optimize stock levels in real-time, thus reducing storage costs and improving customer satisfaction.

The Transformative Power of AI on Customer Experience

How AI Personalizes Customer Experience

Personalization is the cornerstone of modern ecommerce. Gone are the days when one-size-fits-all marketing strategies sufficed. AI algorithms now analyze consumer behavior, from click patterns to time spent on pages, to offer personalized product recommendations. Some platforms are even experimenting with AI-driven virtual shopping assistants, offering a more guided and personalized shopping experience.

The Role of Data Analytics in Understanding Consumer Behavior

Behind every successful AI-driven customer experience is a robust data analytics framework. Data analytics does more than just collect information; it reveals patterns, identifies gaps, and predicts future behavior. Companies utilize these insights to fine-tune their marketing strategies, optimize product placement, and even predict future sales trends. As a result, businesses are not only able to provide a tailored experience but also to anticipate the needs and wants of their consumers before they do.

By merging the incredible power of AI with strategic data analytics, ecommerce businesses are unlocking new pathways to customer engagement, operational efficiency, and, ultimately, a more profitable future.

Revolutionizing Supply Chain and Inventory Management with AI

How AI Streamlines Supply Chain and Inventory

The back-end operations of an ecommerce business are equally, if not more, critical for ensuring a smooth customer experience. For many ecommerce giants and even smaller retailers, AI has become an integral part of supply chain and inventory management. By utilizing AI algorithms that predict purchasing trends, seasonality, and even the impact of external factors like economic changes or holidays, businesses can better forecast inventory needs. This predictive analysis minimizes stockouts and overstock situations, ensuring a smoother operation that benefits both the company and the consumer.

Real-Time Tracking and Automated Warehousing

One of the most tangible benefits of implementing AI in supply chain management is real-time tracking. Advanced algorithms can now monitor shipments at every stage, offering unparalleled transparency that helps mitigate the risks associated with delays or logistical hiccups. On the warehousing front, automated robots, driven by AI algorithms, have begun taking over tasks that were traditionally time-consuming and prone to human error. This automation not only increases the efficiency of warehousing operations but also significantly reduces the chances of errors, thereby leading to cost savings and improved customer satisfaction.

Implementing AI in Your Ecommerce Business

Steps to Integrate AI

If the benefits of AI in ecommerce are compelling enough for you to take the plunge, it’s important to know how to go about it. The first step is to clearly define the problems you are trying to solve—whether it’s better customer service, more accurate inventory forecasting, or streamlined warehousing. The next step is to choose the right AI technology and vendor that align with your specific requirements. Pilot testing is crucial before full-scale implementation, as it provides insights into any adjustments needed. Finally, measure the performance continuously to ensure that you are achieving the desired outcomes.

Considerations for Small to Medium-Sized Businesses

For small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), the idea of implementing AI can seem daunting, primarily due to budget constraints and lack of in-house expertise. However, thanks to Software as a Service (SaaS) models, implementing AI has never been more accessible. Many third-party services offer scalable AI solutions tailored for smaller businesses. It’s also important for SMEs to start small; perhaps focus on one aspect like customer service through chatbots, and then scale as you begin to see the ROI. Investment in AI doesn't have to be monumental to be effective; even incremental changes can yield significant results.

By understanding the full potential of AI across both customer-facing and back-end operations, ecommerce businesses can make more informed decisions that propel them into a more efficient and profitable future.

Top 10 AI Tools for Ecommerce

The growth of AI in ecommerce is evident, and businesses seeking to capitalize on this revolution have a myriad of tools at their disposal. However, choosing the right AI tool can be overwhelming. This listicle aims to ease that burden by presenting the top 10 AI tools beneficial for both large enterprises and small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

1. Kustomer - For Streamlined Customer Service

Kustomer's AI-enabled customer service platform offers a 360-degree view of the customer, making it easier for agents to resolve issues swiftly. The tool employs machine learning algorithms to automate repetitive tasks and to prioritize high-impact queries.

2. Dynamic Yield - Personalization Engine

Dynamic Yield provides an AI-powered personalization platform that allows ecommerce sites to tailor user experiences in real-time. From product recommendations to personalized email marketing, this tool offers a broad spectrum of applications.

3. Algolia - Search and Discovery API

Algolia is an excellent tool for improving your website's search functionality. It uses AI to provide fast and relevant search results, which in turn boosts customer engagement and conversions.

4. Lumen5 - AI Video Maker

Lumen5 leverages AI to convert blog posts or other text content into engaging video content. This is particularly useful for ecommerce businesses looking to diversify their content strategy across various platforms.

5. Recharge - Subscription Management

Recharge uses machine learning algorithms to analyze customer behavior and forecast subscription renewals and churn. It's a great asset for businesses that operate on a subscription model.

6. Clearbanc - AI-driven Financing

Clearbanc offers an AI-driven approach to business financing. By assessing your performance metrics, the platform determines your eligibility for capital financing options, perfect for SMEs looking to scale.

7. Octane AI - Messenger and SMS Marketing

Octane AI focuses on Facebook Messenger and SMS marketing, offering a range of features from automated chatbots to quizzes and FAQs. It's particularly useful for SMEs aiming to enhance their customer engagement strategies.

8. Vue.ai - Automated Catalog Management

Vue.ai offers a suite of AI-powered tools focusing on automating the catalog management process. The tool is highly effective in product tagging, categorization, and visual recommendations.

9. Chorus - AI Sales Analytics

Chorus specializes in conversational intelligence, providing a platform that uses AI to analyze sales calls. The tool offers insights into customer requirements and preferences, allowing for more effective sales strategies.

10. Amplitude - Product Analytics

Amplitude uses machine learning to analyze how users interact with your product. The insights gathered can be leveraged for optimizing product features and improving user retention rates.

By incorporating these AI tools into various aspects of your ecommerce operations, you can significantly enhance efficiency, customer satisfaction, and ultimately, your bottom line. Choose the ones that best align with your business needs and operational scale.

Future-Proofing Ecommerce with AI

AI as a Long-Term Investment

It's crucial to view AI not as a mere fad but as a long-term investment, integral to the future of ecommerce. As technological advancements continue at an unprecedented pace, ecommerce enterprises that invest in AI today are positioning themselves to remain competitive and adaptable. Machine learning algorithms, chatbots, and data analytics aren't just tools to make current processes more efficient—they are foundations for building a more sustainable, customer-centric business.

The Future of AI and Ecommerce Integration

Looking ahead, the role of AI in ecommerce will only grow, driven by innovations in natural language processing, computer vision, and automation. As consumer expectations evolve, AI can help businesses offer personalized, instantaneous services. Moreover, as market trends change, AI's predictive analytics can guide inventory management and marketing strategies, thereby streamlining operations and maximizing revenue.

Some FAQs Answered On The Relevant Topic

Is AI Integration Expensive?

The cost of AI integration varies significantly, depending on the specific technologies and the scale of the business. However, considering the long-term ROI and efficiency gains, many would argue that it's an investment worth making.

What Are the Risks Involved with AI in Ecommerce?

Risks associated with AI in ecommerce could include data security concerns and the potential for biased algorithms. It's essential for businesses to conduct a thorough risk assessment and employ best practices in data governance.

How Can AI Benefit Small Ecommerce Businesses?

AI isn't just for large corporations. For small to medium-sized businesses, AI can automate customer service, improve inventory management, and provide valuable insights into customer behavior. These advantages can translate into increased sales and customer retention.

In conclusion, integrating AI into ecommerce operations represents not merely an operational upgrade but a strategic long-term investment. As technological advancements continue to influence consumer behavior and market trends, businesses that incorporate AI will find themselves at a significant advantage. For sustainable growth and a competitive edge, ecommerce businesses are highly encouraged to invest in AI technologies today.

[infradapt]

Can Technology Bring You Joy?

The world has become reliant on technology for countless tasks, even to the point where businesses and individuals alike depend on technology just to go about their daily tasks. The big question, though, is whether people are happier with all this technology in their lives. Let’s go over how technology has impacted society as a whole in relation to people’s feelings.

  Technology Is, and Always Has Been, Present In Some Capacity

When discussing technology, it’s critical that we frame the term correctly. Technology includes far more than just circuits and motherboards; it also includes such rudimentary (and revolutionary) tools such as the spoon and the wheel. Technology, in its most basic sense, is the result of innovation and progress, and without such discoveries and creations as modern electricity, microprocessors, and networking, society would not be where it is today.

But Does This Technology Create Happiness?

The answer to this question is not clear, but what is clear is that the Internet has made people quite happy. Around 90% of respondents to a survey found that their lives were made better due to the Internet. We’re not surprised; people depend on it to look up information, stay connected with others, and run their businesses and livelihoods. In fact, the Internet has made it so that people can live their lives without leaving their homes, if they so choose.

  While the answer to the above question is impossible to find, we can look at various parts of someone’s life and look at how technology has impacted it. Let’s examine work, leisure, relationships, and other social interactions.

Work

Most people use technology to do their jobs, but some jobs wouldn’t even exist without technology. Employees entering the workforce want to know that their employers are committed to embracing new technologies, but for some older folks who are not quite as willing to embrace change, this adoption is a challenge to the status quo. There is a learning curve, and it can be frustrating for a seasoned veteran to have their world turned upside-down by a new technology because it’s supposed to make things better for everyone. Furthermore, technology has blurred the lines of work-life balance. Technology is not without its cons, but it has made most workers’ lives happier, or at least better.

Leisure

Technology has changed the way people spend their leisure time. Activities like going to the park, going to the mall, or taking a drive are still present, but not to the extent they once were. There are countless pieces of technology to distract us at any given time, and with technology, there is usually some sort of end goal in mind, whether it’s getting to the end of a level in a video game or making it through the end credits of your favorite movie. Technology has, simply put, taken the leisure out of leisure time, and with benchmarks to meet whenever it is used, it can lead to a certain amount of monotony.

Relationships

Technology and its impact on relationships is a topic that we could cover for ages, but one of the better ways to look at it is how it has affected personal relationships. For example, users who grew up with technology might suffer from what psychologists call “technoference,” or technology interfering with a user’s ability to communicate. Young people these days always have their phones on them with their notifications on so they don’t miss a beat. Young people also aren’t terribly bothered when someone pulls out their phone in the middle of a conversation. Older folks might consider both of the above rude, and it could put a strain on their relationships accordingly. In comparison, however, relationships are more accessible, as people can communicate better and engage with each other much more easily than they could have in the past.

Social Interactions

The most notable impact that technology has had is most certainly on the social aspect of life. Social media has completely changed the way people interact with each other, whether it’s friends in a friend group, local businesses trying to sell products or services, or communities trying to deliver information to their residents in an effective way. Sure, you get the crazies out there who take social media way too far, but most people are not in that category. On the downside, social media can cause people to compare themselves to others, and you know what they say; comparison is the thief of joy.

https://www.infradapt.com/news/can-technology-bring-you-joy/

[tiny-katara]

cilla my beloved not to bother you in the asks again BUT i realized i’ve never seen your LOK thoughts & i’d love to know them! (i just saw ur tags & u mentioned the animated movie probably wouldn’t be any better than lok - agreed - so i assume you’ve seen it, but if u haven’t then feel free to ignore this!)

have a great day my bestie!!

bestie you literally cannot bother me in the asks i don't think it's possible. i love seeing you pop up in them! it makes me so happy <3

if i'm being perfectly honest, i've only seen 3 or 4 episodes of lok, but i do have a vague understanding of the plot and it's such a mess??? some of these things i say could very well be misinformed, so don't hesitate to correct me lol.

honestly i think korra herself is kinda cool. she reminds me a lot of katara tbh because she wants to fight and she's really good at it. her design is cute and i do like her shorter hair as well. i think her little gang is also pretty fun and they all had some good potential. it's also never going to not be funny that korra and asami both date mako and then decide that dating each other is better. also bolin seems like he's a cute little dorky guy, which i whole-heartedly support. they all deserved better characterizations but the overall concepts weren't bad at all.

something about korra that really bothers me is that energybending isn't exclusive to the avatar. it seems pretty dangerous for the average person to use, so i wish that it had just stayed as something the avatar could do to maintain peace when absolutely necessary. it just feels wrong to take a core part of someone's identity. kind of reminds me vaguely of the way our restraints work at the hospital i work at. we consider chemical restraints to be much more severe and intense than like literally tying someone down to the bed because takes their identity and very being away from them. we have some pretty nasty patients here in america and i have never seen us use chemical restraints and my unit has some batshit people. so yeah, something about that whole thing rubs me the wrong way. i think taking away ozai's bending was valid because he had abused it, but that conclusion was far too easy for aang to come to. it is not something that should be taken lightly.

i also hate they solve the airbender crisis by just "now everyone bends" because it just kind of fuels this idea that if you don't have an exceptional skill, you're not as good as other people. like nonbenders have their strengths too??? getting rid of them does not solve the problem, it will only create new weaknesses. becoming too reliant on something that can be taken away is dangerous. we want a functioning society, not a building on the edge of a cliff that will crumble if one little stone chips off.

one of the worst things about korra is how they treat bloodbending though. do you have any idea how fucking useful that could be??? literally life saving. so many zutara fics under like 100k handle bloodbending better than a 4 season show and that's just ridiculous. katara should have been able to hone the skill and find its weaknesses and strengths. it's honestly very ignorant and just shows that they have a very poor understanding of the importance of blood in the body, which i could excuse if they didn't also demonize the skill and treat it as pure evil. i swear part of the point of the oringial show is that no form of bending is inherently good or evil and then they do that??? they don't even have a proper understanding of their own themes.

i don't think i really need to mention that the show is just full of blatant sexism towards katara doesn't get a statute, autonomy, accomplishments, etc. but that happens to all the women??? like where tf is suki??? you're telling me this girl that hijacked an airship and just vanished off the face of the earth??? yeah, i don't think so.

also yue??? she's badass of her own accord--and this a bit of a tangent but yue is a badass in a feminine way. like katara and suki are both feminine and badass, but they're badass bc they'll beat you up in the street if you're out of line. yue is badass in the sense that she is endlessly serene and patient and can calmly take you down without a single rude word. she will not be a pushover even tho she is kind and she is understanding, yet stern with her judgements. she is so cool snd it literally does not make any kind of sense that she is not mentioned or given a statue or any kind of acknowledgment. its literally so ridiculous and infuriating.

toph is treated slightly better, but is still a bad mom and everything surrounding her is just a mess. the fact that the stupid cabbage guy (sorry i don't really like him that much lol) gets his own statue makes my blood boil. like i know it's supposed to be a joke, but it's just a slap in the face because none of our beloved female protagonists get the same respect. it's disgusting.

i really don't even have the strength to get into kata/ang and their children and the damaged relationships and ignored cultural values and all of that, but just know that it's absolutely horrifying that katara had to give so much of the culture and identity she was proud of up for a man. no one should ever have to give up a piece of their identity for their partner.

anyways thanks for the ask bestie <3 you're welcome to drop in anytime i really do love hearing from youuu!!

[shihalyfie]

Kizuna itself vs. the two versions of the novel

Written on request from a friend who wanted to remain anonymous. This is more of an editorial than a meta, and while I usually have a policy of “this is an analysis blog, not a review blog” it goes into more of my personal impressions and opinions than usual, but it’s something I write hoping to be helpful.

There are basically three “official” full versions of Kizuna: one being, of course, the movie itself, one being the Dash X Bunko version of the novel, and one being the Shueisha Mirai Bunko version of it. While it’s certainly not to say that any of the three is an “incomplete” version of the narrative, if you really want as full of a picture of the story as possible, somehow, each of all three versions of the story happens to have really important information that the other two do not. If I had to pick only one of these three versions to recommend to people, I would of course pick the movie itself; it’s obviously the base story everything else is based off of and was the one the production centered around as a priority, but the novelizations have a surprising amount of info that provide a lot of insight into the movie’s story and themes.

I get the impression that the creation of Kizuna involved making a lot more story and background details than could fit in a 95-minute movie, so these novelizations, which were based directly off the original movie script, ended up being an outlet for a lot of these details (and as much as I could be harsh on the movie itself for being a bit “reliant” on extra material, I have to admit that Adventure and 02 were both like this too -- a lot of our current understanding of the series comes from the Adventure novels and drama CDs -- so frankly I’m thankful we at least got this with a 95-minute movie instead of a yearlong series). On the flip side, while I'm not going to say that the novels are completely and utterly inaccurate representations of the movie, in a perhaps too-close approximation of Adventure and 02's writing style, this is a movie where even the nuances in a single line or split-second moment carry heavy implications, which become much blurrier or harder to identify when they’re presented differently (or not even presented at all) in the novel’s context, especially when they emphasize very different things from what the movie itself was emphasizing.

The short version of this is that I believe the Dash X version contains the greater amount of “plot and story” information but significantly misses out on the emotional themes and presentation, whereas the Shueisha Mirai version abridges and cuts chunks of content but is much better at conveying the intended message. More on this below the cut. (Note that the following post spoils Kizuna’s plot events.)

The movie itself

Since the following parts are more “in comparison to the movie”, I’m not going to go too much into this in this section, but one thing I will say is that the official English subtitle translation for the movie is really not great. Even if you take out nitpickiness about the fact it misses several significant nuances (the difference between “unchangeable fate” and “changeable destiny”, or the fact that Gennai refers to partnership dissolution as a “case” and not like it’s something that happens overall) at really plot-important moments, some lines (thankfully, usually not plot-important ones) are just straight-up incorrect. And worse, there’s evidence the official English dub was based on that translation! (I’m not faulting the people in charge of the dub for this, but whoever handed them that translation to work with.)

The dialogue in the Dash X Bunko version is transcribed effectively word-for-word from the dialogue in the movie (or perhaps vice versa, given that the novel is based on the original script), so I highly recommend checking that version as a reference for dialogue or if you want to do any intimate analysis on it. I don't want to go as far as to suggest not supporting the official version of the movie because of this, but at least please be aware that the translation used there is not entirely reliable.

Dash X Bunko

If you talk about “the Kizuna novel”, this is the one that people usually tend to be referring to, for two reasons. Firstly, it was translated shortly after the movie’s release, and due to the unfortunate circumstances of Kizuna being delayed in accessibility outside Japan for several months, this basically served as the only comprehensive source of info about the movie outside Japan for a very long time. Secondly, in Japan, this one was marketed as “the one for adults” in contrast to the Shueisha Mirai one being “for kids”, which meant that a lot of people assumed that the latter one was just an incredibly stripped down version that was otherwise disposable or replaceable. (This is very, very much not the case, and is extremely ironic when it comes to a movie that partially centers around the dangers of looking down too much on things associated with childhood.)

When it comes to “plot and story info”, this is the one that probably serves as the best reference (especially for fanfic writers or those who need a refresher on certain plot events or to look up something quickly), and probably has the most “comprehensive” listing of plot events surrounding the movie. The dialogue in it is a word-for-word recreation of the movie’s script, and actually includes more scenes than the movie itself does, including two that I suspect to be deleted scenes (a detailing of the specifics behind the initial plan to pursue Eosmon, and a conversation between Koushirou and Tentomon) and adaptations of the first and second memorial shorts within their context in the movie. It also contains some interesting background details and extra context for some things in the movie that you might think would normally be animation flair or something, but take a very interesting implication of story importance if they’re going out of their way to write this in the script. (There’s a scene where Agumon and Gabumon appear in front of their partners when they’d been behind them a minute before, and it’s easy to think this might be an animation error, but not only does the surrounding context make this unlikely, the novel itself actually directly states that their positions had changed.) Given that, I think it was very fortunate that this novel was available to us for those outside Japan waiting for the actual movie to come out, because this level of detail was very important to have on hand rather than fragmented spoilers on social media.

However, the part where I think the novel is significantly deficient in compared to the actual movie (and also to the other version of the novel) is that it describes the plot events in too blunt of a manner and doesn’t bring out its themes very well. (It’s kind of like having a long and very detailed Wikipedia article plot summary; it definitely got all the hard facts down, but the emotion is gone, which is still a pretty significant issue when media’s all about the feelings and message in the end.) While “considering the movie to be more cynical than it’s probably meant to be” happens regardless of which version someone’s working from, I’ve talked to perhaps an unnervingly high number of people who started with the novel and were absolutely convinced that the movie’s message was about adulthood sucking and needing to just accept it, until they saw how the actual movie pulled it off and the surrounding atmosphere and realized it definitely was not. (I think one really big factor here is that a lot of the visual imagery makes it extremely, extremely hard to miss that Menoa’s mentality is completely screwed up and her way of seeing things was dubious to begin with; prose descriptions really just don’t capture the way they slam this in your face with visual and musical cues during the climax of the movie.)

You can figure this out from the novel itself, but you have to really be looking closely at the way they word things, and on top of that it’s hard to figure out which parts you should be focusing on and which parts aren’t actually that important -- in other words, the “choice of priorities” gets a bit lost in there. Even the little things lose a lot of value; it’s theoretically possible to use the novel to put together that Daisuke is wearing his sunglasses indoors during his first scene, but you have to put together the context clues from completely different paragraphs to figure this out, none of which compares to the actual hilarity of visually seeing him wearing the thing in a very obviously dimly lit restaurant because he’s our beloved idiot. (For more details, please see my post with more elaboration on this and more examples of this kind of thing.)

I wouldn’t say that the movie itself isn’t guilty of (perhaps accidentally) having some degree of mixed messaging, but I would say this problem is rather exacerbated by the novel’s way of presenting it due to its dedication to dropping every single plot detail and event without much in the way of choosing what to contextualize and what to put emphasis on (as it turns out, treating practically everything in the movie as if it has equal weight might not be a great idea). So, again, for that reason I think the novel serves as a good reference in terms of remembering what happened in it and knowing the movie’s contents, but I also feel that it’s really not the greatest deliverer of the movie’s message or themes at all.

Shueisha Mirai Bunko

The second version of the novel was not translated until several months after the movie first released, and shortly before the Blu-ray and streaming versions of the movie itself came out anyway, so my impression is that on this end a lot of people don’t even know it was a thing. On top of that, even those who know about it often dismiss it as the “kid version” -- and to be fair, it did baffle quite a few people as to why this version even exists (Kizuna is technically not unacceptable for kid viewing and its plot is still understandable regardless of age, but since the movie is so heavily about the millennial existential crisis, it’s not something kids would really relate to). So a lot of people tended to just skip over it...which is really a shame, because it contains some interesting things that actually aren’t in the other two versions at all. For instance, did you know that, as of this writing, this is the only thing that plainly states the specific explanation for why Yamato decided to become an astronaut, for the first time in 20 real-life years?

While there are still some things that weren’t in the movie proper (mainly the Eosmon initial plan and the adaptation of the second memorial short), for the most part, the actual events are somewhat abridged compared to the movie and the Dash X version, and other than a few stray lines, there’s not a lot of extra information that would be as helpful for referencing the events of the plot. The version of the novel here is rather broadly interpretive of the scenes in the movie, so several things are condensed or taken out (and, amusingly, because it’s assuming that the kids reading this don’t actually know the original Adventure or 02, it has to describe what each character is like in a quick one-liner).

However, interestingly enough, it’s because it’s so heavily interpretive that it illuminates a lot of things that weren’t really easy to glean out of the Dash X version. For instance:

Some scenes are described with “other perspectives” that give you info on someone else’s point of view. (For instance, we see more of Yamato’s perspective and thoughts when he has his first phone call with Daisuke, or a bit more detail in the process of how Eosmon kidnappings work.)

We get a lot more information on what’s going through everyone’s heads during each scene, and what emotions they’re feeling at a given time. (This is something that you could at least get to some degree in the movie itself from facial expressions and framing, but would often be a lot blurrier in the Dash X version; here, it’s spelled out in words.)

When things are abridged, you get a clearer idea of what the intended point and theme of the scene was because it’s stripped down to include only that part. In one really interesting case, the scene with Agumon finding Taichi’s AVs has a “censored” equivalent where Taichi’s pushed to a corner because he can’t find anything non-alcoholic in his fridge -- so when you look at the two versions of the scene and what they have in common, you can figure out that the point isn’t that it was a lewd joke for the sake of it, but rather that Taichi’s forcing himself into boxes of “adulthood” that are actually meaningless and impractical.

Some of the descriptions of the characters, scenes, and background information make it a lot more obvious as to their purpose in the narrative (it outright confirms that Miyako being in Spain means that her personality is getting overly enabled there).

The scene where the circumstances behind Morphomon’s disappearance are revealed makes it significantly less subtle what the point is. In the actual movie, a lot of this involved visual framing with Menoa seeming to become more and more distant, but in this version of the novel they basically whack you over the head with the final confirmation that Menoa is guilty of neglecting her own partner, which contradicts her own assertions that “they were always together” (maybe not emotionally, it seems!) and helps clarify the commonality between her, Taichi, Yamato, and Sora in what exactly led to their partners disappearing.

Bonus: this version of the novel really wants you to know that the ending of the movie is about Taichi and Yamato fully having the determination to turn things around and lead up to the 02 epilogue. (The movie’s version of this involves the extended version of Taichi’s thesis and the credits photo with Yamato obviously next to a rocket, while this novel’s version involves more detailed fleshing out of how Taichi and Yamato decided to use their experiences to move onto their eventual career paths and what kind of hope they still have at the end. The Dash X version...didn’t really have a very strong equivalent here.)

In other words, while this version of the novel isn’t the greatest reference for plot or worldbuilding, it does a much more effective job being straightforward about the intended themes and message of the movie, and even if the scenes in it are much more loosely adapted, it’s much better at adapting the emotional nuances of the things that would normally be conveyed via visuals, expressions, and voice acting. (Although I would still say that the movie itself is the best reference for that kind of thing, of course.) If you just want lore or plot ideas, I don’t think it’ll help you very much, but since this series is so much about characters that had their ways of thinking fleshed out in such incredible detail, and about strong theme messaging, this is all still very valuable information in its own way.

[ackerfics]

hi! i don’t know if you’re taking requests but if you are would you be interested in a soulmate au with mikasa. i adore soulmates au a lot! mikasa x fem!reader (aot cast reincarnated into the modern world and they get to have a happy and not stressful life)

she is half of my soul, as the poets say  — mikasa ackerman

— mikasa ackerman x female reader (soulmate au)

— warnings: none, just fluff

— summary: you finally found each other.

— word count: 3.2k

— author’s notes: thank you so much for the request !! i hope you enjoy reading this because i had a blast putting this all together. plus, i couldn't help but place a quote from 'the song of achilles' bc that was a masterpiece.

Underwater.

Your surroundings were submerged in the depths of the ocean to you.

The professor in front of the lecture hall continued his lesson in a cacophony of white noise. The occasional flipping of textbooks and the clacking of the keyboard droned, a majority of the students tried taking down what the middle-aged man was reciting. You should be doing those, too, but there was something about your day that made you want to skip class and bury yourself in a mound of blankets. The air-conditioning wasn’t helping at all, it just made you drift away, even more, images of flying people and humanoid giants flickering through your mind. Even your vision was becoming blurry as you stared at the seat in front of you, not noticing how your Ethics professor dismissed your class with a reminder of the paper that was due the following week. You were still seated as most of the students stood up, eager to spend the rest of their day inside their dormitories and apartments.

“[Name].” Somebody called out to you but the raw feeling of swinging in midair acted like a bubble, keeping you from going back to reality. The voice groaned in frustration at your lack of response. “Earth to [Name]! Hey, wake up!”

You shook out of your stupor with a blink, turning your head slowly at the person waiting for you. You took in her casual attire, so different from the daydream you were in. At first, you didn’t know about your whereabouts, making you look around the lecture hall — empty except for the two of you and the professor at front. The feeling of confusion once again dominated your sound mind as you breathed out, “Where am I? I thought I was just outside in this desert and I was surrounded by people who were crying like they were a hopeless case. Then there was someone screaming my name, saying they wouldn’t let me go.”

The person pursed their lips, concerned and slightly creeped out at the nonsense coming out of your mouth. There weren’t any deserts near you right now because you two were in the middle of the city, inside a university. The way you phrased those words sounded like a plot from an apocalyptic movie you were bound to binge during academic breaks. There were accounts scattered around the internet about reincarnation that the person drank in the early hours of dawn when they couldn’t go to sleep but witnessing it in front of them, was another whole level of conspiracy theories. A hand was planted on your shoulder, your friend smiling sympathetically at you, knowing that you sometimes have these episodes inside your shared apartment. The look you gave them was enough to erase the wariness bubbling in your friend’s stomach, which spurred them to gather your things and placing them inside your backpack. Your friend worked in silence, however, they were aware of the stare you never took off from the side of their head.

���In case you don’t remember me,” your friend looked up at you with a twinkle of mischief in their irises, “I’m Hitch and I’m your roommate.” She was speaking to you as if you were a toddler, something that made annoyance tickle your chest.

“Hitch?” You mumbled, looking down on your lap for a solid minute until you gasped out loud, the sound echoing inside the lecture hall without any warning. The professor looked up from his seat, glare already in place at the disruption you caused. You buried your face in your hands, face erupting in hues of red because of the embarrassment creeping in your throat. “Oh, my God, don’t tell me I did it again.”

Hitch nodded with a shrug. “I mean, I’m used to your episodes but it always amazed me how you wake up from them all disoriented.” Finishing with her task of tidying your bag, she pulled on your arm. “I think I should record whatever you say next time, this could be my viral moment.” When you gave her a dry glare, she laughed. “Oh, come on, think of the possibilities! But pushing that aside, let’s have dinner first.”

“Hitch, it’s only four in the afternoon.”

She scoffed lightheartedly. “We can always have a midnight snack later. Right now, I’m craving something savory.” The two of you went outside the lecture hall’s door, not missing the look of relief from your Ethics professor as you linked your arm with Hitch’s. She turned to you expectantly. “Any ideas for dinner, bub?”

There was a churning feeling inside your stomach, very much like those life-and-death situations during exams where you rely on your gut for the correct answer if the test includes multiple-choice questions. This time, instead of the nagging voice telling you to encircle the first choice, your gut was telling you to head to the café near your university. Aside from their famous coffee blends and teas (the latter being one of their specialties), the café houses a variety of dishes in its menu, which doesn’t make them a café anymore but the owner still insisted that they’ll be known as that establishment. It was more of a restaurant than your regular coffee shop, making it a hit among the students in the University of Eldia, where a majority of the student body was either caffeine-dependent or reliant on fast food take-outs. The quaint café owned by Levi Ackerman was the perfect solution to yours and Hitch’s grumbling stomachs. 

“How about the café just outside of uni?” You suggested, hoping that Hitch will consider the idea.

The said girl hummed, a finger placed on her chin. “The one owned by that grumpy short-stack?” 

“Hey, that’s rude.”

Hitch shrugged without care, hoisting her tote bag up to her shoulder. “Even his cousin calls him that, you know?” At your raised eyebrow, all Hitch could do was laugh at your adorable, clueless expression. Between the two of you, the light-haired girl was the social butterfly in your friendship and you wouldn’t be surprised if she even had an inkling of the gossips happening around your year level. 

“Relax, his cousin is a good person (that is if she doesn’t kill you with her blank stare), along with their little friendship circle. I must say, all of them look so adorable. You remember Annie, right?” She continued when she saw you nod, the mention of the blonde made you remember your time when the three of you shared your apartment. It was a good kind of chaotic, the three of you balancing out each other’s personalities. Annie was always the indifferent one, Hitch the most sociable, and you being the mediator of the two. “She’s dating one of Mikasa’s friends, Armin. Mikasa is the cousin, by the way, and I can clearly see the resemblance between her and the café’s owner. With the permanent scowl and all.”

“Uh-huh.”

You didn’t know what to do with the information so you only hummed and nodded your head every time Hitch spewed out a couple of trivia involving people you have heard down the hallways or being called during roll-calls. She even told you how one of Mikasa’s friends, Sasha Braus, was reprimanded for eating inside the class of an infamous terror teacher, which landed the girl on that professor’s blacklist. The girl, Sasha, was actually in one of your classes but you never really talked to her, all of your attention poured out into absorbing what the teacher relayed in the class. All of Hitch's ramblings spanned the entirety of your walk to the café — a talent your roommate has that amazed you every time it happened. 

The smell of cinnamon greeted you once you stepped inside the café, the homey decorations making your heart warm in an instant. There were a couple of college students in separate tables, all of them draping their textbooks and readings in front of them, headphones plugged in despite the soothing background music brought by the café’s speakers. Now that you mention it in your head, midterms were coming up in a month and you hadn’t started organizing your revisions. As your mind was filled with the scent of flowers and coffee, Hitch tugged on the sleeves of your blouse, your light-haired friend wordlessly gesturing her head towards one of the empty tables overlooking the window showing the small garden beside the café. You nodded and flashed a thumbs-up, already knowing what Hitch’s order is the number of times she went home with take-outs from this establishment.

Thinking that you should order something for a change, you looked up at the menu board above the counter. With your order listed in your mind, you faced the person manning the counter, ready to relay your order to her. What greeted you, though, wasn’t a smiling cashier, instead, wide gray eyes stared at you with a slacked jaw — irises flecked with an emotion that sent your heart lurching inside your chest. She was a tall girl with muscles in the right places, black hair styled in a pixie cut that made you appreciate her features more. You faintly recalled that she was in one of your majors, which should explain the air of familiarity surrounding her. Her hands on the small notepad hovered over the current lilac paper, her posture rod straight as her breath hitched while staring into you. You weren’t sure what made her react like that so you slightly tilted your head back to look at the booths behind you. Hitch caught your eyes, raising her eyebrow in a silent question. Facing the counter attendant again, you were shocked to see that star-like tears were decorating her eyelashes, chapped lips wobbly. 

It felt like you’ve seen that expression too many times but you were sure this was the first time you saw her face to face.

“Oi, Mikasa, why are you stalling?” A short black-haired man entered the space behind the counter, arms crossed and gaze questioning as he took in the breaking form of his employee. “It’s been a full minute and you still didn’t take the customer’s order.” 

“Can I stay in the breakroom for a while?”

Your breath was taken away at the sound of her voice. It sounded like all four seasons were present in the soft-spoken tone she carried, very different from her tough physical appearance. You were left staring at her back, chest nearly bursting open because of how fast your heart pounded just from that sentence. Images of late-night trysts played in your head; of secret kisses that created an ocean of emotions inside you; of eyes looking at each other with tendrils of hope before the gates open, death beckoning you in its arms; of desperate promises, neither person could ever keep. All of them were so familiar and nostalgic that a swarm of butterflies was starting to infest your ribs and chest, sprouting flowers that clogged your throat from speaking. 

Levi glanced at you, eyes analyzing your form with a hint of concern for his relative and wondering what made Mikasa act like that. “Sure, go ahead, brat, your friends are at the back. Hello, ma’am, I’ll be taking your order.”

“Oh, sure,” you murmured before beginning to list down the food you and Hitch will be indulging in, eyes curiously staring at the girl going inside the breakroom. “Uhm, is she going to be alright?” You tried asking Levi, who only looked at you with a raised eyebrow. “It looks like she had a fright here.”

“It’s the first time I saw her in that state, to be honest,” Levi simply answered, with no room for other discussions. “Your drinks will be served shortly.” He gave you a small gadget, his pointer finger pushing a button on the device, making it light up in a blinding red. “Once your drinks are ready, this will light up and you can get it here on the counter. Thank you for your patronage.”

“Thank you, too.”

It was only when you seated yourself in front of Hitch that you realized Mikasa’s voice sounded like the one always shouting your name in your daydreams, failing to keep the promise of never letting you go.

-

Mikasa was a mess.

First, before waking up for her 7 A.M. class one autumn day, she was haunted by the memories of her previous life (or this is what Armin told her, with him also remembering being born again from a different timeline, another universe altogether rather). In that more outdated version of this world, they were on the constant grapple with these beings called Titans. Her dreams became more complex the more time passed by as these Titans disappeared, replacing with it a looming war between two countries. Her daydreams always resulted in tear-stained cheeks, eyes then finding her best friend who started a mass genocide in their previous lives, Eren. When Mikasa remembered that part of her last life, she would often find herself staring deeply at the side of Eren’s head, resulting in the brown-haired man complaining about her soulless eyes. It looked like Eren didn’t remember it, which nearly drove Mikasa mad. 

Until that day Eren came up to her after a three-hour lecture, all haggard with his man-bun in disarray, and shouting, “I’m so sorry for laughing at you, Mikasa! I had a dream during a lecture of those titan things you and Armin are talking about. I believe you!”

Second, the warmth of somebody was a constant in balancing out the horrors of her daydreams. Among the carnage, a body fitting against hers with the morning rays passing through the slit of the windows was a sight she didn’t want to wake up from. Threads of soft hair tickled her cheek, making way for an unforgettable shade of irises that she compared to the crystals they found underneath the Reiss estate. A smile so vibrant that it paled in comparison to the blue expanse of unknown waters they saw after killing all the Titans in Paradis. The smell of freshly picked flowers lingered in the air, acting like the comforting blanket Mikasa had when she was young. At first, she couldn’t see the face of the person but as the episodes became more vivid, Mikasa finally saw the woman of her dreams. 

Pulchritudinous — that’s what you are.

After that encounter with you in the café, Mikasa immediately talked everything out with her two friends.

“So you’re saying that you kind of knew her but you don’t?” Eren pointed out after a spoonful of ice cream. “This is some conspiracy theory shit right here.”

“Eren,” Armin sighed. “This is not one of those videos you watch at 3 A.M., okay?” The blonde glanced at the last member of their little trio, who was pacing in front of them with a queasy expression on her face. “Mikasa, I know you feel like you’re in a pinch but please calm down.”

Eren leaned forward and took a spoonful of ice cream from the tub on the low table. “It’s no use, Armin. You know Mikasa.” He nodded his head towards the said girl. “Once she enters that state, we can’t do anything about it.”

“I know,” Armin trailed off, dejected.

Mikasa buried her hands through her hair. “This was so unexpected.”

“Clearly,” Eren dryly stated.

The blue-eyed boy beside him instantly hit the back of his head. “Eren!”

Mikasa stopped pacing, not hearing how Eren exclaimed ‘finally’, her face and neck erupting in a warm shade of red that made her two friends exchange a concerned glance. Placing a hand on her pounding chest, she murmured with half-lidded eyes, “She’s much more beautiful than my dreams depicted her to be.”

Armin breathed out a silent ‘oh’ while Eren snickered, “Great, she turned into a simp,” to which the former slapped another hand at the back of the green-eyed boy’s head.

“That explains it,” the black-haired girl exclaimed. “There were times where a voice inside my head tells me to be at this specific place at a specific time.” (“I’m concerned,” Eren stage-whispered to Armin.) “While applying for this university, I had a feeling that I should take up medical sciences. Every time I’m at the campus, I will always find myself in the library after five o’clock and there are instances that I would search the tables. And you guys know how I hate helping Levi in the café.” Eren and Armin nodded as if they were children. “I just realized that she was always there, I can see her now. Why did I miss her when all this time, I was meant to find her? And now that she’s finally in the café right when I told Levi that I felt like helping the shop, I ran away! I’m such an idiot!” Mikasa then sunk on one of the plush chairs, her groans mingling with the gloomy atmosphere she created.

“You’re not an idiot, Mikasa,” Armin told her, to which she replied with an aggravated groan.

“Yeah, you’re not an idiot, you’re just having a gay panic moment,” Eren casually announced. Both of his friends slowly turned their heads toward him. He stared right back, blinking as he shrugged. “You have to admit, I’m not wrong.”

“You’re not helping right now.”

“I’m just stating a fact, Armin!”

The blonde boy rolled his eyes. “So what are you going to do about this, Mikasa?”

“About Eren?”

“No,” Armin shook his head. “Eren will be fine with his two brain cells.”

“Hey, I’m right here.”

Armin rolled his eyes and fixed his gaze on his gray-eyed best friend. “So are you going to tell [Name] that you two are star-crossed lovers pre-destined since your previous lives?”

The confidence she gained the day before during that conversation with her childhood friends dissipated as Mikasa awkwardly stood in the middle of the university’s library, eyes widely staring at you, who was browsing the shelves for the reference material for your papers. She didn’t expect to meet you this suddenly. All she was supposed to do was borrow a reference material and there she realized that the two of you share the same major so most of your schedule line up with one another — the both of you share a free period. Almost as if you were surrounded by a magnetic field, Mikasa went in your direction, her heart matching her footsteps. Meters became feet as she looked at your captivating figure. Even with a shirt tucked inside a pair of jeans, you are still the most beautiful girl inside the library. 

And as you lifted your gaze, your glinting irises meeting her gray ones, Mikasa swore her orbit was waiting for this moment to be tilted to you.

Tears were immediately present in your eyes when she stood in front of you, it was as if you remembered her.

“Hey,” Mikasa breathed shakily, hands gripping the strap of her backpack.

“Hey, starlight.”

That nickname. The one you blurted out when Mikasa invited you stargazing in the meadow beside the Survey Corps Headquarters. You said it suited her because her eyes reminded you of the glow of the stars forming a canopy above you. But for her, you were brighter than any star in the sky, you were an entire cosmos altogether. “You became a part of me the moment I laid my eyes on you in our town. Right then and there — wherever you go, I’ll go. Because I know, I’m a part of you as well.”

“You finally found me.”

You are half of her soul, as the poets say, and the Fates will do everything in their power that it stays like that for eternity. 

[sk-lumen]

Hey, I need some advice how does someone become more self assured and reliant and less codependent?

Hi love,

You become more self-reliant and confident by building a strong foundation of love & trust within yourself and towards yourself. Through selfcare practices, introspection, meditation, therapy, through small daily gestures, you dissolve any false beliefs you may have about yourself (not being good enough, needing validation, not believing you can do it). You dissolve any sense of powerlessness. You can, with gentle care and patience, remove any social conditioning that you 'can’t' - whatever the reason may be.

This is something I have worked and continue working on, because I consider it of the utmost importance to build a strong foundation of self. That is where everything begins.

If you feel powerless, you end up attracting people and partners that feel the same yet counteract it by controlling others (in this case, you) in a toxic manner… which validates your self-belief, and only perpetuates the cycle. If you feel lost on your own, and leap from relationship to relationship, you attract people that feel the same on a subconscious level, but which may deal with it by keeping others at an (emotional) distance… and the belief is validated and the cycle continues again.

When you feel strong however, you inevitably attract others who are equally strong within. There is no inherent lack, inherent emptiness and hunger within where each tries to fill the void in the themselves by using the other (that sort of dynamic can only be toxic and lead to unhappiness). Fullness meets fullness, and the two people are able to meet on equal grounds, in a healthy manner, just as they are. When you feel whole and enough on your own, you attract people who are the same. At last, relationships and friendships ensue where both nurture the other while working on their own growth as it is their own responsibility; instead of leeching off the other and neglecting the responsibility of healing and working through their own traumas, and expecting the other to magically fix them. You can read more on the difference between healing vs toxic relationships here.

So, what practical steps would I recommend for building a strong foundation, confidence and self reliance?

Selfcare in all its magical forms - pamper yourself, spoil yourself. Use facemasks, massage your body with lotion, perfume your body, take care of your hair, skin and nails. Certainly yes, all these physical-oriented selfcare practices help immensely in loving your body and yourself. But selfcare also comes in the form of pushing yourself to go to sleep earlier, because you know you will feel more rested and calm next day - even if you want one more TV show episode. It means calling your doctor and making that appointment - even if you hate making calls or going to said appointment. Because ultimately you know it will do you good. Selfcare means looking out for yourself every day. With time, it teaches you to feel loved and cared for by yourself, and not desperately seek it from others.

Self awareness - self awareness helps in so many ways. It helps you know yourself more, figure out your needs, wants, vulnerabilities. Your boundaries, your trigger points. To know how and when you start burning out, so you avoid it in the future. To be gentle with yourself when you need it, or offer a 'tough love & care' when you know you're just slacking and can do better.

Check in with yourself daily - let yourself feel cared for, nurtured, attended to. That way you will no longer be hungry to expect it from others. How are you feeling physically, mentally, emotionally? What's on your mind? Does something trouble in? Doing this via journaling is most helpful, or even on your phone.

Honor your boundaries - leads to trusting yourself more! That way you will feel safe and anchored within yourself, because you trust you're in good hands already - your own. Darling, if you don't honor your own boundaries, that self-sabotage will cause you to distrust and feel unsafe with(in) yourself, and you'll always search for it in others... which leads to the toxic situationsh mentioned above.

Fake it til you make it - by this I mean study others, watch movies, TedTalks, read books, anything to see what confidence is about. How confident people hold themselves, then start emulating it! With time, it will become your truth because others believe it and treat you accordingly, and you'll feel like you are confident. For instance, this can be body language, your posture, the way you carry yourself, your clothing and appearance. It can be your voice, your intonation and speech.

Figure out your weak points, and then devise a plan to patch them up yourself. This way you are not a walking bleeding heart. Let me explain. If you hate being alone, plan to hang out with your friends and occupy your time in a meaningful way, instead of waiting for magic to happen. If you hate being bored, brainstorm a list of hobbies, activities, new things you can use to both entertain yourself and to help in your self development. These weak points will be subjective and personal, unique to you, and only you know what the antidote is for each! (The alternative for this is, in a relationship frustration may ensue because you feel this vulnerability/need is uncatered to, unattended to, while your partner cannot assume or fully understand it, only you can.) However, when you implement this from the start, a future partner will see your standards and habits, and automatically adopt them accordingly.

I hope this supports your journey to become fabulously confident & self-reliant.

Much luck & blessings darling. 💖

-Lumen