For a blissful moment, I was bathed in light.Illustration by Abdelbasset kouba 🇩🇿Then I emerged into what looked like a gothic castle, only it wasn't stone like castles from my world. It was all flat, slick black panels.Illustration by Abdelbasset kouba 🇩🇿Illustration by Abdelbasset kouba 🇩🇿I reached out and touched one. It rippled, dissolving into 1's and 0's. I snatched my hand away and was shocked when the panel reformed itself.Illustration by Abdelbasset kouba 🇩🇿"We...

For a blissful moment, I was bathed in light.Illustration by Abdelbasset kouba 🇩🇿Then I emerged into what looked like a gothic castle, only it wasn't stone like castles from my world. It was all flat, slick black panels.Illustration by Abdelbasset kouba 🇩🇿Illustration by Abdelbasset kouba 🇩🇿I reached out and touched one. It rippled, dissolving into 1's and 0's. I snatched my hand away and was shocked when the panel reformed itself.Illustration by Abdelbasset kouba 🇩🇿"We...

In the core of Shintaro's mind, I learned why he was quitting his anime artist job. The reasons were as simple as they were scary.Illustration by Abdelbasset kouba 🇩🇿It all came down to the disconnect between work and income. The work got more demanding each year but the pay never increased. He was approaching his mid-30's and couldn't afford a home or a family.Illustration by Abdelbasset kouba 🇩🇿As he left the anime studio, I heard his inner monologue: "I still want to mak...

In the core of Shintaro's mind, I learned why he was quitting his anime artist job. The reasons were as simple as they were scary.Illustration by Abdelbasset kouba 🇩🇿It all came down to the disconnect between work and income. The work got more demanding each year but the pay never increased. He was approaching his mid-30's and couldn't afford a home or a family.Illustration by Abdelbasset kouba 🇩🇿As he left the anime studio, I heard his inner monologue: "I still want to mak...

Illustration by Abdelbasset kouba 🇩🇿I exited the portal, filled with beautiful visions. It was inspirational... but I still needed answers.Illustration by Abdelbasset kouba 🇩🇿"You saw how tokenization could transform CryptoAnime," said Animod. She ran her hand across a bank of panels. They rippled like water. I asked why they did that.Illustration by Abdelbasset kouba 🇩🇿Symbol of Triunity - co-created with MidJourneyShe explained all destinations in the Metaverse are made from liminal s...

Illustration by Abdelbasset kouba 🇩🇿I exited the portal, filled with beautiful visions. It was inspirational... but I still needed answers.Illustration by Abdelbasset kouba 🇩🇿"You saw how tokenization could transform CryptoAnime," said Animod. She ran her hand across a bank of panels. They rippled like water. I asked why they did that.Illustration by Abdelbasset kouba 🇩🇿Symbol of Triunity - co-created with MidJourneyShe explained all destinations in the Metaverse are made from liminal s...

You can't think when you're in free fall. The disconnection between my body and this situation was surreal. My limbs floated in the slowest of slow motion while everything around me sped by so fast I only picked up faint details.Illustration by Abdelbasset kouba 🇩🇿Stars, then clouds, then night sky, then a neon grid whose squares grew bigger with alarming speed. An awareness dawned that I should brace for a landing. Maybe sooner than later. The fall felt endless but the landing ha...

You can't think when you're in free fall. The disconnection between my body and this situation was surreal. My limbs floated in the slowest of slow motion while everything around me sped by so fast I only picked up faint details.Illustration by Abdelbasset kouba 🇩🇿Stars, then clouds, then night sky, then a neon grid whose squares grew bigger with alarming speed. An awareness dawned that I should brace for a landing. Maybe sooner than later. The fall felt endless but the landing ha...

Once again, I approached the portals. Their orbit changed its alignment to surround me. The portals grew in size and began to swirl around me but I held up my hand. I want to see you all together, I thought to myself. They suddenly split apart then reassembled beneath me like a floor. This made me smile. I started walking the panels, studying them for inspiration.I found it when I spotted Shintaro, the artist who redesigned me. He sat in the corner of a crowded ramen bar in Tokyo, hunched ove...

Once again, I approached the portals. Their orbit changed its alignment to surround me. The portals grew in size and began to swirl around me but I held up my hand. I want to see you all together, I thought to myself. They suddenly split apart then reassembled beneath me like a floor. This made me smile. I started walking the panels, studying them for inspiration.I found it when I spotted Shintaro, the artist who redesigned me. He sat in the corner of a crowded ramen bar in Tokyo, hunched ove...

I ended my previous post by saying I considered my second crossing of paths with the legendary animation producer Masao Maruyama, or Maruyama-san to be my calling to make my contributions to both his and Satoshi Kon’s legacies. I will now explain why and it involves someone who is both a business associate and a friend. Over the years, I've learned to always take a step back from situations and ask what is really going on underneath their surface. In order to gain deeper insights, one ne...

I ended my previous post by saying I considered my second crossing of paths with the legendary animation producer Masao Maruyama, or Maruyama-san to be my calling to make my contributions to both his and Satoshi Kon’s legacies. I will now explain why and it involves someone who is both a business associate and a friend. Over the years, I've learned to always take a step back from situations and ask what is really going on underneath their surface. In order to gain deeper insights, one ne...

Monsters made of stolen, mismatched data surrounded me on all sides. Their distorted hands reached out for me, hungry to strip my data clean.Illustration by TsukiMidnight 🇺🇸I was scared but drew my sword, stumbling as I tried to strike a samurai pose. They laughed in garbled voices. My eyes narrowed. I didn't come this far to be the punchline to a sick joke. Embarrassment gave way to righteous anger. My blade burst into flames as I swung it in a 360 degree circle so graceful it stunned...

Monsters made of stolen, mismatched data surrounded me on all sides. Their distorted hands reached out for me, hungry to strip my data clean.Illustration by TsukiMidnight 🇺🇸I was scared but drew my sword, stumbling as I tried to strike a samurai pose. They laughed in garbled voices. My eyes narrowed. I didn't come this far to be the punchline to a sick joke. Embarrassment gave way to righteous anger. My blade burst into flames as I swung it in a 360 degree circle so graceful it stunned...

I had gotten further than I imagined was possible. I was also more confused than I've ever been.Illustration by Mirsub Fazlani (innovativepixels_art)🇵🇰My ejection from CyberBanker's ship returned me to the void. On one side, I saw a sword-carved passage back to my animated past. On the other side, a small galaxy of portals showing the unhappy creators from the world that spawned me.Illustration by Mirsub Fazlani (innovativepixels_art)🇵🇰I considered retreating into the past. Mayb...

I had gotten further than I imagined was possible. I was also more confused than I've ever been.Illustration by Mirsub Fazlani (innovativepixels_art)🇵🇰My ejection from CyberBanker's ship returned me to the void. On one side, I saw a sword-carved passage back to my animated past. On the other side, a small galaxy of portals showing the unhappy creators from the world that spawned me.Illustration by Mirsub Fazlani (innovativepixels_art)🇵🇰I considered retreating into the past. Mayb...

Animod and I stared each other down as I demanded a reason for trust. She gestured at the dark floor of CryptoAnime .Illustration by Abdelbasset kouba 🇩🇿A portal rose from it. My eyes lit up with recognition. I asked if she created the portals I saw in the void. She nodded.Illustration by Abdelbasset kouba 🇩🇿Illustration by Abdelbasset kouba 🇩🇿The portal housed multicolored glowing lights. Animod said "Enter the heart of CryptoAnime. Look into its code for your answers."The Portal - co-...

Animod and I stared each other down as I demanded a reason for trust. She gestured at the dark floor of CryptoAnime .Illustration by Abdelbasset kouba 🇩🇿A portal rose from it. My eyes lit up with recognition. I asked if she created the portals I saw in the void. She nodded.Illustration by Abdelbasset kouba 🇩🇿Illustration by Abdelbasset kouba 🇩🇿The portal housed multicolored glowing lights. Animod said "Enter the heart of CryptoAnime. Look into its code for your answers."The Portal - co-...

I emerged from Shintaro's world and stood atop the portals once more. It was all coming together. Shintaro sent my portrait to someone and called it a token. This had to be what CyberBanker was talking about.Main Illustration by Miekari (Bahasa, 🇮🇩), using assets created by Mirsub (🇵🇰), Abdelbasset Kouba (🇩🇿), TsukiMidnight (🇺🇸), Junichi Kouchi (🇯🇵), Dedi Januar (🇮🇩), Abid Rozdar (🇵🇰), and Alkinz (🇮🇩)Motion in another portal caught my eye: I spotted the artist who receive...

I emerged from Shintaro's world and stood atop the portals once more. It was all coming together. Shintaro sent my portrait to someone and called it a token. This had to be what CyberBanker was talking about.Main Illustration by Miekari (Bahasa, 🇮🇩), using assets created by Mirsub (🇵🇰), Abdelbasset Kouba (🇩🇿), TsukiMidnight (🇺🇸), Junichi Kouchi (🇯🇵), Dedi Januar (🇮🇩), Abid Rozdar (🇵🇰), and Alkinz (🇮🇩)Motion in another portal caught my eye: I spotted the artist who receive...

It was August 24th, 2010. My brother returned home with a devastating news about the passing of a creator very dear to my heart: generational talent Satoshi Kon was dead at the prime age of 46. He was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in the midst of making his fifth film, Dreaming Machine. Sadly, it is known today as his unfinished film. I thought back how I first encountered Kon's Work. My brother worked at Madhouse and he would often bring me anime DVDs produced by the studio artists. ...

It was August 24th, 2010. My brother returned home with a devastating news about the passing of a creator very dear to my heart: generational talent Satoshi Kon was dead at the prime age of 46. He was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in the midst of making his fifth film, Dreaming Machine. Sadly, it is known today as his unfinished film. I thought back how I first encountered Kon's Work. My brother worked at Madhouse and he would often bring me anime DVDs produced by the studio artists. ...

The flash of light subsided. I was now sky-high in a translucent futuristic spaceship. I looked down at the endless, gleaming tech-landscape scrolling past beneath me. Streams of data and electricity flowed through it like traffic.Illustration by Mirsub Fazlani (innovativepixels_art)🇵🇰A face, half-human and half-machine, appeared on a viewscreen above me. He called himself the CyberBanker and welcomed me to the MetaVerse.Illustration by Mirsub Fazlani (innovativepixels_art)🇵🇰I asked how I...

The flash of light subsided. I was now sky-high in a translucent futuristic spaceship. I looked down at the endless, gleaming tech-landscape scrolling past beneath me. Streams of data and electricity flowed through it like traffic.Illustration by Mirsub Fazlani (innovativepixels_art)🇵🇰A face, half-human and half-machine, appeared on a viewscreen above me. He called himself the CyberBanker and welcomed me to the MetaVerse.Illustration by Mirsub Fazlani (innovativepixels_art)🇵🇰I asked how I...