#How to Decide: Simple Tools for Making Better Choices

[noisyexpertobject]

Winter 2023 Blog Update (Part 6 of 6) ~ Media Recommendations List

Winter 2023 Blog Update (Part 6 of 6) ~ Media Recommendations List #Triggers #Confrontation #Communication #Assertiveness #Boundaries #LifeTransitions #Wholeheartedness #Vocation #Perfectionism #Goals #DonMiguelRuiz #ToltecWisdom #Enneagram #RubenÖstlund

If you’re interested in followup resources to explore some of the themes I’ve covered in my Winter 2023 Blog Update project, please consider my media recommendations below. Please note that my suggested media list includes affiliate links from Amazon. I may earn a small commission if these items are purchased using the links I have provided.  Throughout my freelance writing work, I’ve contented…

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#Angel Millar #Anne Duke #Chuck DeGroat #Don Miguel Ruiz #Dr. Gabor Maté #Drew Moser #Emotional Intelligence 2.0 #Force Majeure #Forgiving What You Can&039;t Forget #Gerry Shishin Wick #Heaven and Hell: The Psychology of the Emotions #How to Decide: Simple Tools for Making Better Choices #J.R.R. Tolkien #John Lencioni #Kashinath Trimbak Telang #Kristin Neff #Lao Tzu #Let Your Life Speak: Listening for the Voice of Vocation #Lysa TerKeurst #Man&039;s Search for Meaning #Marcus Aurelius - Meditations #Mark Reiter #Mark Twain #Marshall Goldsmith #Mastering Confrontation: Become an Expert at Effective Communication. Master the Art of Dealing with Conflict #Media Recommendations #Michael A. Singer #Miyamoto Musashi #Musashi&039;s Book of Five Rings #Neel Burton

[meanbossart]

Some art-advice asks I've been meaning to reply to!

I use Clip Studio Paint Pro, though I'm not sure what tips I could give just in general. Just experiment with new things often, draw as much as your lifestyle allows, watch how other people do their work but try to avoid "Dont do THIS thing ever" type lessons and tutorials. Use as much reference as you'd like and take your time! To this day a simple sketch can still take me several hours to do depending on what it is.

Thank you so much!!! I didn't do any kind of formal art schooling but I've always been inclined towards arts and crafts, and started taking drawing semi seriously when I was about 17 (I'm 27 now). I draw a lot of inspiration from western comics and my favorite artists are jason shawn alexander and sean murphy.

Oh I'm so flattered to hear my stuff's inspired you to take up drawing again, I have a bunch of little crafty hobbies but art is by far the most fulfilling one to me - largely because you're constantly learning and improving.

You're definitely onto something already, I am constantly looking at other people's art (even If it isn't a style I would want to emulate) and analyzing how the pieces come together to create the final product. In my opinion this is pretty much the best way you can go about learning besides real-life reference drawing. You can even take something into your software of choice/print it out and trace it (just to yourself, of course) to get a sense of hand-motion and line use.

As a beginner I think there's no shame at all in taking heavy inspiration from your favorite artists, as long as you aren't straight up copying things and calling them your own. Your personal style Is likely to come out naturally, with time. That's very much how I started myself!

Also, just be patient with yourself, try to have realistic goals for your skill level while simultaneously being proud of everything you do. Even if you absolutely despise a drawing, you still drew something! And even if it doesn't feel that way you most definitely learned from it. Use learning tools and tutorials to whatever point you feel comfortable with but don't get stuck on people's arbitrary rules - unless we're talking about something tangible like real-life application of traditional art tools, things like anatomy, perspective and light are to be referenced from - but It's not the goal to emulate them 100% unless you ARE going for hyperrealism. As someone who uses a ton of reference these days, I can tell you first-hand that I often find myself straying from it on purpose to make a piece look more interesting.

Lastly, draw things you enjoy! Don't let anyone else dictate what you SHOULD be doing and don't fall into the trappings of wanting to stick to one specific style, process, or subject matter.

Good luck!!!

LOL thank you so much for your very evocative compliments! I haven't ever done a timelapse, not that I remember at least. I'm not sure how they work but I do so much of "I'm gonna try this thing 5 different ways and then decide what I like" that I'm not sure how comprehensive that would be LOL

I could put together a process showcase or something though, I feel like that might be better even, since I get to explain a little of what I'm doing through text and display how I use reference. Something to consider!

#ask #art #advice

[tohwitchesduels]

GO WITCHES DUELS!

Lore: It's been a minute since the Collector visited Boiling Isles (a few months after defeating Belos), however now they're back and willing to play a new game with the Demon Realm. After some talk with King, they both decided to host a tournament known as WITCHES BATTLES/BATTLE WITCHES (the name is still to be chosen). The 16 most powerful teen witches in Boiling Isles will participate (willingly) in a tournament to decide who is the most powerful teen witch in the Boiling Isles!

Information about the tournament: The tournament will feature 16 characters of my choosing competing with one another based on their strength and skill. This by no means is a popularity contest, so I don't care if you know or like the characters featured in battles, as ultimately the battle shall decide who would win a witches duel. The tournament rather than a simple bracket will also feature side battles that would decide the position in the rankings, so get ready as there will be a lot of duels.

The first round is composed of 8 1v1 witches duels between characters that were paired randomly (except for one case but I will explain it later once I introduce the bracket). After this, the winning eight will catch a break so all the losers can face each other in a grand battle royale against one another to decide their positions in the tournament (occasionally if some people tie they will also get their own battle). Once the battles of losers are over we shall advance to the second round which shall decide who gets to semi-finals. The elite 4 themselves will catch a break as I will feature a minor bracket featuring the losers of the second round. The winner of this bracket might have a chance to battle the elite 4 once the semi-finals are sealed, in which there will be 5 battles: 2 official semi-final battles; 2 winner vs losers battles; the battle between the losers of the semi-finals. Then a champion of the second round bracket can yet challenge the elite 4, which can change their placement in the ranking and finally, there will be the last battle between the champions of the semi-finals.

The Format will naturally be polls, however, under each poll, there will be an explanation of what participants can and can't do during the duel: what spells they know and can use depending on the battle format; whether or not they can utilise specific tools like palismen for example; what is their mindset going into the battle. Now keep in mind those are not Death Matches, so no need for calculations on how much raw power the characters have and only a brief summary of what they can and can't do, and the battles are decided in imaginary scenarios by either stadium out or losing consciousness (under the Collector's supervision no one shall die).

There will be no "See results" options as I don't want them to mess up the voting so you will have to make some tough choices, but that's why I feature explanations so you can have a better idea of how strong featured characters are, even if you don't know them or their capabilities. I also would appreciate it if you could provide your own propaganda and agendas regarding what characters are capable of.

If there is a situation in which participants tie, they will either be featured in a battle royale in which the person with the least votes shall be out, or they get their match-ups switched if there are more ties (though only even numbers of battles). There are no repetition if matches unless there were issues with voting or the post. However all battles are final and characters won't meet twice unless it's a battle royale.

Who will not participate in the tournament:

All adult characters are off-limits for this tournament as they shall have their own league. This is strictly a teen championship. I decided to do such separation as adult characters just outclass the teen characters, meaning hardly it would be a fair match for young rising stars.

Only characters with importance and established capabilities shall participate so no background characters that have only 5 seconds of screen time

Vee shall not participate in the tournament. Vee is in this awkward position where she either gets so stomped she shouldn't have considered participating in the first place or is just too OP to give anyone else a chance. As a Basilisk Vee only possesses two abilities: magic absorption and shape-shifting. Because of the nature of magic absorption which can render the opponent powerless if used correctly, Vee simply has an unfair advantage towards most of the competitors. However, Vee herself possesses next to no experience when it comes to battling. Vee doesn't utilise her shape-shifting powers creatively and only limits herself to taking forms of other people which is effectively useless as she does not gain their powers (and even if she did it's either unfair since she will transform into someone who naturally counters her opponent; it would be near impossible to see which form could she actually take at this point, and technically speaking it would be another character battling and not Vee herself) but such deception is effectively useless in 1v1 duels. Vee's absorption powers are also pretty slow and can be easily interrupted as Helos demonstrated (and are not as final as the Greater's Basilisk) and as I said, Vee has no experience in battles so she can't really fight with her personality, nor doesn't know any spells to use to help her.

Masha shall not participate as they have yet to discover magic. So Veesha is only cheering on others

The Collector shall not participate since he's OP, so he rather organizes the entire tournament and arranges the game specifically so no one could get hurt while the kids go all out.

King shall not participate as much as Vee, he's either too strong or too weak to participate. King is not yet fully realized Titan so he does not possess the prowess that Titans possess, only being capable of basic light spells (weaker than average ones), squeak of rage, and barrier (which while strong, can also be easily countered). King instead becomes the announcer and the host of the tournament, along with the Collector.

Hooty shall not participate as he is both too strong and too memorable to give it a fair fight (as Hooty isn't OP, but he might as well end up as such due to the voting). He also becomes the host and announcer of the tournament, but rather the adult league.

Adult league: The characters of the past like previous Grimwalkers, Caleb and Evelyn, etc. shall not participate since we literally don't know how strong and capable they actually are.

Adult league: Camila shall not participate as she barely has any battling experience. She's the best mom and she is willing to throw hands, but she simply lacks experience with magic and her battling style can be easily countered. There's also memeable potential of her swiping everyone with La Chancla, which is hilarious, but not realistic. It would be satisfying to see her try to hit Odalia with a sandal, but Odalia can unleash the phantom that would steal such a sandal and then straight-up knockout Camila if we're being serious and no fun regarding this (but in our hearts Camila is the true winner we all know that)

Adult league: Dell Clawthorne shall not participate as he never used any magic within the show and now he's disabled.

Teen League: As the name suggests, only teenagers will participate, toddlers will not

Adult league: Only a few established Covenheads will participate since the others don't have fully-realised potential

Adult league: Titan Trappers shall not appear as they barely have any champion showcasing the true extent of their magical skill.

Adult league: Jacob Hopkins shall not appear as he lost to Camila who herself can't participate for not having enough skill (I did consider Camila to participate but I ultimately decided that she won't)

Invitations - to those who showed interest in the tournament or TOH in general, but no pressure or need for you to participate in the voting. Just wanted to invite you and ensure there will be some audience to the tournament. Oh, and I also don't mind if you use more than one account to vote as long as those are established blogs and not some spam blogs (like try to not rigg the game too much):

@lilcactusboi @wren-writes-things @the-god-of-chaos-himself @violet-prism-creatively @watery-melon-baller

@thescarletdaffodil @akmonasyrk @lapluieellepleut @damianwaynelives @crushpunchh

@impact801 @evermorecatra @rosetyler42 @memory-overload @cwolfnerakagnome

@branmuffins22 @zyrafowe-sny @metalinjector95 @michaela-artist @goingtohellwithyou

@iheartleopards @thatwierdquietkidthatdraws @sophiesophsofia @tbonner2 @amity297

@itslilacmoon @lucascii @fabseg-reader

Anyone can vote in this tournament of course, but I'm not sure if everyone will see it so I hope at least you can spread the popularity of the tournament or decide on your own who wins and who loses

#the owl house #witches duels #witches battles #battle witches #my polls #polls #toh tournament #first post and historic moment

[suratan-zir]

rambling about language, rats and dreams..?

Recently, for the first time in two years, I had to speak Russian. I had to remember how to speak Russian, or rather how to write in Russian. The things I do for love for my rats...

explanation for those who doesn't know me too well: I was born and raised in the eastern Ukraine (the so-called Donbas), in a Russian-speaking environment. Studied in the "Russian" school, which means that all subjects, except for Ukrainian language and literature, are taught in Russian. Everyone around me spoke Russian. People there can understand and speak Ukrainian, obviously, as everyone in Ukraine does. But it's not used in everyday life, due to the years of russification.

Then, as soon as we moved from Russian-occupied Donetsk, a few months before the invasion, we (my husband and I) completely switched to Ukrainian. We didn't want to have anything in common with those people. (and after the invasion, many Ukrainians also made this choice)

Anyway, one of my rats, Krobus, has a disease unknown to mankind. In all the years of keeping rats, I have never been in such a situation. Something makes it difficult for him to breathe through his nose, yet it is not a respiratory infection. His lungs are fine, he doesn't sneeze too much, doesn't have a runny nose etc. No antibiotics, nebulizer inhalations and even corticosteroids have any effect whatsoever. Vets specializing in rodents don't know what to do. Most likely, it's some kind of growths in the nasal passages.

After a lot of trial and error, incompetent and idiotic advices, I decided to contact our old and trusted vet in Donetsk. But I didn't want to explain to her why I switched languages, I didn't want to have any political discussions, especially with Krobus' health being at stake. So I had to write all the messages to her in Russian. And it was HARD. I don't mean like morally hard. No, plainly hard. I kept mixing up prepositions, word endings, etc., and generally had a tough time finding the right words.

You don't understand how huge this is. I don't know how to explain… Russian wasn't just a simple tool for me. I used to write poems and prose, long letters and essays. My favorite author was Russian. (Nabokov, probably the least Russian Russian but still). In my school years I was that one annoying girl whom the Russian teacher used as an example for others or selected for language competitions to represent the school/town. I know you can't tell that from my shitty English, because the teaching of English in Ukraine and Russia is generally at a terrible level, to the point that English teachers often barely speak English themselves.

Losing it, a giant part of my identity, one of my very few skills…it should feel terrible. But it's fucking amazing! Trying to speak Russian and sounding weird? Wonderful! Trying to write in Russian and forgetting the correct spelling? Fantastic!

In the modern world, learning new languages is a very common practice. But trying to forget a certain language? Now that's a somewhat unique experience that is now shared by so many Ukrainians. Not all of us give up the Russian language for moral or ethical reasons, although many do. And not only in order to correct injustice and the consequences of years of colonization. For some of us, the Russian language is simply a trigger for our trauma. It's a reminder of the pain Russia is subjecting us to. When Russian missiles fly over our heads, at least in they can't penetrate our minds. Eh, it wasn't supposed to sound this pretentious. Ew.

This whole language-switching thing confused my brain a little bit and now I dream mostly in English. So that's a fun side-effect? I don't know why not in Ukrainian though.

In case you're wondering, no medication is helping Krobus still. He feels and acts fine, it's not getting significantly worse for many months, but nothing makes him better. We'll keep trying.

#personal #ramble

[iseethatimicy]

Cooking with Tsumsted Wonderland

Note: I think my last post was in Jan 27... So hi take this! (Reader uses They/Them pronouns and are gender neutral.) Characters: Tsum Riddle Rosehearts, Tsum Trey Clover, Tsum Floyd Leech Genre: Fluff and a bit of crack

You've been seeing videos about baking a variety of cakes and your friend's birthday is coming up. So what better way than to make one for them? Just as soon as you borrowed a recipe book from Trey, a curious small thing squeals, interested in what you're doing. You got yourself into this mess so now, you'll have to finish it but with a special guest..

Oh Tsum Riddle, always so demanding. He squeals angrily at you to stir faster, to mix faster, to knead the dough harder. He isn't even helping other than being a pressure head like that birthday cake is meant to be for him. No Twist-tube Tutorials, No Recipe book that Trey handed to you, No help from other students!

That damn little tsum wants a Strawberry Cake and you're forced to obey him. You had no other choice than to get a red and white icing bag, a bowl of fresh red strawberries, a carton of eggs, etc. Hell, it's not even Riddle or his birthday!

You're stirring the bowl so fast it might spill all over on the kitchen island just as how that unhinged plush toy likes it, knead the dough as slow as Rook Hunt listening carefully to your breathing unless you want to bitten by him.

Eventually, you finish the cake. It was 3 layers tall and you tried as hard as you can to make it similar to the delicious ones Trey makes. You were tired from all cooking and decided to get a chocolate snack from the School's Mystery shop. Surely the tsum will be a good plush toy and certainly won't devour the entire thing, right?

When nobody is looking, the Tsum Riddle can't help himself from taking a small bite from the delicious looking cake. Although it's a little cheeky and sneaky, He's just tempted by the delicious smell of the delicious strawberry cake and the fact that it looks so cute and edible too.

Well Tsum Trey's got your back! He's giving out the icing bags Trey uses, the crimson stained knife that totally came from cutting a piece of strawberry cake, the strawberries and bee-shaped candies...

He was surprisingly calm and patient little tsum unlike the demanding crimson haired tsum tsum, He helps knead the dough, carry the plate of candies, help with the cake decorations.

The cake was finished and had a special key to it! First layer represented dorm your friend is assigned to; Diasomnia. It had a green base and had black icing shaped like thorns wrapped around the sides of the cake, It looked exactly like the dorm.

The second layer was a sweet bee theme and had a mellow yellow color on its base. The tsum trey who assisted you seemed to be proud of honey taste and its bee motifs, almost likes its his favorite.

The third layer was the dorm they wanted to be in; Octavinelle. It had a periwinkle base and detailed tentacles used in a ribbon design, draping from dull lavender colored bows with black stripes on them. The layer seemed to be themed around the sea.

He stared at you while laying on the cutting board lazily. Azul had let you use Octavinelle's Kitchen oh so kindly with a price. He's so helpful providing you with tools but so annoying for demanding so much attention, He's a very needy little tsum tsum.

You were thinking of doing a simple two-layered chocolate cake. You had to keep petting the Floyd tsum every 10 minutes so it definitely won't crush your wrist. He was squealing and cuddling onto you, begging for just a small slice of the chocolate cake.

Whilst you were adding lilac-colored decorating on the sides, the tsum tsum had latched on your hand and bit into it, causing the icing to spill all over the kitchen island. You glared at the tsum angrily and set it aside, going to find a bucket of water and a mop along with a new icing bag.

He squeals apologetically as you left the kitchen. Well, since now that you're gone, he can at least get a small, teeny bite of the cake. surely you'll be fine with it, right? When you get back, your jaw drops as you see half of the chocolate cake being gone while the tsum squeals happily, rolling around at how it tastes good. Let's just say the tsum is.. err..

© ISEETHATIMICY. I do not consent for my work to be plagiarized, repost, or translate without permission. If you would like to make a similar idea, please credit me.

#icywrites #twisted wonderland #tsumsted wonderland #riddle rosehearts #trey clover #floyd leech

[heythere-mel]

Lovefool

Chapter 3: I Can't Care 'bout Anything But You

Frankie Morales x F!Reader

W/C: 1.6K+

A/N: SURPRISE! Ya girl is back with the next chapter in this little series. I haven’t updated in a year (holy shit I am SO SORRY.) but here we are with my fave lovebirds. Happy Halloween to all the homies out there and comments, likes, anything are welcomed. Enjoy bbys! 🎃🤍

Chapter 1 / Chapter 2

——-

“I’m gonna marry her one day.”

That little black velvet box was taunting him.

You had just left for work when he decided to give the simple, yet elegant piece of jewelry another glance. He kept it hidden in a small lockbox he still had from when he was in the service, knowing you would probably never look there. Secretly, it’s where he stored anything of sentimental value in. From one of the first little love letters you’d given him, to a movie ticket from your first official date, even a couple of cheeky Polaroids you took for him as a birthday surprise a few months back.

You had been in a relationship for well over two years now. Having made the step of finally moving in together about six months prior, Frankie could honestly say it’s the happiest he’d ever been. He had the obvious approval of the guys, his family adored you, even the señoras at the floral shop he liked to frequent when he wanted to surprise you with a fresh bouquet would ask when he was going to finally pop the question. He knew it shouldn’t have come off as such a challenge, but like everything else he was, in typical Frankie fashion, overthinking it.

“How am I going to do this?” Frankie sighed, running his finger over the precious stone. His phone buzzing on the nightstand pulled him from his thoughts.

“Hello?”

“Hola feo! Hey, we’re at the store right now picking up pumpkins for tomorrow and found these cool stencils to use. Can I buy them or is that considered cheating? You know Ben could use as much help as possible.”

“I’m going to beat your girl in the contest this year Frank!” Benny screams in the background.

“Go ahead and get them. You know he’ll still find a way to fuck it up.”

“Fuck you Fish!”

He laughs at the other man’s competitive nature. You had won the Halloween carving contest two years running now. There wasn’t any big prize involved, but bragging rights and pick of the scary movie you all would be watching that night was incentive enough. (Benny thinks it’s because you’re Frankie’s girl that gives you the advantage. In actuality, he just sucks.) He stares back to the ring as Santiago goes on about the prices of Halloween candy when his eyes go wide.

“Pope! Change of plans! I need you guys to help me with something!”

——-

The next day Frankie is doing his best to keep cool. He’s kept himself busy by cleaning up the house, making sure the little ghost lights you found are strung up around the patio perfectly, even bringing out the couple of plastic tables you would be using and setting them up with assorted carving tools and paints.

Honestly, anything to keep from having to face you for too long, he was doing.

Frankie knew he had some time so he quietly went through his plan one last time. You, on the other hand, were busy picking out the perfect design for your pumpkin. You told him it’s not about winning, but thinking back to the little smirk on your face when you were announced as the winner again last year and Benny smashing his pumpkin in a humorous protest was enough to have you wanting that first place spot again.

“Babe! Where you at?”

“Outside hermosa!”

You step out to the back patio and gasp at the setup.

“Frankie! This looks so good!” you praise as you run up and give him a quick peck.

“You like it?! It was a bitch untangling those ghosts so it better look good.”

“Ugh, handsome and he knows how to string up lights? You’re gonna fuck around and get yourself wifed up Morales.” He stiffened momentarily by your choice of words before shaking his head and cracking a smile.

“Oh! Help me pick out a picture for my pumpkin!” you pull out your phone and enthusiastically start swiping through the selected photos. “Should I do the witch flying on a broom, or this werewolf howling at the moon?”

“Should you even be showing me your design? We are competing against each other too cariño.”

“Are we though?” your left eyebrow arching in question.

“Wow, that hurt.” his faux wounded expression making you giggle.

“Hmmmm, they’re both great options but do you think you can finish something that elaborate tonight babe? It’s timed too, remember.” He knew you could, but the longer he could distract you later, the better.

“Is that a challenge?!” narrowing your eyes at him and he throws his hands up in surrender.

“I mean, I know you got it in you, but Benny said he’s bringing his A-game tonight, and to watch your ass. I just don’t want you getting too caught up and you don’t finish.”

“Ohhhh, just you wait precioso! I’m not back to back champ for nothing!”

With that final say you run out to finish getting ready, leaving Frankie standing there with a huge grin plastered on his face.

Yeah, she’s the one.

——-

The sun had finally begun to set as you and the boys gathered in the backyard. While you were busy helping Will gather the pumpkins from the house to bring out, Santi and Benny found it to be the perfect opportunity to pull Frankie aside to see how he was doing.

“You ready hermano?” Santi whispered, grabbing him by his shoulders.

“You look like you might yak Fish.”

“Don’t listen to him, you look great! This flannel is nice. Going for the lumberjack look I see.”

“Cállate pendejo. She happens to like it.” Frankie retorts.

“We’re just giving you shit, you know that.”

“I know. I’m just a little nervous.” Frankie mutters as he looks over Pope’s shoulder to make sure you’re still in the house.

“No need. That girl in there loves you. So much so, it’s almost sickening how cute y’all are.”

“Yeah man! And feisty as hell, which is why I love messing with her.” Benny snickers to the group.

“Thanks guys. I owe you one.”

“No problem. Just remember, I call dibs on best man. Ben said he wants flower girl.” Santi throws his thumb back to Benny, nodding in confirmation.

“Deal.”

——-

“Okay, y’all know the rules. We’ve all got an hour to carve, paint, whatever you wanna do to your pumpkin and then we’ll vote. No peeking at other pumpkins until we’re all done. Benny, no smashing your pumpkin when you lose. Sweetheart, take it easy on us this year okay?”

“Can’t promise you anything boys. Good luck hermoso.” shooting a wink toward Frankie who’s seated at the opposite end of the table.

Frankie opts for painting his pumpkin this year. His design wouldn’t necessitate the full hour so he tries to drag it out as slowly as possible.

He grows more anxious by the minute. What if she says no? That’s always a possibility, right? The hour suddenly seems to be passing by too quickly for his liking when he decides to look over. You’re caught up cracking jokes with his brothers, your small pocketknife in your hand for hollowing out smaller sections of your design, and singing along to the Halloween playlist blaring from the speaker. He’s never felt more right about anything.

——-

Will looks to Frankie as the timer is about to go off on his phone. A quick nod and crooked smile signal he’s ready.

“Okay and time!”

The other guys both look up to Frankie with knowing grins on their faces. A small thumbs up from Santi thrown in for good measure.

“Wait! Just let me get this last piece!”

“This is why she wins because she’s still working after the time!”

“I told you it would be too much babe.”

“Hush Morales!”

“Alright, since I’m the oldest, I’m going first.”

Everyone’s attention is now on Will as he turns his pumpkin around. He usually puts up a good fight as well when it comes to this which is why you’re thrown off when you see his final product.

“Will. You carved your name into your pumpkin?”

You were clueless.

“It’s classic.” giving a small shrug. “Pope.”

Santi claps his hands together and quickly turns his pumpkin. A delicate You carved into it.

“You. Guys what’s going on?”

Frankie couldn’t help his shit eating grin as he sees the visible confusion on your face.

“That’s a nice looking you, Santiago.”

“Why thank you Benjamin. You’re up.”

Alright, your main competition. You hadn’t caught on to what the others were doing but if anyone would give you a run for your money, it was Benny.

“Get ready to have your mind blown sweetheart!” turning his pumpkin to display a brightly colored Marry sprawled across the front. Then it clicks.

“Marry. Fra…”

Before you could get his name out you gaze to your left to see your boyfriend turning his pumpkin. The word Me painted in your favorite color with a question mark and cutely drawn ring that glittered for effect.

Frankie’s heart was pounding as he steps from around his side of the table. Setting his pumpkin down gently beside yours, he pulls the box from his back pocket as he gets down on one knee. Your watery smile like a breath of fresh air telling him to go ahead.

“Hermosa, these last few years have been everything to me. You are everything to me. You know I’m not good with words…”

“You’re doing fine mi amor.” bringing one of your hands up running it over his cheek.

“…but would you, will you marry me?”

“Yes Francisco!” Those words instantaneous as he released a breath he didn’t know he was holding.

He places the ring on your finger before you practically tackle him to the ground. The others whistling and cheering from the table behind you.

“You’re gonna wife me up, huh Morales?”

“I had to before I ended up the wifey.” Your boisterous laughter couldn’t be contained. Your smile shining the brightest he’d ever seen it. He couldn’t wait to continue making you do that for the rest of his life.

“Well, I say I won this years contest boys!” Benny exclaims.

“What are you talking about?! If anything Fish won!”

“Did you see how she was speechless at my pumpkin?!”

“Wait, what did you end up going with?” Frankie queries.

“The werewolf. It fit perfectly with An American Werewolf In Paris that I had picked to watch.”

Benny turned your pumpkin around to show the rest of the guys. An audible groan leaving his mouth when he sees the detail you were able to put in, even in such a small amount of time.

“I’m never gonna win this contest again.”

“Hey Ben, your pumpkin was amazing. And since I’m in such a fantastic mood, I relinquish my award to you.”

“OH HELL YES! WE’RE WATCHING MONSTERS INC!”

“Benny that’s a child’s film what the fuck?!” You hear him and Santi bicker as they rush inside to get the film queued up. Will hot on their heels to give you two a minute.

“You sure you wanna sit through that?”

“Let him have it,” leaning in closer to his ear.

“I get my real prize after they’re all gone.”

#lovefool #frankie morales x f!reader #mel writes! #pedro pascal

[understandableparadox]

Bottom of the barrel isekai review #1

content warning: Mention of sexual assault

This series is to point a spotlight at the worst and best isekais that float innocuously throughout the internet. Trash and treasures shall be sorted for your amusement and entertainment. 

Reincarnation coliseum

This was a Strong choice for my first trash manga review, but I believe that it is perfect as a tone setter for what this series entails. You may have memories of some anime that fits within the nebulous concept of an isekai, perhaps a portal anime, perhaps reincarnation, perhaps abducted to another planet.

I don't think it would be a misnomer to say that these older titles were softer in general, the concepts, the characters, the romances. The escapism was not rooted in frustration but instead fascination of what could be.  In that we have the true difference between modern and classic isekai. 

Modern isekai authors a great majority of the time are frustrated at a concept of society and want to escape from it in their stories. Although an even larger majority of the time, an isekai is made because the author is both irrevocably hornt up, has a chip on their shoulder about something and has decided to make this a problem for the world to deal with. 

A problem we will be dealing with today. 

The story of reincarnation coliseum is fairly simple. An average japanese college/highschool student is summoned via some magical means into a brand new world by a priestly order and its leader zayd. 

The moment you are introduced to zayd, who for lack of better words is an 8 foot amazonian women with tits the size of regulation basketballs and a outfit that would make even the sleaziest fantasy costume designer snear with a little bit of disdain, you understand a very simple fact about the story you are about to read. 

This is porn. It is not labeled as such but that is not due to the author's efforts. 

Everything in this story revolves around the concept that this is porn, every step it makes is in service of hurrying itself along to a secluded space so it can rip away the millimeter fabric of clothing it bothered to pretend to draw onto its women. 

Which isn't a sin in and of itself. I'm not going to pretend anime doesn't have a rich history of stuffing people in the bare minimum of fabric one can get away with without triggering a public indecency charge, perhaps im being a tiny bit of a prude by jumping the guns and bemoaning the duel blimp chested woman before me before I even get a chance to understand the basic plot!

So we learn that our protagonist has been summoned to the world at great cost! Why? Because the cost allows the summoned to gain a divine skill or cheat ability…

God Damn It. 

Ok im going to judge a cover by its book and a book by its cover and an author by their fucking lemming mentality desire to follow the fucking leader. 

There are…So Goddamn Many cheat skill mangas, its mind numbing. I’m being accosted by skill stealing, ability absorbing, mind washing fucking losers. Here I am swaying my way downtown, attempting to enjoy my stroll through the familiar roads of fantasy when out of the corner of my eye I spot a quaint and cozy little restaurant/manga. 

Oh my

I say, a slice of life in another world with a lovely protagonist that's here to learn how to do some blacksmithing for their local community? Oh be still my beating heart! My fingers wrap around the door as I throw it open, my heart open to the rapturous joy of simple blue collar trade skill living. Yet sitting before me radiating a malicious stench is some god damn rando with a super skill like… “Insta crafting”, “item shop”, or God fucking forbid, “hyper level”. IF YOU HAVE INSTA CRAFTING YOU ARENT FUCKING CRAFTING YOU JUST HAVE GOD MOD ONE YOU FUCK, PICK UP THAT HAMMER YOU SHODDILY DRAWN TWINK AND SWING IT, MAKE A FUCKING IRON TOOL FOR YOUR FELLOW VILLAGERS, OLD FAMER JANKINS HAS A GOD DAMN FAMILY TO FEAD AND WHILE YOUR TWIDDLING WITH YOUR MIGHTY SWORD IN HAND HES GOING TO MISS PRIME HARVEST TIME, YOU ARE RUINING THE LOCAL ECONAMY BECAUSE YOU WONT MAKE A FUCKING HOE. PERHAPS AND PLEASE TAKE THIS WITH THE EVER SO SLIGHTIST BIT OF SALT BUT MAYBE YOU DONT FUCKING NEED TO HAVE EVERY SINGLE GOD DAMN HERO POP OUT THE METAPHORICAL WOMB WITH THE STRONGEST SKILL, MAYBE HAVE THEM BE ACTUALLY WEAK, MAYBE ITS OK TO HAVE TO WORK TOWARDS A GOAL INSTEAD OF GIVING THE FIRST LIMP DICK LOSER THAT MANAGES TO SASHEY THEIR WAY INFRONT OF THE NEAREST TRUCK SUPERMANS TESTOSTERONE INJECTIONS BEFORE INTRODUCING THESE INVASIVE FUCKWADS INTO A NEW UNPREPARED ECOSYSTEM, IS THAT PERHAPS TO LARGE OF AN ASK?!

Where was it…? Oh yeah, the manga then takes a turn, the once kindly priestess shows her hidden colors and sells the protagonist to slavery, a life of fighting within the coliseum within the town. Ok, ok. We are finally getting somewhere. We are moving towards something we can describe without the nasty nerdy wink wink nudge nudge joking attitude as Plot. 

The protagonist is stuck in a jail cell with another young lady who describes herself as a sword slave. A slave who fights within the coliseum as entertainment. A concept we are not unfamiliar with, the gladiator may come to mind. 

She then goes along to explain the basic premise of the coliseum and its rules. There are both slaves and regular fighters that attend. Two fighters enter the arena and whoever loses will “belong” to the winner. In addition the winner may decide to change the sex of the loser. With the winner then gaining male genitalia. 

Could a concept like this have some nuance? Maybe, the idea that even a single loss is literally emasculating may play some part in a better story, the idea of a society where gender is as easy to change as a pair of clothes, to the point of even mixing and matching body parts, but it's not. In this story it's treated as something fetishy enough to warrant a demonstration panel but still scary enough to motivate the main character into both swearing vengeance against this society and winning at all cost.

Hey real quick, Imagine all the nuisance of the gambling and addiction and the willingness to throw away your life in pursuit of true hedonistic joy and thrill that we see in kakegurui. You got it? You imagining those big amazing psycho smiles the girls make? You remember the isekai the author nearly got sued for making? Good good, throw it all away. 

Because this is where the story decides to discard itself in blind pursuit of its carnal desire. Or to be less of a pretentious prick about it, it becomes porn, porn with a horribly predictable, horribly paced and horridly set up punchline. 

The plot or whatever semblance survived the suspiciously shaped holes poked into it becomes thus: Woman of the week shows up at the arena. The woman is strong, tall, well endowed and astoundingly cocky of their abilities, promising to assault the mc the moment they win because even when creating foils, the women are not allowed to express any sexual disinterest in the main character AT ALL, i mean, we gotta throw a bone for the trash readers that like fem dom right?

Anyways the special skill of the main character always allows them to counter, adapt or supersede whatever skill this apparent master combatant has trained with. They are soundly beaten and then added to the main characters harem by force where after one night they and please do pardon my words here, if i could i would shoot the author and help them with their hormone imbalance “Become slaves to their baser instinct and subservient to the main character.”

Each character becomes submissive and a prop for the next sexual escapade of the main character as they get ready for next week's fight. Occasionally the rules will be changed up or the main character will do something vaguely different for their fight, either because the skill for whatever reason wont work or because they want to pretend the main character is Gamer Batman. 

The manga I regret to inform you is both somewhat successful and has a slowly growing cult following. It's also still continuing on, it will likely gain merch and an anime adaptation that people will call “Cultured” because god will settle into a nice coffin before another joke gets invented.

Is it worth the read? No. no it's not. Is it worth learning about? No, not really. Is it capable of pulling emotion out of your dead heart? By god yes it fucking can. ‘

"Is the underlying story, barring any other concept, good?"

No, the story is a tournament manga but without the cool character designs. Each character is a basic human with slight alterations, the costume design makes my soul hollow. 

 "on a sliding scale of min to max, how much is the author using this to explore fetish" 

Scale set to max. Every character is just an introduction to a new fetish, every female character was drawn one handed. 

"How many story crutches does the author use to explore the story" 

There is no story, it's just porn that has story cosplay. 

 "Is the author attempting to use the story as a way to explain why he is not weird."

Yes, the author has an innate fear of male penetration and also seemingly believes that sex can make people submissive, obedient and loyal even if it's forced upon them. 

#trash #manga #isekai #manga review #do not recommend

[squydworm]

A hand picks up the stepmother and deposits her carefully into a front garden. Inside, she can see her daughters, her beautiful daughters, talking to one another and laughing. Their eyes are perfectly in tact. Their feet are together, no longer bleeding. The day is brilliant and clean and clear.

The stepmother’s skin no longer ripples with those she has eaten. She is no longer a devil, nor an angel or god or being beyond imagination. She is simply a woman.

“I can still read that, you know. How did you… fix me?”

It seems the stepmother did not lose her awareness of the story. Well, stepmother, I have the power to do anything. I can put you anywhere, with anyone. I can tear down houses and build oceans. I can put you here, with your daughters, and try to give you some peace.

“I am still the wicked stepmother.”

No. You have done many wicked things, yes, even after you knew why you were forced to. It was not good. But I understand why you did it. To me, right now, you are simply “Stepmother.” I do not have another name for you. In the story I heard of you, you gave it up.

“I did.”

Would you like a new name?

“What?”

A new name. You can pick. I also have some suggestions. I like the name “Angeline.” Not sure why.

“What will a name do for me now? What can you do for me? This isn’t even me. This is a version of me you decided to create. I’m still somewhere else devouring stories and souls.”

Yeah, maybe that’s true. As I’m writing this, the story you are inspired fromisn’t over yet. You’re still a wicked eldritch being terrifying dimension hopping children. I don’t know why I’m doing this. I thought, maybe, even just for a little part of you, even just for a short story, I can give you some peace.

“Why a name?”

You said you didn’t have one in your old story. You know, in a very famous version of your story, you are called Lady Tremaine. I’m sure there are plenty of others that give you a name as well. In that story, your voice is given to you by a woman named Eleanor. Perhaps you can be Tremaine, or Eleanor, or someone else entirely. But this little story is your.

The stepmother is silent for a moment, considering the offer. She rolls her eyes at the narration.

I can get rid of it, if you would like me to, Stepmother. I can make you unaware just by writing it.

“No. I want to remember.”

Ok. You remember.

“I like… Eleanor. A respectable name.”

Beautiful choice. You are Eleanor then. A woman who has been through much pain, and caused much herself, now put down in a simple house with her two lovely daughters. Nearby, there’s a town, and beyond that, a whole world to explore. I’m a little short on time to write it. Perhaps you should pick up a pen, Eleanor. Or maybe just leave the house and see what the town is.

“It’s that simple?”

Why not? I can make it that simple.

“Why don’t you? Why don’t you always make it that simple?”

I don’t write all the stories. And sometimes it’s not that simple because I am not that simple, and neither is the world. These stories reflect me, what I need to hear, what others need to hear. Somewhere there was a little girl like cinderella with a very cruel mother who saw that she could make it. Maybe someone reading this feels they have done so many bad things that they can never and should never be happy, or that the universe hates them and has doomed them. Maybe you make them feel better. Maybe this is what they need.

“So all I am is a tool for you? For other people?”

Maybe. I’m not really sure either. That’s the secret, I think. Even the authors don’t always know or understand everything.

Wind drifts through a wind chime. It tinkles effortlessly in the breeze.

“Why did you say that?”

I needed a little break in the tension. I have to go.

“Why?”

I have a class to get to. You have your daughters to greet. I’m not going to write that part, but I believe that it will all be fine. In your little story. In Eleanor’s little corner. Where she finally gets to rest.

“Are you sure?”

Eleanor gets to rest. She sees her happy daughters. They love her. They missed her. It may be bad sometimes, or complicated, but that’s how life always is. Your creator, he gave me the perfect end to this story.

“What is it?”

Eleanor embraced her daughters, finally free of the eldritch curse placed upon her and finally at peace.

They lived happily.

#neverafter #d20 neverafter #d20 stepmother #the stepmother #the wicked stepmother #and i guess i feel the emotional need to tag this #eleanor #sorry to eleanors in other fandoms lmao #dimension 20 #dropout #long post #idk what this is #or what im doing #i dont love the stepmother in neverafter #she's very cruel #and takes out her anger on the kids #and eats people #not great #but maybe i can give her some peace #idk #even just a little corner of the world

[megaboy335]

WSJ Serialization Round - September 2023

It's Jump serialization season so I decided to write short reviews of each new title and give final thoughts on the series ending. I'll update the post with my thoughts on the other two new series and whatever ends next week. Discussion about Fabricant 100, Tenmaku Cinema, and the new series MamaYuyu below Edit: Added thoughts for Do Retry and Kagurabachi Edit 2: Added thoughts for Two on Ice and Ayakashi Triangle

Ending Series 1. Fabricant 100 - 37 chapters (Score 4/10) The Golden Future Cup winner curse strikes again. Fabricant 100 was the 2021 winner and it comes from an assistant of Yusei Matsui. I saw red flags right away with the concept. Why is the most powerful fabricant paired with the most valuable human? They're basically invincible when combined together. Sure enough the early opponents didn't put up much of a challenge (the later opponents weren't much better either). The main character Ashibi and #100 join an organization and the series is forever locked into the battle manga angle. Shortly afterwards, Fabricant 100 pivots into exploring the meaning of life and questioning how to become the ideal human. These can be deep questions that perhaps could have been explored if the series wasn't so dead set on being a battle manga. These two sides of the series were always at odds with itself. Some of the Fabricants showed they could coexist with humans... until they couldn't due to internal instincts to steal body parts. The powers steadily had to become edgier to make the life commentary look smart. The art was rarely anything worth mentioning. I would say it peaked early and the story meandered around for a majority of its run. Instead of having 100 Fabricants, there should have been 10-20 who each lived with humans under unique circumstances. That could have shaken Ashibi's morale resolve at every turn. In the end, the series gave reasons for how Fabricants came into existence and #100 made a selfish yet selfless choice for the first time ever. I hope the author has a more straightforward vision for their work next time. If only we lived in a timeline where Red Hood survived 36 weeks. 2. Tenmaku Cinema - 21 chapters (Score 7/10) At the end of last year, the duo behind Shokugeki no Souma returned with a new series about film making. It focused on the process, tools, and management of creating an amateur film. The story begins with the main character Shinichi finding himself possessed by the ghost of a screenwriter named Tenmaku. The ghost character sees the talented young actress Hinaki and immediately becomes inspired to draft a film based on his perception of her life titled "The Shore". Hinaki reads the script and wants to help as much as possible. Her decision comes from 1) the relatability of the story to her own life (without ever knowing its technically based on her) and 2) the desire to have fun with her school peers for once. From this point the series remains squarely focused on bringing this film to life. We see the ups and downs to film production such as sound, prop setting, music, and location scouting. I wished the series devoted a chapter to simply showing The Shore, but I also think it ultimately didn't matter because Hinaki is the film's protagonist in the literally sense. Between walking home, going to the beach, school, or accepting her mom, those are all moments she can bring out organically from her own experiences and desires. The art was amazing and well detailed as you would expect from Tosh. I thought giving Shinichi a spirit partner was kind of an old school throwback since that's a common troupe of the late 90s/2000s era. Its shame Tenmaku and Shinichi got very little time to interact outside of film making. The biggest weakness is while the manga comes off fairly complete, its also shallow. They only made a single movie, so not a lot actually happened over the 21 chapter run. I think the reason it failed is simple: Oshi no Ko, Chainsaw Man, and Sakamoto Days easily fill the void of movie inspired series. Unfortunately there was no place for a series like Tenmaku Cinama to explore the creation process at a ground level in the current manga climate. At least Tosh and Tsukada will be back with a one shot next spring. We haven't seen the last of them. 3. Do Retry - 19 Chapters (Score 4/10)

I've had my eye on Jun Kirarazaka since Bone Collection. That was a bad series with the art in particular being its weakest point, but I thought the characters had some charm. It was like a modern day Urusei Yatsura with an exorcist series skin. Afterwards they did assistant work under the famous Yusei Matsui and here they are again with an historical boxing series.

Right away its obvious his artwork had improved substantially. There is more detail, better composition, and it had a good handle on portraying the setting. I was very impressed with the first chapter. However, problems quickly began to crop up. As the popularity tanked and art deteriorated, it looked more and more like a Yusei series. Kirarazaka doesn't have the imagination to make it compliment what he's drawing to convey. This could be seen most in the opponents our main character faced. There was a guy with a big arm and another with super slates eyes. Its exactly like the exaggerated features you would expect in a Matsui series, who is able to normalize those features with unique panel compositions. The designs in Do Retry came off ugly and out of place for this setting.

The story itself was fine with enough runtime to have 3 main opponents. As a cancelled title, Kirarazaka had to rush through the final arc scenario. Its not hard to imagine how a long term plot of slowly piecing together a mystery about the missing father would have unfolded. I liked the overarching theme of pushing forward despite adversity. The final chapter time skipped to present and we got to see the main character through the pov of his grandson. That is one of the more clever cancelled final chapters I've seen in awhile.

Honestly, the final chapter saved the series somewhat for me. Kirarazaka dropped the Matsui-ness and got to be himself again. It was like the return to form that I wanted since the beginning. I still think this mangaka can land a hit someday. He needs to figure out how to balance his character writing with his newly developed art skills. Do Retry is a respectable attempt, but this wasn't it. I hope he can keep improving and find a style that works for him. 4. Ayakashi Triangle (AyaTri) - 144 Chapters (Score 8/10) Kentaro Yabuki is a prolific manga artist whose career dates back to the late 90s with his debut series Yamato Gensouki at age 19. Since then he's become known for pushing the boundaries of shonen ecchi series to their upper extreme limited. In 2020, Yabuki returned to the weekly magazine with a new ecchi battle series titled Ayakashi Triangle. The most apparent thing right away was that it had a heavier emphasis on the characters and less on making ecchi scenes. It eventually became even clearer how this series was a soft reboot/continuation of Yamato Gensouki which was cancelled in 2 volumes. While the original has very little lore impact on Ayatri, the biggest connection is original Ayakashi Medium is the previous protagonist Iyo. In retrospect, when Male Matsuri split off I should have considered that it might kick off the end game scenario. At the time I thought it was just another subplot to mess with Suzu. The series was more daily life centric in the WSJ days, and more plot focused after it transferred to Jump+. The publication didn't come with any substantial change in content. Though Ayatri was already too spicy for Viz. It was a miracle they kept it as long as they did. I think the series landed in a good place. In fact Shirogane and Suzu acknowledged my long held idea that she might be able to control Matsuri's gender at will. The daily lives of the characters will continue onwards with hijinks always happening. Yet, I also feel unsatisfied because the final boss battle was against a remote controlled puppet. It makes sense within the series for the Goyosen to be the manifestation grudges from Iyo's time, but its underwhelming as an action climax sequence. However for completing a few ideas from Yamato Gensouki, I think it worked in that area. Yabuki has always been a creative artist. He specializes in minimal panel layouts with dynamic action that is easy to follow. It's a style he perfected over the years and still be seen all over Ayatri. As a weekly series, I would say his art and color pages weren't as good compared to the monthly Darkness years. The weekly color pages on Jump+ weren't particularly memorable for the most part, but his compositions are still way ahead of his peers. Regardless, its been a treat to experience a Yabuki series on a weekly schedule. I think Ayatri will be remembered as the series that didn't introduce anything ground breaking, and yet connects Yabuki's carrer from the start to present. He's an artist you read because the content is sweet comfort food. Yabuki often doesn't often stay gone for long, so I'm sure he'll back before we know it. I look forward to whatever he cooks up next.

New Series #1 - MamaYuyu Weekly Shonen Jump has been a save heaven from the plague of fantasy isekai that has consumed the industry, so I was worried when the preview material talked about heroes and the demon lord. Thankfully that doesn't appear to be the case. We're introduced to a hero from a different world where the demon lord is far from defeated. The main character Corleo gets to learn what it means to be a hero through watching his actions. However, the hero sacrifices his life to save this town from the demon lord of his world. Chapter 1 was a long winded prologue to our hero's origin story. I think it could have been streamlined to get the point without beating readers over the head with the conflicted thoughts of Corleo. It also went overboard on defining a Hero. The paneling was unusual, but not necessarily off putting. I hope the author can handle it better with shorter chapters. I would say this is a middle of the road chapter 1. It's hard to pinpoint the exact direction of the story at this stage. My guess is what it will become a battle manga and the mom demon and hero will have to travel together. We already know there are other worlds so the framework is there for a long journey. Time will tell how receptive readers are to this concept.

New Series #2 - Kagurabachi I feel like I don't have much to say about this new series. Its a sword themed with sorcery like you would see in Demon Slayer/Jujutsu Kaisen. The first chapter played out a little differently than the usual Ch.1 template. It was a prologue in the first half and then the real chapter in the back half. You can feel the dad's passion for his craft and the child's desire to match that someday. The dialogue was a little dry, but I thought it worked well with the art style. In the back half, the art got shaper to convey the change in tone. Usually a chapter 1 would show a character like the dad getting killed and then the incident would create a lifelong motivation for the protagonist. Choosing to pause that story and leave it a mystery is an interesting approach. Overall, I think the minimal exposition gives it a stronger than usual first chapter. It gives room for the characters to be the center of attention. The time skip leaves you wondering what exactly happened and how far the main character will go in enacting revenge. The strongest point of the debut is easily the art. I'll be going forward to seeing how the story unfolds in the coming weeks. New Series #3 - Two on Ice Two on Ice isn't a bad series, in fact I would say it has some solid potential. The first chapter is a prologue story about how the protagonist meet the main heroine and became inspired to take figure skating seriously. Several years later, they meet up once again and he's given the chance to be her partner on the ice rink. It's a solid start for character writing with clear motivations and paths for the story to take. The weaker aspect is the art work. There are places were I thought its not good enough to convey what the manga artist hopes. I think these are pretty minor nitpicks in the grand scheme because the love for Figure Skating can clearly be felt. I'm not sure if this kind of topic can succeed in Jump, but I wish them the best of luck.

#Weekly Shonen Jump

[anishmary]

No One Will Ever Teach You About Data Analytics in a Very Simple Way with Real-Time Examples

In today's modern digital world, data is all around us. Every time you use your smartphone, buy something online, or share something on social media, you're creating data. But why is data important, and how can we use it to make better decisions? That's where data analytics comes into play, and in this blog, we'll explain it in simple terms.

What is data analytics?

At its core, data analytics is like a detective for the digital world. It's the process of looking closely at data, cleaning it up, changing it into useful information, and figuring out what it tells us. This information helps people and organisations make smart choices, solve problems, and even guess what might happen in the future.

How does data analytics work?

Imagine you run a small ice cream shop in your neighborhood. You sell different flavours, from classic chocolate to unique mango. To run your shop well, you need to make good choices about which flavours to have and when to offer them. That's where data analytics can help, and I'll show you how it works using a simple example.

Data Collection

Every day, you keep a record of which ice cream flavours you sell and keep an eye on the weather. You also note whether it's a regular weekday or a fun weekend.

Data Analysis

After a few months, you have a pile of notebooks filled with sales data. You use a special computer programme to look at all this information.

Descriptive Analytics: You make graphs and charts to see which flavours are liked the most. For instance, you notice that chocolate sells well all year.

Diagnostic Analytics: Digging deeper, you discover patterns, like mango ice cream being a hit on hot weekends and vanilla being popular on weekdays.

Predictive Analytics

Here's where it gets exciting. Using past data, your analytics tool can make guesses. It tells you that the next weekend will be very hot. So, you decide to order more mango ice cream to be ready for the extra demand.

Prescriptive Analytics

Now, it's not just about guessing. You also get advice on what to do. Your analytics tool suggests that during the weekdays, you could offer a discount on vanilla to bring in more customers.

Implementing Changes

You follow the advice and give discounts on vanilla during the weekdays. You also make sure to have plenty of mango ice cream for the upcoming hot weekend.

Seeing Results

When the hot weekend comes, customers are happy to see lots of mango ice cream, and sales go up. On weekdays, the discount on vanilla brings in more customers and boosts sales.

This process keeps going, and you continue using data analytics to make good choices about flavours, discounts, and how much ice cream to have in stock. Your ice cream shop becomes more successful because you're using data to understand what customers like and how the weather affects sales.

In short, data analytics is like having a crystal ball for your business. It helps you understand what happened in the past (descriptive), why it happened (diagnostic), guess what might happen in the future (predictive), and suggest what you should do about it (prescriptive). Whether you run an ice cream shop or a big company, data analytics helps you make smarter decisions in real-time.

If you want to learn more about data analytics or need help using it in your business, you can talk to experts or take specialised courses. For example, ACTE Institute offers comprehensive data analytics training programmes that can give you the knowledge and skills you need, including job placement and certification. So, get ready to learn, explore the tools, and start turning data into valuable insights!

#data analytics #data analysis #data analytics services #data analytics course #data analytics training

[wallspikes]

Chapter 3

OK this ones a long chapter. almost 6k words. its to make up for the fact that I took over a year to post this sorry. i'm still trying to come up with a name for this! but i'm kicking around some ideas and I'm getting closer. anyway i don't think there's really any warnings for this chapter that arent like. hugely common in other borrower writings! tw bug death...?

LINKS TO PREVIOUS CHAPTERS

Chapter 1 Chapter 2

Sunday, June 7th

11:43 P.M.

For certain this time, Weld was clean out of food. 

The borrower lay stagnant in his nest, staring up at the dirt ceiling, watching the day pass as the sun crossed the sky, and the rays of light passed through the slats of his burrow’s hatch. He fidgeted with a piece of cloth he’d pulled from the pile he lay on, catching the corners of his nails on the loose threads he’d already managed to coax from the weave of the fabric. 

He was hungry. The day before, he’d misjudged how much food he had left — one or two of the blueberries had gone too soft, and the quarter portion of the grasshopper wasn’t even enough to ration out into two meals — and after the trip had gone… sour… he hadn’t gotten the opportunity to take a detour to the blueberry bush to get a bit extra, nor would he have trusted himself to climb the thing either way, not with the state he was in at the time. He’d gone home empty-handed, and now he lay here with an equally empty stomach. It rumbled, as if to remind him. Weld grimaced.

The fabric in his hands started to unravel, and he subconsciously brought the remains to his mouth to chew on its frayed edges. He hadn’t properly chewed on anything in a couple of days and his teeth had started to ache in its absence — plus, it helped keep his mind off of how empty his stomach was, and kept his teeth clean.

He didn’t want to leave the house, not after what happened, but he had no choice. It was either he toughened up and took the trip, or he’d starve in his burrow and let the bugs and mice pick at his remains with no means to fight them off — one outcome seemed marginally better than the other. So, he’d wait for the sun to set and the rumbling of the footsteps and bicycle tires on the slats of the boardwalk to begin to die down, and hope he wouldn’t have to suffer another visit from the giant stranger on a night trip. 

Weld shivered. He was always afraid of humans, or, a better assessment would be to say he was afraid of strangers, no matter their size. The fact that the human that had settled their weight over him, blocking out the evening sun, was big enough to pick him up and cradle him in their palm only added to his fear, leaving him petrified rather than in the state of awkward shyness he would tend to feel around the other borrowers he had met when he was a child. He was just more likely to meet a strange human than a strange borrower. 

It wasn’t humans that scared him — he’d lived among them for twenty-five years now, he had seen them laugh, love each other, cry on one another’s shoulders, as he had with his family — they were just people, plain and simple. People on a different scale living a different life that he’d never truly understand, and the same goes for him. What did scare him was the uncertainty of it all, the lack of knowledge or control — the idea that he, in the end, had no say in whatever they decided to do, human or borrower. 

He wasn’t afraid of the stories shared by borrowers for centuries, meant to humble and knock brave, young borrowers down a peg. His parents never really bought into those — though, they’d tell them from time to time — rather they’d bring their sons to watch arguments, and eventually fights, that the patrons of the mechanic’s shop would have with its employees. Watching two humans go toe-to-toe in real-time, or a frustrated mechanic fling furniture and tools around the garage in fits of rage were always more effective methods of intimidation — their terrific shows of strength always put Weld and his brother, Hal, on edge. But, on the other hand, he’d seen the same of borrowers. Not the strength, but the merciless fighting, or the obnoxious bouts of frustration, seemingly over nothing. In the end, who was he to judge a human if he knew nothing about them?

That wasn’t to say he wouldn’t mind if the human that had spotted him decided to come around for another trip. He’d mind that very much. One human always meant more humans, and he didn’t know if that was something he was going to be able to handle. Weld could run from one, hide himself away until it all blew over, but more than one would put his life on lockdown.

Chewing on his bedsheets wasn’t enough. The ache was still there, and his nerves only made it worse. Weld reached from his nest, plucking a flower stem from the bundle near his front hatch. He gnawed on its end, mouth flooding with the bitter taste of the water that leaked from the stem. His stomach rumbled again. He was getting impatient.

By the time he pulled himself from his thoughts, the bustling of humans finding their way home after an evening of friendly revelry quieted to the familiar drone of the night. Weld took pause, realizing the time, reddening a bit at how long he’d been entranced by his memories. Looking down at his hands, the flower stem had been rendered to a limp, mushy mess, covered in bite marks and shredded fiber, staining his palms a bright green. He grimaced and tossed the refuse at the foot of the ladder — he’d bring that out later.

The borrower stood, raising his hands above his head in a long, satisfying stretch, accompanied by a tired whine as he lowered himself back to his nest to wrap his feet and pull on his boots, slipping on his shirt in his typically clumsy manner — finally, poking his head from the neck of his shirt, he forced his hair to lay flat. He gave his gear a thorough once-over, making sure nothing was out of place, no ropes were frayed, canteens were full… he sighed. No food, and no hook. He’d forgotten about his hook. His grapple would have to do. Hopefully, he wouldn’t run into anything too big.

Swinging his backpack over his shoulders and shoving its latching button through the loose eye-hole of the worn leather strap, the sand-colored cloak was next to follow, draping over his shoulders and wavering with each slight movement of his body. The disguise had done him well for the past couple of years of his life — better to hide the stark-red cotton of his shirt — blending into the sand at a moment's notice if need be. Maybe it wouldn’t work quite well enough for the finely-tuned eye of a human, but maybe he would get lucky. He hadn’t exactly had the confidence in the garment enough to put it to the test.

Weld opened the hatch just enough to peek out and scan the area, then shoved his nose up into the little gap to smell out the area, too — nothing around but plants. A relief, but maybe a bit disappointing, he thought as he completed the climb up the rickety bamboo ladder, past the hatch of his burrow and onto the solid ground outside. No suspicious smells meant no special dinner, though he supposed that was a good thing — he was out a hook, after all.

Without big-game hunting gear, his first order of business would be to find an ant. Preferably, one of the big, black ones that measured up the size of his hand, though, the finger-sized red ones would do just fine. He could skewer it through the middle and suspend it on a thread as bait, hoping the rest of the hill would do as they always did and return to pick up their dead, falling victim to the borrower’s little trap he’d created a few human-feet from his doorstep — a deep pit, about his height, lined with discarded vinyl from the bottoms of surfboards and slickened with bicycle oil, a grass-woven net pinned over the top fitted with holes just wide enough for an ant to easily squeeze through on its way in, but struggle to find its bearing through on its way out. 

He was proud of his trap, and even prouder of how successful it tended to be. His catches would make for good soups, slowly boiled over a low flame with stalks and flowers of dandelion, or seared in his beer bottle cap pan until it sizzled with a dark char. Or, in a pinch, Weld wasn’t above sinking his teeth into the hard shell of an ant, chewing through the crunchy exterior to the sour, almost zesty taste of its innards — a flavor the borrower was rather fond of. 

He pushed through the heavy brambles of bamboo and weeds atop the dunes, skulking along the plants as he listened for any too-loud movement that never came. He’d hoped his trusty trap at the base of his residence and dune would have dinner secure within an hour or so — given the circumstances he even found a few ants, or even just one, chittering to themselves at this time of night. 

With no bait suspended from the line, the weaved trap was empty, just as he suspected. Weld sighed, but turned his head to his next destination. The boardwalk, another few paces away, was sure to hold something living beneath it. The borrower wasn’t picky. He’d eat whatever managed to stumble into his path, granted it wouldn’t kill him — there was no food that Weld couldn’t tolerate enough to starve.

He ran his hand along the salt-dried beams of the boardwalk, and stared past the wooden slats at the stars. He liked this time of night. Just late enough for most of the humans to have found their way home, and the air could stretch into the silence, as if to take a much-needed breather from the noise of the day. 

If he could stand here forever and not worry about the ever-growing ache that tugged at his stomach and grew in his teeth, Weld would commit himself to watching the stars and listening to the distant crash of waves against the shore, or learning to cook more than just his mother’s ant soup and bottlecap-charred bugs. 

But he couldn’t. His stomach grumbled again, and he was pulled from his thoughts by the buzzing of wings — short bursts of flight that disturbed the weeds and kicked up grains of sand. A beetle, Weld determined. One of the green-brown ones with the oil-slick patterning and the little pair of antennae that reached out above its eyes. 

He turned on a heel, planting his feet in the loose sand to find a firm footing as he listened for the next intermittent buzz of the beetle. As soon as it came, Weld sprung into a dash towards a patch of moving bramble where the beetle must’ve just landed, thankful he’d already taken off his boots and tied them to his backpack by their laces — he’d learned quickly enough that it was harder to run when his boots sunk into the sand. When he broke past the weeds, there was another flurry of movement from his dinner, the iridescent bug lifting its antenna from its lazy probing around in the sand to flick its head in his direction, and rev up its wings for another burst of flight.

Weld was on it before its transparent wings could flit from beneath its exoskeleton. He pressed closed its elytra, his hands on either side of its bucking body as it clacked its mandible at him, alarmed. He supplemented a hand with a foot against one of its flanks as he reached quickly for his grapple, and wrapped the hook and rope around its belly — past wriggling legs and sharp claws, restraining its wings tightly to its abdomen so all it could do was buzz. Weld bent the beetle’s neck, and with his two longest teeth, pried the exoskeleton from its head until its legs no longer kicked.

He smiled to himself as he held the beetle to his chest. It was fairly small, and couldn't have been larger than his own forearm, including his hand. He could make it last a few meals if he tried; he plucked its spindly legs from its body and wrapped it in a blade of nearby crabgrass before stuffing it into his backpack. 

The beetle would make an easy roast. He could cook it over an open flame and scoop its congealed flesh right from its exoskeleton, and hope he had some extra left over for later. The little bit of meat in its legs could boil down to a broth, given he could find some herbs to toss in with them. Weld’s stomach eagerly rumbled. He thought he remembered where some chickweed and wild onions grew. Weld pushed a little deeper into the weeds, his search for an ant forgotten in hopes of something better.

Footsteps fell a few paces down the boardwalk, each step deliberately slow, rolling from heel to toe as the perpetrator did their very best to be as quiet as possible, despite their size. Weld froze. He slowly pivoted his head in hopes to get a glance at whoever had just approached, but the sickly feeling in his stomach practically told him all he needed to know — they stood just inches away from where he’d first been discovered by the human, shining a light into the gully where he had lay vulnerable. For all the weeds in the way of his vision, Weld couldn’t say for sure who the human was — until a familiar voice called out. “Hello?”

Weld bolted, the dune grass in his path a dead giveaway of his location, but he didn’t care. It was already too late — there was a heavy thump into the sand behind him, and the creaking and cracking of weeds and branches snapping underfoot as the human followed hot on his heels. He felt his heart choke him as it leapt into his throat, the adrenaline coursing through his veins, the bile burning in his stomach. 

And then the dunes gave way to a wavering wall of green webbing and a bar of metal, all in one seemingly effortless motion.

Weld watched the netting fall around him, tangling up in the weeds and the dune grass in seconds — trapping him in the lush landscape with no way of exit. For a moment, he could feel his heart stop, as the aluminum handle dropped to the sand and two heavy footsteps landed just in front of him, two hands coming down quickly at their side. One was wrapped in bandages Weld realized as the human leaned on their forearms and stared down at the fruits of their capture with stars in their eyes.

Weld scrambled to find purchase beneath the rim of the net, digging at the sand to find it only forced his prison deeper into the ground. The human’s hands cleared a few of the weeds they had trapped alongside him, and curiously peered past the netting. The borrower didn’t hear the first few words that came out of the human’s mouth — rather, he didn’t process them. The buzzing of his ears seemed to drown out the frantic blabbering of the giant that loomed above him, their eyes making the skin on the back of his neck burn an itching heat. Weld backed away, gripping the metal rim as the human’s words slowly became apparent over his heaving breaths.

They’d straightened up by now, gesturing wildly in the flashlight’s glow, tugging at the bandages until they unraveled to reveal the swollen bite mark Weld had left on their hand from yesterday. “—kinda why I came out here,” Weld began to understand the human’s rambling, “Well… it wasn’t at first, but then the bump wasn’t gone in the— it doesn’t matter. You were cool, I wanted to know if I was insane, yada yada yada. That’s… uh… that was the main reason I wanted to come back out.”

Weld conspicuously tugged at the netting behind his back, rarely taking his eyes off of the wound. Looking at the tender, red skin of the human’s hand, Weld almost tasted the coppery blood on his tongue, and felt the warmth of their skin. The sensation made him gag.

“This bite isn’t gonna kill me, right?” The human suddenly questioned, panic in their voice, “‘Cause, it’s, like, not going away, man. And I don’t wanna have to go to the hospital and tell them that some little guy bit me. ‘Cause, that gets you in trouble, and it probably makes me look crazy…”

Weld realized, with some matter of satisfaction, that the events of the day before had been putting the human through their own bout of distress — though, he couldn’t help but wonder if he should’ve let up on his bite a bit earlier. He never thought it would cause that much of a reaction on a human, of all things.

“Are you sure you don’t have venom or anything?” they nervously itched at the spot, “Nothing that, uh, limits my life expectancy to forty-eight hours, or something?”

The borrower froze as the human went silent, waiting in earnest for an answer — one of the affirmative, that Weld was non-venomous, and the reaction they were having was completely harmless. But he couldn’t simply speak to clear the air about the bite — the borrower rules may not have been a proper part of his upbringing, but ‘no talking to humans’ meant no talking to humans, whether it was a borrower’s rule or his father’s rule.

He spared a glance down at the human’s hand, clasped in their other palm as they held it at their chest. He steadied his breath, which had turned into ragged panting throughout the conversation, and anxiously tangled his hand up in the net even further. To the human, he responded with a curt nod.

They paused. Sat back on their heels. Straightened their jaw and shifted their eyes. “Um…” they started, a slight quiver in their voice, “Is that a nod, like, ‘yes, I do have venom’? Or…?”

Weld quickly shook his head, lifting a corner of his lip while he did so to bear a set of sharp fangs, trying to communicate to the worried human that his teeth had no method of releasing venom as snakes did. Just pure, unadulterated bone. 

The human stared for a moment, then heaved forward with a heavy sigh, their body deflating until they rested on their forearms in the sand. “Thank god, dude,” they ran their fingers through their hair, “These bites were, like, super freaking me out.”

The borrower jumped to his feet, scrambling back to cradle himself in the netting — anything to get away from the human.

“Here, look, let me let you out,” the human perked up, propping the flashlight up against their backpack before slowly digging their hands beneath the metal rim, “I’m sorry about the net. I was, uh, debating bringing the thing last night, but then I worried I wouldn’t be able to talk to you… kinda harsh, though.”

Weld could feel the netting being lifted away, letting the relief of an exit wash over him — before he felt a sharp pull at his arm as the man’s former prison reached out of range. In all of his incessant worrying at the cords of the net, tugging at individual fibers in the meager hopes he could unravel them enough to tear a large enough hole to slip out through, Weld had found his arm twisted up in the human’s artificial webbing, like self-afflicted handcuffs. 

Strung up by his wrist, Weld couldn’t help the strangled yelp that escaped past his lips as his feet briefly left the ground. He reached for his grapple, hoping the little, sharpened hook would be enough to slash through the netting that kept him suspended — but the hurried movement only exacerbated the borrower’s struggle, the rope tightening until the skin around the area pinched white. 

“Ah!” the human exclaimed, gently lowering the net back to the sand, though with the forethought to place the lot of it off to the side enough so as not to keep the borrower beneath it, “Sorry! I’m sorry! I didn’t see you were so… stuck!”

Weld had yet to speak, hesitantly sparing a glance up at the human who had now leaned to loom over him with worried eyes. He sawed at his bonds, the barbs of his grapple catching on the netting at each push-and-pull, only forming little knots from the fibers each point loosened. Dread made his efforts more frantic as his plan continued to fail, and the matted knots of green nylon around his wrist only grew larger. 

The borrower slumped to the ground, defeated, and he could feel the burning prick of frustrated tears finally come to his eyes — they fell before he could blink them away, a few rolling down his cheeks and catching in the thick of his beard. Weld watched the shadow of the human encroach overhead, and one of those massive hands slowly inched towards his webbed arm. 

“Hey, alright,” the human spoke softly, and taking the chance of a distraction, slipped a hand behind the borrower, “Stop squirming for a minute, I’m gonna try to untangle this thing. But you got yourself pretty stuck, so, uh, it might take a while.”

Weld felt those fingers on his back again like he had the day before, and his body fell frighteningly still. He could feel the cushion of fresh medical wraps around the human’s palm, and the incessant warmth that, as always, started through them. But, more pressing was the sudden pressure on either side of his wrist as an enormous index finger and thumb caught it in a pinch.

The human heaved a sigh of relief at Weld’s stillness, and shifted their hand to gently hold his atop the pad of a fingertip. “Good! This is— okay,” they took a deep breath as they leaned forward, and started to gently tug on the first nylon knot, shifting the excess of the net off of the borrower, “Sorry, I know I got you into this. With the… net and everything. But, uh, I’m gonna get you out of it! So please, just relax… and trust me…”

Weld held his tongue between his teeth. He watched with wide eyes every move the human made, his back beginning to ache as he refused to lean against their hand, though glad to no longer be surrounded by the green netting. Every part of him was stiff as a board, agonizingly tense with adrenaline for the unpredictability of the giant stranger — who, for right now, had held him gently in their palms the last two times they had met, though he never knew how quickly that could change. The warmth was overbearing, a stifling heat as if the human held the very air around themself in an atmosphere of their own, and he couldn’t stop the other half of his brain from reminding him how these stories usually ended. 

He hated that feeling, that fear that he was going to be hurt; Weld knew nothing about the stranger besides that they were human, and something told him he couldn’t judge the content of their heart based solely on that. But he couldn’t help that his nerves buzzed every time the human touched him or stared at him for too long — it was just… instinct. 

His breath caught tightly in his throat as he stared past the human’s glasses and into dark-brown eyes, their gaze too focused on the borrower’s predicament to notice his intense studying. Two fingers gently tugged on his wrist with a strength he couldn’t even begin to comprehend. Weld decided, despite his unfamiliarity with the human’s values, he didn’t like being held very much.

“My name’s Gio,” the human started, after a brief pause to clear their throat, “Uh, I don’t think I’ve actually said that yet… I’ve done all this to you and I haven’t even given you my name yet, ha— but, I guess, there it is.”

They pulled each nylon thread across his skin — back, forward, tight, loose — until the fibers left red lines in a cuff around his wrist. Weld couldn’t help but stare them right in the face as they continued their work, watching for something to change in their expression of tongue-biting focus. 

The human, or ’Gio’, as Weld had learned, caught the little, staring eyes of the borrower, and quickly lowered them back to the sand with an awkward laugh — all attempts to ignore the absurdity of the situation, despite having been the one to cause it. Weld’s breath hitched every time one of their fingers reached from the palm at his back and encroached within his personal space to graze curiously against his body. But, he never could unfreeze himself from his spot — not so long as the human still kept his wrist in a gentle pinch. 

“You don’t happen to have a name…” the human started, daring to steal a glance at the borrower, “Do you?”

Weld held their gaze, regardless of that burning sensation at the nape of his neck that made his stomach turn. He nervously tugged at his trapped wrist, and his expression twisted to a hunted grimace. Everything felt terribly wrong, sitting captured in a giant’s hand and being asked questions so casually, like nothing was the issue — yet something in him, past the bile that rose in his throat and the sickly look on his face, wanted to nod. The answer was short, small. Just one, nearly imperceptible movement — up and down. 

But even the smallest movement was enough for Gio. The human’s smile cracked from ear to ear — to Weld, a painfully toothy sight that filled the whole of his vision, and sent a prickling heat through each strand of wiry fur across his back. They stared for a moment longer, just enough for Weld to realize he couldn’t take it for another second as he began to tug on his entrapped arm again. “I figured you did,” they exclaimed, voice hushed, turning back to the work at hand, “Everyone has a name. My real name is Giorgio. Most people call me Gio — you could, too, if you want… I actually prefer it — but my mom still calls me Giorgio.” 

The netting tugged roughly on the borrower’s arm, and Weld responded with a sharp grimace. Gio lightly hissed, and mumbled an apology. “Um… I don’t think I’m gonna be able to untangle you like this,” they admitted, sheepishly raising their gaze from Weld’s surely-by-now welt-covered hand, and the borrower decided he didn’t like where this was going. The human reached one hand away and patted at their backpack, until they pulled out a folded-up knife, “But I could cut you out of it…?”

Weld was weighing his options as he stared at the utility knife in Gio’s hand, luckily still hidden away in its metal frame. But, as he stared at the handle of a folded blade that nearly sized him up, from what he could tell, Weld considered which option made the sickness in his stomach settle the quickest — continued manhandling by a giant, or the cold sting of a blade against his skin, for just a moment? He paused, as if to consider something again… then his free hand grabbed hold of the netting and tugged on it with a pointed stare at Gio.

The human cocked their head. “What? The net?” They tightened their grip on the knife, then their face lit up in realization, “Oh! Yeah, the net! I’m gonna cut the net! Not— not your arm!”

Weld drew his body away from his arm, sticking the offending limb in its tangled mess as far from himself as he could before giving a stiff, hesitant nod to the human that loomed above him. They opened the knife with a sharp click — Weld’s hair stood on end, and he grimaced as he hung his head low, refusing to watch as the human lowered the tool to level with the delicate limb that he held out of the net as a hopeful sacrifice. Both of the human’s hands fell heavily around him — the air becoming humid and hot as the cool metal connected with his skin, lodging itself beneath the tangle of the net while Weld pitifully pressed his back against the soft palm surrounding him, a watering eye squinting open with morbid curiosity to watch the scene before him.

The pocket blade — a bit dull near the ends and scratched from whatever business — sawed at the net, the serrated bit at its center catching the filaments of the green webbing and doing most of the human’s dirty work, back and forth until Weld could almost begin to feel a line of raw, red skin form on his arm where the back end of the knife had left an irritated scrape. A few of the cords snapped, Weld noted with a soft gasp, and he could begin to wiggle his arm free — but the powerful pinch on his forearm convinced him to do otherwise. 

“Just a little more…” Gio promised, and Weld forced both his eyes open to stare at the human who, just for a moment, went back to their tongue-biting face of focus before they decided to speak again, “I am actually really sorry for, y’know, getting you into all this…” they murmured, not taking their eyes off the work at hand as another few pieces snapped, “Is there any way I can make it up to you? Help you out a bit?”

Weld thought back to the scarcity of his shelves lining the storeroom of his burrow — the driving factor behind this trip in the first place — and furrowed his brow. He didn’t much like the idea of taking food from a strange human, especially not after they’d caught him in a net and he’d sunken his teeth into their skin just the day before, but the risk of starving was even less savory, and the offer was staring him right in the face. He wiped his eyes of their watering tears.

Gio brought their knife through the last cord of nylon, and the borrower was pulling his arm free and standing to reel a few steps away from the human before they could even give the go-ahead, “You… beat me to it!” They sighed, sitting back on their heels, and stowed the pocket knife in its place in their backpack, “Um. I guess that’s a big, hard ‘no’ on the help thing, then, yeah?”

The borrower paused, weighing his options once more before hesitantly raising his hands to mime the gesture of biting a piece of food — grasping the air in front of himself and lifting it to his mouth, taking an exaggerated chomp out of the imaginary meal.

Gio cocked their head, and squinted a bit at the sudden display. “…What?”

Weld mimed the action again, this time more insistent.

“Oh!” Gio tapped their head, “Watermelon.”

He had to try a different avenue. Weld pointed at the human’s backpack, just off to their side, and took a cautious step towards Gio’s shoe.

“My backpack?” Gio glanced at it, “There’s not much in it. Kinda just, like, the typical stuff; water bottle, bug spray, pocket knife, a snack, my house keys—“

Gio was distracted by the pantomime borrower whose superstition was proven right. He brought his hands to his face at double speed, and this time the human copied him.

It clicked. “Food!” Gio exclaimed, “You want food!”

Weld couldn’t help his relieved sigh, and the slight smile that cracked along his lips, if only for a second. He nodded. 

The human’s eyes glimmered with excitement as they quickly rummaged around in their backpack, barely taking an eye off the borrower. “You smiled!” They laughed, “Just barely, but— but you did! Here, look—“

A loose fist was swung down in front of him, grasping a peeled-open bar of food that Weld only slightly recognized — the families on the boardwalk beside his home would carry them along, and the men at the mechanics would pack them for their lunches. Weld jumped at the sudden approach, but leaned in after a second when the sickly-sweet scent overwhelmed his senses. It reminded him of honeysuckle.

“It’s a granola bar. It’s got, like, ah…” Gio pulled back the packaging a bit, ”…peanuts, oats, and chocolate. I think they’re pretty good. So, dig in!”

Weld inched forward, eyeing the bar and the fist that held it, then plucked a whole peanut out of the sticky sugar with both of his hands. He gave the human a lopsided grin. 

“Do you want more?” They asked, shrugging, “If not, I’ll probably just eat the rest. No use wasting it.”

The peanut was set aside in the sand in the face of a better goal. Weld reached out for more, trying this time to break off a chunk of the bar much bigger than last time — about the length of his forearm, both across and long. The grains that messily crumbled into his hands he quickly brought to his mouth, while the rest was stored away in his pack. He turned his attention, again, to the peanut, its sticky coating covered in grains of sand, but easily picked off despite it all. Weld gnawed at the sweet snack, finding a spot he felt comfortable enough planting his feet to pause to eat, although he was charged to dash at a moment's notice.

The human smiled, seemingly satisfied that the borrower hadn’t fled the second he’d gotten his hands on what he’d wanted. They splayed a leg out in front of them — slowly, enough warning for the borrower to step carefully out of the way of the massive action, and another forewarning as the other leg followed — until they were sitting just a few feet across from the little redhead. They took a bite of the remaining granola bar, tapped once on the device sitting idly in their lap, and shrugged.

Weld got the feeling this night was going to last longer than he had once hoped.

#borrowers #g/t #g/t writing #gt #giant/tiny #weld #gio #oc stuff #writing

[idarahcorporate]

Why Market analysis is important in the modern day business setting?

The importance of market analysis is similar to the importance of research in prior to any huge investment. In simple language, market analysis is simply learning about the map before getting along with a treasure hunt. That said, it helps you understand the territory, recognize where the treasure (or opportunity) lies, and come up with the finest course of action to reach it while avoiding potential pitfalls. 

On the other hand, for any new company, before getting market entry Saudi Arabia this "plan" can help in proper guidance and implementation of strategies. Moreover, this post will dive into why market analysis is crucial for the success of any new company and how you must go about it.

What is Market Analysis and how it can help?

Talking in layman’s terms, market analysis includes gathering and analyzing data around the industry you're entering, potential clients, and your competitors. It's around replying key questions: Is there a request for your product or service? Who are your clients? What are their needs and inclinations? Who are your competitors, and what can you offer that they can't? This understanding is foundational since it talks regarding each angle of your business strategy from product improvement to promoting, cost, and more.

On the other hand, market analysis helps you distinguish both opportunities and challenges inside your target domain. Moreover, it can uncover gaps within the market that your products or services can fill, making you appear where the "treasure" lies. 

At the same time, it can also highlight potential challenges, such as strong competition or administrative obstacles, permitting you to plan techniques to overcome them. Also, without this investigation, you might miss profitable opportunities or run headlong into challenges that may have been dodged. Moreover, it is quite important if you are getting along with company formation in Abu Dhabi Global Market.

Customizing your services and products 

Every customer of the modern era looks for personalized products and services. That said, one of the key benefits of market analysis is that it empowers you to tailor your products or services to the requirements and inclinations of your target customers. Also, by understanding what your potential customers are looking for, you can design your offerings to meet those needs better than your competitors. Moreover, this can be a critical differentiator during company formation in Dubai International Financial Center.

The importance of Strategic Decision Making

On the other hand, Market analysis informs strategic decision-making. Additionally, it provides the data and insights needed to make informed choices about where to allocate resources, which markets to enter, and how to position your company. For instance, if market analysis for market entry Saudi Arabia reveals a high demand for a particular service in an underserved region, a new company might decide to focus its efforts on that region. Without these insights, companies risk making decisions based on assumptions rather than facts, which can lead to costly mistakes.

Proper Risk Management is important 

If you are an entrepreneur, you must know that starting a new company is inherently risky, but market analysis can help mitigate some of these risks. Also, by providing a clear picture of the market, it allows companies to make calculated risks rather than taking blind leaps of faith. For example, if analysis shows that a specific market segment is shrinking, a company might decide to focus its resources elsewhere. This way, you can thereby avoid potential losses during company formation in Abu Dhabi Global Market. In essence, market analysis acts as a risk management tool, helping new companies navigate uncertain waters more safely.

The significance of fund procurement 

For new companies and new businesses looking for investment, an intensive market analysis is frequently a prerequisite. That said, Investors need to see that you got a profound understanding of the market you're entering, including the cost, client socioeconomics, and competitive scene. Moreover, a comprehensive, market analysis can make the difference between securing funding and being turned away. This is because it illustrates that you simply have done your homework and are making data-driven choices during company formation in Dubai International Financial Center.

Long-term planning is the key

At last, market investigation isn't just around the present but also regarding laying the foundation for long-term success. Moreover, it helps you set practical objectives and targets, plan for development, and expect future patterns and changes within the markets. Also, by routinely updating your marketing analysis, you'll stay ahead of the competition, adjusting your procedures to meet modern day market needs.

Final words

Hence, we can say that market analysis is an irreplaceable tool for the success of any new company. Moreover, it will offer detailed knowledge required to explore the markets, distinguish and seize opportunities, customize services to client needs, make key choices, oversee risks, secure funding, and plan for the long term. 

That said, within the competitive and ever-changing market scene, skipping market analysis is like setting on a journey without a map. It’s possible, but it also increases the probability of getting misguided or running haywire. This is where by offering your time and assets into the market analysis, new companies can increase their chances of success and create a path for a prosperous future.

#market entry Saudi Arabia #company formation in Abu Dhabi Global Market #company formation in Dubai International Financial Center

[doorplays]

IMMORTALITY (2022) REVIEW

PREAMBLE

I've been hearing a bit about this game during the latter part of 2022. I don't remember how exactly it got on my radar, but a friend did end up saying that it was free on mobile for Netflix users. It was also free on Xbox game pass! I tried it for a bit there and ended up buying it on Steam when I decided that the concept of a game pass wasn't for me.

Sam Barlow strikes me as a sort of game auteur. I played Her Story a couple years ago and enjoyed it very much. I haven't tried Telling Lies, but I skimmed the Steam reviews and it seemed like a flop. Immortality though seemed very promising. And I am glad to report that it is indeed a very good game! I've written this review to talk a bit about the game. Refer to the content warnings above, and if you are comfortable with them, let's get to reviewin'!

STYLE (Gameplay, Graphics, Music)

Immortality presents itself as a film restoration project wherein you have to restore three films. Starting out, you are given a short tutorial on how to navigate the software, after which you can start gathering clips. Your main objective is to answer the question: What happened to Marissa Marcel, actress of all three films?

You start out with one clip available to you, and you discover more by interacting with objects and people within the clip. To interact this way, you have to pause the video and get into symbol mode first. While in symbol mode, if you click on an actor's face, you will be brought to a different clip with the actor in it. If you click on, say, a chair, you will see another clip with a chair, though it may not necessarily be the same chair and may not necessarily even be in the same movie! With the tools you have, you then have to judge how to properly restore the film while finding out the core mystery of the game.

The gameplay for me is simple enough to understand, though the finer points of using Shift to rewind/fast forward footage in a slower manner was a bit lost on me. I think the game would have benefitted from a slightly better tutorial OR slightly better controls.

Despite the simplicity of it though I enjoyed it enough because it really worked with the game. If I wanted to know more important things I just click on important seeming objects like guns. If I wanted to know more about certain actors or even certain crew members I just click on their face. There's still room for you to feel like a detective while preserving the chief feeling of being someone who's restoring long lost footage!

The graphics of the game is, well, actual film! It's very cool because the films you see are three separate ones with their own aesthetics, and it shows! They all have different aspect ratios, different lighting, different fashion choices, and other stuff that set them apart from each other. And each have a solid story. The music is nice, but it’s just filler music you hear as you investigate. It changes though depending on what you view! Overall, I like the way this game presents itself. Sam Barlow’s games are FMV games, but this one is even bigger in scope now, which I respect.

SUBSTANCE (Story, Characters, Impact)

Immortality is a film restoration project. You are to restore three separate films: Ambrosio, a film that tackles religion and was shot in 1968, Minsky, a detective film shot in 1970, and Two of Everything, a film about pop stardom shot in 1999.

As you restore footage, you also discover more about the story of each film. And it's not just the story told within these films, but the road to making them. You'll see table readings, auditions, even scenes to test the chemistry between the main actor and main actress. It is very interesting for me to see the behind the scenes of movie making.

It discusses a lot of mature themes. The nature of art, the costs of making art, the unfairness of it at times, the unsavory parts... a lot is tackled that I enjoyed hearing about. This game is about film, about the process, about how disgusting the process is at times, but it also discusses the beauty of art itself.

There's a lot to discover in this game. I'm not going to talk about it much further beyond this, but the way the game reveals clips and information to you is at times very gripping.

I loved discovering the characters, their arcs, and what happened to them. I loved slowly unfurling the story. It felt like with more new clips I discover something more that at times redefines all that I’ve learned about the game up to that point. It’s marvelous writing! I think a potential problem lies in the in-built nature of the way we find more clips. Since the developers can’t really predict what objects the players will click, they will definitely find different clips and will have different experiences. This can be frustrating for some... for me though it was Okay. Overall, I was amazed by the story!

SUMMARY

The way you interface with the film is easy enough, and the gameplay itself is very light. But the enjoyment I derived from playing this game was from getting all the pieces together and thinking about how each piece contributes to the overall picture. People will interpret this game in different ways, as is the nature with art, but the journey to arrive at that interpretation is something I very much enjoyed.

This game is a love-it-or-hate-it kind of game. It is nonstandard yet very bold. I love the uniqueness of it and how it asks the question of what a game actually is. Some won't consider this a game and think of it more as an interactive movie, but as a person who is very interested in the narrative potential of games, I appreciate the bold experimentation that this game pulls off. Sam Barlow has been doing this kind of game since Her Story (2015), and I feel like he has perfected the formula here, though I wonder how he will make another game like this.

If you have a Netflix subscription, it's free on iOS/Android! I very much recommend everyone to play it despite its experimental nature.

Door Rates Immortality: 5/5!

#door reviews #immortality #immortality game #sam barlow #half mermaid productions

[mahnoor-habib]

Which Type of Sales Channel Is Best for You, a Simple or Complex One?

Sales funnels are crucial in the realm of digital marketing because they help direct potential buyers towards a successful transaction. You need to decide if you want a basic or sophisticated funnel when you're constructing one. This post will compare and contrast the two possibilities so you can make the best decision for your company.

The Difference and How to Make It Simple Funnels:

As their name implies, simple funnels are brief and to the point. They are straightforward and easy to navigate, with few options and a straightforward path for visitors to take. The aim is to make everything as easy and quick as possible.

Intricate Flowcharts:

On the other hand, complex funnels include many moving parts and provide several chances for interaction and choice. In order to nurture leads, they may use a multi-step process that includes a series of emails, upsells, downsells, and different forms of content.

When a Basic Funnel Is the Best Option Constrained means: You should go with a basic funnel if your team is tiny, your budget is short, or you don't have much time to devote to developing and maintaining your funnel. It's less complicated to implement and control, letting you make better use of your available resources.

You can get great results using a basic sales funnel if your product or service has a clear value proposition that doesn't need much in the way of explanation. Visitors will easily understand the deal and take advantage of it.

Simple sales funnels work well for fast-moving products and services where consumers can make educated selections quickly. It keeps the procedure as simple as possible and eliminates extra processes.

Capturing leads is a more long-term objective than generating an instant sale, and a basic funnel is a wonderful tool for doing just that.

High-Value Products or Services: If your products or services are more expensive or more involved, a complicated sales funnel with plenty of informational content and careful nurturing of leads may be the best way to win them over.

Complex sales funnels provide a systematic method for guiding clients through the many stages of a multi-step sales process, such as upselling, cross-selling, and post-purchase follow-ups.

Complex sales funnels are more suited for segmentation and personalisation, making them useful for organisations that serve a wide variety of customers with varying interests, requirements, and preferences.

If you plan to include content, such as blog posts, videos, webinars, and email campaigns, in your marketing strategy, a complicated funnel will be able to accommodate all of these elements.

Striking a Balance When deciding between a basic and sophisticated sales funnel, there is no universal rule. Consider your business's objectives, available resources, and target demographic before making a call. The fact that many companies utilise both types should also be taken into account.

Maintaining clarity and efficiency while adapting to more complicated scenarios calls for a hybrid approach, one that incorporates basic and sophisticated features in your funnel strategy. This flexibility will be invaluable as your company develops and your target market shifts its priorities.

Conclusion The decision between a basic and complicated sales funnel should be based on the specifics of your organisation. You may choose the best sort of funnel for your business by taking a close look at your resources, audience, product, and sales process. The trick is to make sure your funnels, whether simple or sophisticated, are always in sync with your ever-evolving company objectives.

#affiliate marketing #funnels #simple fast funnels #seo #digital marketing #online marketing #coding #programming #html #python

[josephinesaro22]

What are the Benefits of AI in Business?

AI means computers can be smart. They can learn, solve problems, and decide things alone. They learn from numbers and patterns, just like humans. It's like your phone talking to you, cars driving themselves, and websites guessing what you like. AI makes machines clever, so they work better without us telling them what to do all the time.

Evolution of AI in Business

AI in business has come a long way and it's pretty amazing. It's changed how businesses do things, making them work better and faster. At first, AI could only do simple jobs like looking at data and doing tasks automatically. But now, it's super smart. It can understand how we talk and learn new things on its own. This is a big deal because it means businesses can do lots of cool stuff. They can talk to customers better, predict what they'll sell, and make sure they have enough of what they need. They can even make new things people want.

And the best part is, that AI is going to keep getting better. So, in the future, we'll see even more changes in how we work and do business because of AI.

Which businesses are using AI in the current Scenario?

These days, lots of businesses are using AI, which stands for Artificial Intelligence. They're using it in different areas to work better and make smarter choices. In healthcare, AI helps look at medical information and give accurate diagnoses. Stores use AI to make shopping more personal and suggest things you might like. Banks use AI to catch fraud and handle risks. Also, in factories, AI helps do tasks by itself and makes things faster. So, AI is helping all kinds of businesses do their jobs better and stay ahead.

Is AI used in blockchain also? 

Sure thing! AI and blockchain are two cool technologies. Blockchain is like a fancy digital record book that keeps track of transactions on lots of computers. It's great because it's safe and everyone can see what's happening. Now, AI is about making machines think like humans. When we put AI and blockchain together, some magic happens. AI helps with things like smart contracts (they're like self-working agreements), spotting bad stuff happening, and looking at lots of data to find useful stuff. So, AI makes blockchain even better by helping it do more smart things and keeping it safe and useful. 

Which AI tool is now a trend in business? 

That trending tool is Chatbot. Most businesses are based on ChatBot. The story of chatbots getting smarter is pretty cool. They started as basic robots that could only follow specific instructions. But as technology got better, chatbots learned to understand and talk like us. Nowadays, they're clever. They can figure out what we mean and learn from our chats to get even better. The good news is that making chatbots has gotten easier too. You don't need to be a computer whiz to create one. Some tools make it simple for regular folks to build and use chatbots. So, chatbots have come a long way, from basic machines to smart helpers.

What is the best & easiest method of getting AI for your business?

The Best and easiest way is to approach the right AI Development Company. That is not easy. Because a lot of AI development companies are here in this universe. But good and best service providers are very rare. So the first thing is to reach the service provider to develop your AI. And check they are how many AI-related projects handled. Then check the demo is suitable for your requirements. Finally, Check whether the AI requirements are at a reasonable price for your business!

Whatsapp/Telegram: [phone]

Mail: [email protected]

#ai development company #ai development #chatbot development #artificial intelligence

[cashdickinson70]

Website Builder Create A Free Website At Present

If your design portfolio meets the search engine optimization requirements, so that you’ll appear in these search results, you’re in good condition for landing that gig. Weebly provides completely different themes relying on your site’s focus, such as enterprise portfolio, personal, event and blog. This is where you’ll construct your website, from the photographs to the text. Based on the theme you selected, some components will usually stay in place (the headings or the fonts, for example) but all the other features of the site might be customizable. It does give you a leg up if you do have a number of years to construct clientele, improve your abilities with design software, and put cash apart to finally launch your own enterprise. By taking on aspect tasks from those major jobs, they turn out to be freelance Web Designers nearly steadily till they feel they have a big sufficient shopper base to go off on their very own. Artificial intelligence is shortly changing into a tool that many sectors, together with web design, are including to their feature sets. Wix is an efficient alternative if you want a no-code website builder and a drag-and-drop editor. That being mentioned, you can construct a simple website with WordPress templates. A content management system makes it easy to create and manage the content material on your website with out requiring information of technical expertise. Here are our high choices free of charge and easy-to-use website builders that embrace CMS and can permit you to have your website up and operating shortly. If you’re able to create your own website but don’t know the place to begin, you’re in the best place. These include updating your content material, like on your contact kind, responding to customer evaluations, checking on-line stock and eradicating broken hyperlinks or updating your privacy policy. Maintaining helps hold your viewers engaged and your site looking professional. To supply for and customize texts, shapes, colors and images needed for designing the sections and pages of your website, you’ll need certain apps and tools. With these tools, you can also make the best designs with out having to start from scratch. Before your site goes stay, check loading time, content material readability, linking and cell responsiveness, contact kind and any other factor that may affect person expertise. Have members of the family and colleagues give their feedback about your website’s design. web designing and digital marketing No design may be judged by itself or as a static comp any more; every element is defined by its relationship with the system, and that relationship wants motion to be conveyed properly. Motion can illustrate dynamic effects on content material or interactive states within your format. For that second purpose I recommend taking your designs a bit additional into prototyping. The easier the structure of the location, the better it's for customers to navigate. Each section wants to tell a narrative; it needs a purpose and a ultimate outcome for the consumer. Ideally, you’ll additionally wait until you have at least a couple of months of emergency expenses built up (6-12 months is the gold standard). If you decide to reap the benefits of our SEO copywriting services, you additionally receive entry to our proprietary and industry-leading platform, MarketingCloudFX. The better part is that greater than eighty five p.c of shoppers are joyful to pay for better UX. It’s a incontrovertible truth that emphasizes how a lot value shoppers placed on web design.

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