#my dreams are so long and vivid with complex plots and mechanics

[beeboomachine]

an hours sleep with a bad dream is still an hour

[moonstruck-muses]

same taste of heaven anon back again :) i have so many thoughts omg. first, your idea of the flashes of memories coming back to yn- that would make me so sick. it's so bizarre the first time that surely it must've been a weird dream that just came back to her or smth. and then she gets more and more and seems too vivid to be a dream. literally would have me throwing up bc wtf do you mean my bf drinks my blood without telling me and then makes me forget. god i would be so scared too LOL. idk if you've developed the lore this much in your head but like, would that mean yn just has blackouts in her memory? like she has no recollection of that night if the venom made her forget? oh and also, does the venom get into her blood automatically and the memory loss just happens to be a side effect? and then once jake realizes she forgets after he's like oh nice i didn't know it works like that i'm gonna keep doing it. or does he deliberately poison her to make her forget? either way he's shitty but like lmao

also i loved the fic btw so this is not hate!! but how shitty is he to literally get into a relationship with her and just keep the vampire part a secret when this man is literally IMMORTAL so like eventually she would have to choose to leave him or stay. because he wanted to tell her the entire time but just didn't. how selfish 😭

i needed to finish the plot before bed last night i imagined that the venom wasn't as strong as he thought it would be to fully make her memory go away, so it's hazy when she wake up but she has enough of it to remember and confront him. so he's like oh shit did not see this coming. and then she gets really upset and mad. like she is SO hurt, the angst is going CRAZYYYY. then she's like you're my boyfriend, how could you do this to me! how could u literally pierce my skin multiple times and drink my BLOOD and deliberately make me forget about it! how could you lie to me the whole time!!!,, i asked for the truth and you promised you would tell me how could you do this! and he's like i'm sorryryyy i was just saur scared ilysm i couldn't bear to lose you :(( and she's like yeah that's real i understand, and ilysm but jakey i do not want to be a vampire i literally do not want to live for eternity :/ i like being a human and there is no reason for me to live that long (it was getting a little personal here, like i think 90 years on earth is enough for me tyvm). and then they get sad and hug it out and wtv. i didn't know how to resolve it so i left it there lul

SWEET SWEET NONNIE!!! I almost cried when I saw this, you have no idea how much this means to me have somebody interact with my art like this <3 I hope your pillow is always cold and your blankets always fluffy.

SO the mechanics of how the mind wipe works (and with the wound disappearing with the lick) is actually a little power I borrowed from Vampire the Masquerade, which is a ttrpg I really love. There's two abilities one called Cloud Memory and the other The Forgetful Mind. Cloud Memory is simple--you simple erase a moment of the memory and the victim will be none the wiser to it as long as they don't press on the memory. Then they'll realize something is wrong. The Forgetful Mind is a little more complex, as in that one you're actually rewriting the victim's memory, and giving them false memories to replace it. I wrote Jake's little stunt as a middle ground between the two. So Y/N would wake up the next morning and she'd know they fucked and boy it must've been spectacular but she'd definitely forget the details of what exactly happened (i.e. the venom). A shitty move of Jake for sure--but alas I am a vampire apologist, and wasn't lying when I said this was self indulgent (God please send me a vampire boyfriend I can make him worse). Two things about me: I will die for Jake, and the only thing I love in this world more than Enha is vampires (as you may guess, me discovering Enha's concept was very detrimental to me. In fact my roommate laughed in my face and said "Good Luck!' when I forced him to watch the Drunk-Dazed video).

And yes sweet nonnie--not interpreting this as hate at all! As a reader, I hate being given very morally black and white characters, it takes a lot of intrigue out of a story, and doesn't give us the tension we seek. Morally grey characters (like my vampire Jake) give us two sides of the story. He's being objectively shitty, and taking away so much agency from Y/N, and yet he loves her, and doesn't know how to face the truth because he is, like you said, selfish! His fear of being alone causes him to act in a way that endangers Y/N and only worsens his case when the inevitable happens. I like to think it adds a little spice, where you can see the sweetness and we see the POV of Jake giving Y/N what she's dreamed of and more, but from his POV we see the selfishness and the monstrosity of what he's doing and the danger he puts her in every time he drinks and then wipes her mind.

And TEEHEE just giggled and kicked my feet. I love your interpretation of the ending. I think it's just so fundamentally sad if Y/N wants her mortality but that doesn't mean she'll always be able to keep Jake, and because of that Jake doesn't have a choice but to let her go. How long will they let this relationship last? People will realize he doesn't age, and what happens when she gets to an age where she doesn't feel comfortable being with him anymore? What if she wants a family and a life? So many thoughts so many possibilities! <3

[ellymackay]

The Real Sleep Science Behind Some of My Favorite Spooky Sleep Movies (Just in Time for Halloween!)

The Real Sleep Science Behind Some of My Favorite Spooky Sleep Movies (Just in Time for Halloween!) is courtesy of Elly Mackay's Sleep Blog

I love movies, including scary ones (yes, I’m the one who actually covers his eyes and then peeks out). And—no surprise here—I’m always curious about how sleep is portrayed and used as a plot in films. Think about it: there are a lot of movies, including a bunch of scary ones, that rely on sleep experiences to tell a story. Hello? Nightmare on Elm Street, anyone?

I was reading last week about a book that examines the science behind Stephen King’s novels. (I’m also a fan of those.) I thought, what a cool idea. So, this Halloween week, I thought we’d have some fun and take a look at the science behind some movies that have sleep themes. Grab your popcorn!

The sleep science behind Inception and Dreamscape: lucid dreaming

With his recent release of Tenent, Director Christopher Nolan is in the news, but his prior movie Inception is my current favorite, and my all-time favorite classic Dreams film is DreamScape with Dennis Quaid. These are two awesome sci-fi thrillers that are all about sleep and dreaming. Inception is about a criminal “dream stealer” (played by Leonardo DiCaprio) who conducts corporate espionage by invading peoples’ dreams in order to manipulate them and steal secrets. The director of Inception has said the inspiration for this story came from the sleep phenomenon of lucid dreaming.

Dreamscape also involves dropping into other peoples’ dreaming lives. In this movie from the ‘80s, a teenager with psychic abilities is put into a secret government program that trains people to enter the dreams of others. Before long, the teenager (played by a younger Dennis Quaid) is being used to try to manipulate the US president through the president’s dreams.

The real-life sleep science of lucid dreams:

We can’t control other peoples’ dreams, but some of us can control our own. That’s lucid dreaming: the awareness of being in a dream and the ability to control the dream you’re in.

I’ve written about lucid dreaming before, including here and here. It’s one of the most fascinating aspects of dreaming.

Not all of us have lucid dreams, but more than half of us will probably have at least one lucid dream during our lifetimes. However, regular lucid dreaming is more rare. I’ve been a lucid dreamer for as long as I can remember.

Scientists have learned that brain activity associated with lucid dreams is very different from regular dreaming.  Research has found lucid dreamers displayed significantly higher brain wave frequencies than non-lucid dreamers. Lucid dreamers also appear to have increased activity in regions of the brain’s prefrontal cortex, areas of the brain that are typically inactive during sleep. These parts of the brain are deeply involved with conscious awareness, a sense of self, as well as language and memory.

Recently, scientific study revealed that the brain activity of lucid dreams is similar to what are brain’s look like when we’re awake and in what’s known as a state of metacognition—that’s a state of heightened self-awareness, where we’re able to reflect on what we’re thinking about as we think about it.

We don’t exactly know why some people have lucid dreams but others don’t, but there are some interesting clues in the science of lucid dreaming. Some research indicates that certain personality traits and cognitive styles may be linked to lucid dreams:

Imagination and creativity have both been associated withmore frequent lucid dreaming.

Introspection, and a tendency to rely more heavily on internal thoughts (rather than external information) have also been linked to lucid dreams.

People who can effectively split their attention between different tasks, or points of focus, may be more apt to have lucid dreams.

People who have a greater ability to remember their dreams may be also have a greater capacity for lucid dreaming.

There are also certain sleep phenomena linked to lucid dreaming:

People who experience nightmares more often may be more prone to lucid dreams.

Studies have shown lucid dreaming is more common in people with narcolepsy.

Research has also linked lucid dreaming to sleep paralysis,another striking sleep experience. Sleep paralysis occurs when we wake from sleep unable to move or to speak. Both sleep paralysis and lucid dreaming appear to be related to transitions in and out of REM sleep. During REM sleep, the body is largely paralyzed (a condition known as REM atonia). And REM sleep is a sleep stage characterized by vivid, active dreaming. More on sleep paralysis in a minute.

Lucid dreaming is something we can actually get better at, a skill we can improve with practice. And there’s evidence that we can use lucid dreams as a therapeutic tool—to enhance creativity, to reduce the intensity of nightmares, to work through traumas and phobias.

How can you enhance your ability to lucid dream? There are several techniques to try:

Reality testing. Make a habit of checking in with your surroundings throughout your waking day. As you observe your waking environment, ask yourself: am I awake or am I dreaming? This practice can prompt the mind to ask this same question while you’re dreaming, and create a self-awareness in dreams that may enable you to take control of your dream world.

Wake back to bed (WBTB). With WBTB, a person sleeps for 5-6 hours, then deliberately wakes for a period of time���as little as 10 minutes, or up to an hour—before going back to sleep. The idea here is to send yourself immediately into REM sleep (which occurs most prominently in the final third of the night), where most, if not all, lucid dreaming occurs. (One note: don’t use WBTB if it shortens your sleep amounts or leaves you feeling tired and shortchanged on rest. Lucid dreaming isn’t worth actually losing sleep over!)

Mnemonic induction of lucid dreams (MILD). This is one of the best studied lucid dream techniques. It uses intention to stimulate self-awareness in dreams. Before going to sleep, say to yourself: “The next time I’m dreaming, I will remember I am dreaming.”

A 2017 study investigated these techniques above and found that people who used all three together were successful in stimulating lucid dreaming.

Improve your dream recall. Enhancing your ability to remember your dreams is one way to develop an ability for lucid dreaming. Keep the journal at your bedside. As soon as you wake, write down everything you remember about your dream.

Meditate. Meditation is a practice of mindful awareness, of attention to the present moment. Practicing meditation during your waking day will help you develop your capacity for awareness of where your mind is in the moment. That skill may translate into the dream world, increasing your ability for self-awareness—aka lucidity—in your dreams. A 2015 study found that meditation and mindfulness were connected to more frequent lucid dreaming.

The science of The Conjuring: sleepwalking and sleep paralysis

This is a supernatural horror film from a few years back that my teenagers and I watched one night and really liked. It’s about a married couple who are paranormal investigators, working with a family to try to rid the family’s farmhouse of some seriously angry, dangerous spirits. The Conjuring is full of scenes involving sleep phenomena, including sleepwalking and sleep paralysis.

The real-life sleep science of sleepwalking and sleep paralysis:

Sleepwalking and sleep paralysis aren’t caused by demonic possession, of course. But they can be scary, dangerous, and in some rare cases, even violent. Both conditions are known as parasomnias, the term sleep scientists use to describe unwelcome, unpleasant behaviors and experiences during sleep. And both involve mixed states of consciousness, where parts of the brain are active in ways similar to waking consciousness, while other parts of the brain are in a sleeping consciousness.

Sleepwalking is what’s known as an arousal disorder. Arousal disorders usually take place during non-REM (NREM) sleep. Sleepwalking typically occurs during deep, slow-wave sleep. It tends to occur in the first half of the night, when deep, non-REM sleep is most plentiful. When in a sleepwalking state, parts of the brain are aroused to allow for waking activity, while other parts of the brain remain in a sleeping state of consciousness.

Sleepwalking most often occurs during childhood and will often disappear with age. Sleepwalking and other arousal disorders share some common characteristics, including: • An absence of memory • Slowed, slurred, or strange speech • Mechanical answers to questions • An appearance of confusion, or just staring off into space

There’s a broad range of behaviors that can take place in a sleepwalking episode, ranging from wandering around the bedroom to having conversations, driving, eating, and undertaking other complex tasks—all while still in a mixed consciousness state of sleep.

Twenty-five percent of children are sleepwalkers at some point in time. More than 3 percent of the adult population may experience sleepwalking —and sleepwalking appears to be becoming more common, according to scientific research. Factors that increase risk for sleepwalking include:

Genetics—sleepwalking tends to run in families

Stress

Sleep deprivation and disruptions to regular sleep schedules, such as from travel through time zones

Medications, including hypnotics, sedatives, and medications to treat psychiatric conditions (We’ve all heard the stories of people who take sleep medication and wind up sleep eating or sleep driving.)

Substance use, including alcohol consumption

Sleep disorders, including sleep-disordered breathing and restless leg syndrome

Sleepwalking can put the sleeper in danger, most often from injury or accident. And in rare cases, sleepwalking is linked to violent behavior. Some scientific estimates suggest as much as 2% of the population will experience sleep violence at some point in their lives. I’ve written before about sleep violence and the role of parasomnias in this frightening and dangerous sleep behavior.

When you experience sleep paralysis, you wake up from sleep and cannot move or speak. It can be an incredibly frightening and disorienting episode that can last for a few seconds, up to a few minutes.

As frightening as it is, sleep paralysis—another parasomnia—isn’t actually dangerous, nor is it typically a sign of a serious condition. The phenomenon is actually relatively common, and can occur at any point in life. Estimates vary widely, but as many as 65% of people may suffer an episode of sleep paralysis at some point in their lives. Factors that make people more likely to experience sleep paralysis include:

Genetics—research has shown that people with certain variations of the PER2 gene are more likely to have episodes of sleep paralysis

Disrupted sleep patterns

Chronic anxiety, stress, depression

PTSD, and the presence or history of trauma

High blood pressure

Sleep disorders including obstructive sleep apnea and narcolepsy

Using sleep medications

Sleep paralysis can occur when you are awakened from sleep and it also can occur when you’re in the process of falling asleep. What’s causes sleep paralysis?  Scientists don’t know for sure. But it appears likely that many instances of sleep paralysis occur because of difficulty transitioning in and out of REM sleep.

In a state of sleep paralysis, you’re actually in a combination of waking consciousness and REM sleep. REM includes a temporary paralysis of major muscle groups known as REM atonia, which is thought to keep you immobilized during an active dreaming stage. In people who experience sleep paralysis, they wake with REM sleep still active in the brain, leaving the body paralyzed while the mind is alert and in a waking state of consciousness.

Sleep paralysis may also include hallucinations. People often describe feeling a ghost-like presence in the room with them, as well as feelings of terror and foreboding. These hallucinations can include strange sounds and even smells, along with sensations of falling or flying. Although the mechanisms of breathing aren’t impaired by sleep paralysis, people sometimes feel breathless, and often feel a weighty pressure on the chest.

There are steps you can take to eliminate the frightening disruption of sleep paralysis and make your nights more restful. Those steps include treating sleep disorders, adjusting medications, managing stress, seeking therapy for psychological distress, and knowing how to relax and cope during an episode of sleep paralysis. I’ve written in-depth about how to get rid of sleep paralysis for good.

The science of Maleficent (and Sleeping Beauty): long sleeping (and beauty sleep!)

Maleficent is a live-action fantasy film (starring Angelina Jolie) that’s based on the Sleeping Beauty fairy tale, which was itself a classic mid-20th century animated film from Disney. (Fun fact—the 1959 animated version of Sleeping Beauty was the last full-length animated film Disney made for 30 years. The next one? The Little Mermaid.) We all probably remember how the fairy tale goes—having been cursed by the evil fairy Maleficent, Sleeping Beauty falls into a deep, permanent sleep, and can only be awakened by a kiss from a true love.

The real-life sleep science of oversleeping:

We aren’t capable of sleeping endlessly, and healthy sleepers aren’t typically capable of sleeping for more than a normal full night of rest. The body is biologically hard-wired to maintain balanced sleep and wake cycles throughout the 24-hour day, driven primarily by two systems:

Our circadian system, which regulates sleep and wakefulness within a 24-hour daily cycle.

Our internal sleep drive, which revs up the longer we go without sleep and slows down after we’ve rested.

There was a once-in-a-blue-moon case a few years ago of a boy in Kentucky who sleep for 11 days straight. Doctors couldn’t figure out why. The boy was treated with seizure medication to successfully bring him out of his extreme duration of sleep. Seizure medications often work to alter activity in the brain’s communication cells. Seizure conditions, including epilepsy, can be accompanied by excessive sleeping—but not to this degree. An 11-day sleep stretch is incredible and just about unheard of!

Much more common, are sleep, mood, and health disorders that lead to what’s known as hypersomnia—that’s the clinical term for chronic oversleeping.

Like its counterpart insomnia, hypersomnia has several core symptoms:

Sleeping for extended hours at night (typically well beyond the 7-8-hour general norm)

Difficulty waking up in the morning (including sleeping through an alarm)

Trouble rising from bed and starting the day

Grogginess on and off or consistently throughout the day

Trouble concentrating

While it may seem like a welcome thing to be getting super-sized nights of sleep, hypersomnia is a form of disordered sleep with potential health consequences. Sleeping too much is linked with many of the same health risks as sleeping too little, including heart disease, metabolic problems such as diabetes and obesity, and cognitive issues including difficulty with memory. Similar to people who sleep too little, people who sleep too much have higher overall mortality risks.

The sleep disorder that comes closest to a “Sleeping Beauty” condition is a rare neurological condition called Kleine-Levin Syndrome. People with KLS experience recurring episodes of excessive sleeping that can last for a few days or a few weeks. During an episode, they sleep for up to 20 hours a day, getting up to eat or go to the bathroom before falling back asleep. During their brief daily awakenings, people with KLS are often confused and disoriented, have trouble communicating and display an absence of emotion. They feel “spacey,” and frequently are highly sensitive to light and noise.

In between episodes, people with KLS function and sleep normally, and they typically have no memory of what happened during their episode of excessive sleeping. Episodes can occur as frequently as every few weeks, or not reappear for months or even years. KLS occurs most often in teenagers—an estimated 70% of cases are in adolescents—but this disorder can also occur in younger children and in adults.

While the intense, prolonged hypersomnia of Kleine-Levin syndrome is rare, a lesser degree of chronic oversleeping is common, and can be the result of a number of different underlying conditions, including:

Depression

Narcolepsy

Obstructive sleep apnea

Restless leg syndrome

Neurological disorders, including Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and multiple sclerosis, as well as brain injuries

Epilepsy

Being overweight or obese

Substance use disorders

Circadian rhythm sleep disorders, including non-24-hour sleep-wake syndrome, in which people’s circadian clocks run on a longer cycle of time, of 25 or 26 hours or more. In a very rare handful of cases, circadian clocks have been found to run on a 72-hour cycle, with 48 hours of wakefulness followed by 24 hours of sleep.

Medications, including antidepressants, anti-anxiety medications, antipsychotics, sedatives, antihistamines can also trigger hypersomnia.

And what about beauty sleep? There’s an abundance of real science to back up the idea that sleep can make us more physically attractive. Stay tuned, because I’ve just finished an article about the power of sleep to make us look and feel younger and it’s coming your way soon!

This was fun—and there are a bunch more movies that deal with sleep and strange sleep phenomena. I’ll do another round of looking at sleep in the movies down the road!

Sweet Dreams,

Michael J. Breus, PhD, DABSM

The Sleep Doctor

www.thesleepdoctor.com

  The post The Real Sleep Science Behind Some of My Favorite Spooky Sleep Movies (Just in Time for Halloween!) appeared first on Your Guide to Better Sleep.

from Your Guide to Better Sleep https://thesleepdoctor.com/2020/10/29/the-real-sleep-science-behind-some-of-my-favorite-spooky-sleep-movies-just-in-time-for-halloween/

from Elly Mackay - Feed https://www.ellymackay.com/2020/10/29/the-real-sleep-science-behind-some-of-my-favorite-spooky-sleep-movies-just-in-time-for-halloween/

[antemortem-rp-blog]

WELCOME, Ness !! You’ve been accepted for the role of Faye Chamberlain. We’re so excited to have you join the ante mortem family. Please look over the checklist and make sure to send in your account within 48 hours. We look forward to seeing you on our dash.

OUT OF CHARACTER

Name / Alias: Ness.

Age: twenty.

Pronouns: she/her.

Timezone: GMT.

Anything Else?: just that I want to worship the ground you walk on for making this roleplay.

IN CHARACTER

Desired Character: Faye Chamberlain.

Why?:  I’m gonna preface this by saying the second I stumbled this roleplay I screeched. I love every single show incorporated in the plot and I’m in awe at how you’ve managed to merge all the shows and the characters so seamlessly. I actually don’t even know where to begin expressing my love for Faye. Honestly I hadn’t heard of TSC until about 2 years after it aired. My main reason for watching it was because I had a character with a Phoebe FC at the time and I kept stumbling upon gifs from the show. I remember watching the very first episode and I’m not gonna lie at first I hated Faye with a passion. But as the season progressed, my adoration for her blossomed. With her mischievous nature and offhanded one-liners, she easily became one of my favorite characters. Faye is such an intriguing character in the sense that there’s so much more to her beneath the steely glareand sharp tongue—she’s not the one-dimensional bitch character we’ve seen portrayed so many times. There are so many layers and complexities to her with so much potential for development to the point where I simply couldn’t dream of applying for anyone else. It would be an honour to undertake Faye’s role and bring her character back to life.

Character Pronouns: she/her.

Sexuality & Ships: Bisexual. I’d be absolutely honored to plot with anyone in regards to ships whether it be as a friendship, a romantic setting, pure unadulterated hatred or anything else in-between. I’m a huge advocate for ships based on chemistry. I never want to rule out any ships because from my experience it’s always the ships I don’t expect that I have the fondest memories of.

Occupation: After dropping out of college, Faye is focusing on herself and trying to get back into a positive headspace before even thinking about enrolling again. Although her mother supports her financially, Faye works as a nanny a few days a week. She has a soft spot for kids and she’s a child at heart so I can easily see her keeping the kids entertained with her exuberant nature.

Headcanons:

Faye has always been someone who fails to be described in few words. She is the definition of a free spirit—she’s super adventurous and audacious but also soooo reckless to the point where you’d think she constantly has a death wish. She has a mindset of ‘what’s the worst that could happen?’. This is the main excuse for her reckless behavior because the repercussions of her actions never cross her mind. She’s one of those people who would do literally anything for someone she cares about and wouldn’t give it a second thought. Even if it meant running into a burning building with a survival rate of 0%, she would do it.  And when everyone is saying ‘Faye no’, her brain would be screaming ‘FAYE YES’.

What most people fail to notice is that Faye has a softness within her, a brokenness that does not prevail outwardly—one she deals with alone. Consequently, she is possibly one of the most guarded people you could find on the planet. There is a void in her heart, one filled with pain, grief, and trauma. It is a void so profound it that remains with her every single day of her life, no matter how much she would prefer to disregard it. She views emotions as a form of weakness and has developed an ability to mask her feelings so nobody can look past the facade and see how truly broken she is. She’s a walking contradiction: a girl who feels everything so intensely so she pretends not to have any feelings at all. It’s her defence mechanism. Peel back those layers, however, and you’ll find a scared, insecure little girl who wants nothing but to feel loved. Not that she would ever admit it, though.

Faye and her grandfather shared a bond like no other. Both a father figure and best friend rolled into one, he played a vital role in his granddaughter’s life and Faye loved him dearly. Some of her fondest childhood memories were spent at her grandfather’s lake house. But Pine Lake was also the setting of two traumatic events Faye can only dream of permanently eradicating from the crevices of her mind. The first being her near drowning incident. And the second was gazing into the darkened eyes of her grandfather in that very same spot. She often finds herself awakening in the middle of the night, screaming, reliving the memories in her subconscious. To the extent where it’s a rare occurrence for her not wake up to nightmares stricken by these memories.

Powerlessness is one of her greatest fears. When the circle was bound, Faye was left to her own devices which landed her in multiple life-threatening situations where she was left defenceless. So, she decided to take matters into her own hands by learning how to protect herself. She enrolled in martial arts and self-defence classes so she’d be able to hold her own in a fight without her magic.

Although she isn’t psychic per say, I see Faye having some kind of precognitive ability. On more than one occasion, she has made jokes or assumptions that have turned out to be true. For instance when she had her suspicions about Jake when he returned to Chance Falls and that Eva was lying about Lee skipping town. She also guessed that John Blackwell was really evil, and that the curse on the Conant and Blake families wasn’t real. Long before Faye discovered her magic, I can imagine her blurting out random things and making predictions which ended up really freaking people out, including herself. But at the time, she blamed it on intuition or a simple coincidence.

‘Damaged people are dangerous. They know they can survive’ sums Faye up. All of the events throughout her life; all of the trauma and heartache, has hardened her and made her resilient. She has learned the true value of independence and how the only person she can truly rely on in any situation is herself. Pair that with her determination and her magical abilities. She’s a force to be reckoned with and is one of the last people you’d want as an enemy.

Para Sample:

The last few days had been torturous for Faye. Nothing could have prepared her for her grandfather’s passing. It was a concept she couldn’t seem to comprehend—her grandfather was dead. Just like that. The person she had known since she was born was gone and she would never see him again. There were so many things she didn’t have the chance to tell him—things she will never be able to tell him. She would give anything to see him again, even for a fleeting moment. Just so she could say goodbye.

Sleep had become a foreign notion. The vivid memory of seeing her grandfather’s body still remained deeply ingrained in Faye’s subconscious thoughts. No matter how hard she tried, the girl just couldn’t seem to forget. Images of that night never faltered to flash in her mind, over and over again, on a seemingly never-ending loop. She would awaken in the middle of the night so many times—to the point where she could no longer she remember what it felt like to have a full night’s sleep. Sometimes she would even reach a point where she could no longer distinguish her dreams from reality. She felt broken—beyond broken. All Faye could feel was the numbness swarming around her heart and the unbearable guilt whenever she remembered she lost the chance to tell her grandfather just how much she loved him before his death. The smile on her face had long since faded and she just wanted to forget. Forget about being a witch. Forget about all of the drama in Chance Falls. Forget everything. She didn’t just want to—she had to. It hurt too much. But, much to her dismay, it was easier said than done.

Now even the image of her grandfather’s face was slowly erasing itself from her mind, as if he was gradually becoming nothing but a distant memory. Sunken eyes and a tear-stained face had seemed to become permanent features of Faye Chamberlain. Everything was taking its toll on her and it was becoming increasingly difficult to keep herself together. She had grown weary of all the apologetic glances and supposed words of ‘comfort’. With each passing day, more and more texts and phone calls from her friends and family went unanswered. For a girl who spent a fair chunk of her life glued to her phone, it was completely out of character. But she didn’t even have the energy to care anymore. She had shut herself off entirely from the world, even from her own mother. Probably one of the most baffling things was that Faye never saw her mother grieve. It was as if she was entirely devoid of emotion. As if she didn’t even care about Faye’s grandfather at all. All she could feel was this overwhelming sensation of rage towards her mother that only seemed to heighten as the days went by. She was the reason her grandfather rarely ventured away from his home to Chance Falls. The reason Faye and her grandfather’s relationship suffered throughout her teenage years. And Faye would never forgive her mother for that.

Her fingertips drummed on the porcelain of the bathtub to the beat of the music that was playing faintly in the background. Though she wasn’t really listening, certainly not amidst the seemingly never-ending array of thoughts that were circulating around her mind. She descended into the water, feeling the warm liquid cling to every inch of her skin. Faye’s throat felt dry and chest felt heavy, as if boulders had been squeezed through the small little bronchial tubes and straight into her lungs. A shiver travelled down her spine and she felt her breath catching in the back of her throat. Breathe, she told herself. But it was easier said than done. It was something so simple yet so difficult—but it felt as if she couldn’t quite remember how. Faye finally emitted a tremulous breath as she diverted her gaze to the ceiling. All she could feel was the dull, nauseating ache resonating in her chest and the quickened thrum of her throat. So, she screwed her eyes shut.

Then the memories came flooding back.

A bolt of lightning crackled across the blackened sky and the sound thunder boomed through the air. Sky-fallen trickles were plummeting downward relentlessly and the wind battered through the late autumn air. The brunette’s entire frame was drenched, the coldness seeping through her clothes onto her skin. But Faye hardly took any notice. The weather was the last thing on her mind.

Panic ripped through her as she scrambled towards Cassie. Her chest had tightened until it felt as if she wasn’t even breathing—which she was, rather laboriously, in fact. Her feet skidded to a halt as she reached the edge of the wooden dock. And that’s when she saw him. Her grandpa. At that very moment, Faye could have sworn she felt her heart disintegrating into tiny fragments. She remained entirely motionless as her mind attempted to process the sight that beheld her.  

“That’s my grandpa,” she rasped out, the words not quite registering in her mind. She felt her legs collapsing beneath her body and instantly clung onto Cassie in an attempt to stabilise herself. “No” was the only word she could muster the inner strength to say. “No, no, no—” she repeated as her normally pleasant demeanor gradually altered and her face crumbled, consuming nothing else but heartbreak. Faye could hear her own voice crack as every wall of composure collapsed and tears began cascading down her cheeks. Her breath hitched and her entire body convulsed as a sequence of sobs wracked through her frame. She inhaled deeply, attempting to regain her composure to some extent, but only seemed to fail. She screwed her eyes shut as she remained enveloped in Cassie’s embrace.

Faye’s eyes snapped open, her vision blurred by the fogginess of the water surrounding her. She shot upwards almost instantly,  gasping for air, as her hands clutched the edges of the bathtub. Her forehead crinkled in desperation and she strained her eyes, frantically analysing her surroundings. A breathy exhale fell from her lips just then. Her hazel orbs lifted upward for a few moments and she pursed her lips into a line, as the liquid clinging to her eyelashes began to glide along her skin. “I love you, grandpa,” she muttered in a barely audible tone. Those few words brought her an instant sense of relief, knowing that in a world that can be so bleak and cruel, she could find solace in speaking to her grandfather. But that still didn’t change the harsh reality that he was gone and was never coming back.

Now all Faye had left was an unbearable ache in her chest, tearing her to shreds every single time her thoughts lingered on her grandfather. She would have to learn how to live in a world without him by her side—a world without him there to hold her afloat.

Anything Else?: I threw together a pinterest board HERE and I have an old account HERE I’ve repurposed over the years for an original character who is very reminiscent of Faye personality-wise.

[therummesoccupied]

Home Run: What We Can Learn From Sonic Mania

           Over a year after the 25th anniversary of the release of Sonic the Hedgehog for the SEGA Genesis, the Blue Blur’s first commemorative quarter-century title has finally hit digital shelves – that is, for owners of the Xbox One, Playstation 4, and Nintendo Switch consoles. While PC players have to wait an extra couple of weeks to download the game, Sonic Mania’s historical significance in the world of video games is lost to no one. Mania is one of the earliest examples, if not the earliest example of a notable company handing the reigns to one of their flagship series to their fans and seeing how they fare. Put together by a dream team of Sonic fan creators, such as Christian Whitehead, who also worked on enhanced ports of Sonic 1, Sonic 2, and Sonic CD, Tyson Hesse, who provided artwork for a number of Archie Comics’ adaptations of the franchise, Tee Lopes, known for his extensive backlog of Sonic music remixes, and a talented group of other fan creators, Sonic Mania utilizes resources from SEGA to present a letter of true love to the classic Sonic titles of old. By bringing unique, creative design ideas to tried-and-true level construction, and implementing an expressive, nostalgic aesthetic style, Mania manages to overcome many of Sonic’s rockier elements and outshine its flaws with a game that not only reminds us what we loved about old Sonic games, but also to bring new ideas for the table that leave us excited for future possibilities.

           Sonic Mania takes everything there was to love about classic Sonic level design and turns it up to eleven. Long, twisting paths traversed at breakneck speeds, thrilling stunts, and extreme 90’s grandeur are all front-in-center, putting the player in an exhilarating position of awe while needing to maintain a quick thought process in order to keep the hedgehog on the right track. When Sonic isn’t bursting forward at the speed of sound, he’s required to traverse carefully crafted puzzles and platforming sections that ask the player for a bit of clever thought. All of this has been present in Sonic games before, but never so well-balanced as it is in Mania. Whenever the player is going fast, (ha) it feels like they are doing just that, not like they’re just along for the ride, a noted flaw of many older Sonic games. The player is given just enough control and asked to make just enough decisions during these high-speed sections to be given a feeling of agency many might say Sonic has always been lacking. The low-speed areas are portioned and placed just right so that they don’t feel like they’re hindering the player’s speed, but rather, these lulls only serve to build anticipation, getting the player more and more eager to hit the “open road” of the speedier areas, so that when they finally work their way through the tricky yet engaging platforming segments, the subsequent speed feels like a reward for their good thinking rather than giving the impression that they’re finally getting back to the “real game.” With old ideas being improved upon, the development team also implemented numerous newer ideas, each worked into the game in shockingly creative ways – I won’t spoil anything, but this marriage of old and new ideas is especially prevalent in the boss fights. Each one brings back a classic component of Sonic history and presents it in such a unique, clever way that the battles are honestly my favorite part of the entire game. The game similarly uses its distinct new concepts to escape the trap of monotony, as each level has its own unique design cues and constructive elements so that the game never feels the same from one Zone to the next, yet also manages not to lose the feeling of consistency. Each part of this game manages to capture something timeless about the Sonic franchise and spin it around so that we are able to see it in a totally new light, leaving us in awe of it once more.

           In terms of visual style, one might say that Sonic has never run so smoothly. All of this game’s motion is nearly seamless, giving us a clearer picture of the fluidity and momentum we’ve come to expect from the Sonic franchise. The Sonic series has additionally never looked so expressive – with colors appearing to be the brightest they’ve ever been, and exaggerated movements and shapes abound. Every action and object in this game is distinct and draws attention in such a way that the player, while speeding through the game’s environments, is still able to perceive and appreciate each and every creative touch sprinkled throughout the scene. In addition to being packed with visual creativity, the game also boasts an impressive soundtrack, composed by Tee Lopes. Lopes presents us a throwback to the funky, ambient tunes of Sonic CD, while managing to keep levels from other previous entries in the series both true to their original styles and revamped to fit the sound of the new game. Lopes has once again shown his prowess when it comes to adding a fresh yet fitting twist to classic Sonic tunes. The game additionally boasts phenomenal animated cutscenes, directed by renowned web-based artist Tyson Hesse. Hesse applies a flexible and vivid lens to the classic Toei animations we saw back in the 90’s with Sonic CD and the Sonic the Hedgehog OVA. The distinct shapes, colors, and animations shown in these scenes give us view of what is, in my opinion, some of the best Sonic the Hedgehog artwork currently available anywhere.

           Unfortunately, the game is, like any other game, not without its shortcomings. Over time, it becomes evident that some of the enormous and complex level design, might be a little too meticulous, with some portions of the game abruptly bringing Sonic to a halt to solve puzzles the player simply isn’t in the mindset for. These roadblocks can get to be quite frustrating and confusing, as the player is still in a mental state in which they want to go fast, (ha) and as a result, one often gets caught up trying to find a quick, reckless solution to a problem that requires a more careful, delicate touch. Additionally, the eye-catching visuals can, at times, complicate the experience. While it’s true that virtually every part of the levels in visually interesting, this can sometimes work to the game’s disadvantage, as, during some of the more complex areas, the attention-grabbing visuals can clutter up the screen and be quite distracting, making many dilemmas much harder to resolve than they need to be. Lastly, while it’s true that the soundtrack brings a lot of energy reminiscent of the Sonic CD OST, sometimes the chill, environmental jams can get to be just a tad too atmospheric. Much of the music that Sonic is best known for is upbeat, melodic, and intense – and CD’s smooth grooves can, at times, betray the game’s high-speed, adrenaline-driven nature. Lopes has shown time and time again that he’s more than capable of giving music befitting of Sonic titles other than CD - in fact, many of his remixes are arguably even more fitting for their respective levels than the songs they’re based off of, so it’s a tad disappointing we didn’t get to see a larger spread of his potential in this game than we did. My last issue with the game lies in its story. While I’m often one to argue that a game’s story usually matters very little when judging its overall quality, I must admit, I was a bit distracted by how confusing the game’s plot was. The story centers around a powerful gem that Dr. Eggman acquires on Angel Island… which… isn’t floating? Even though it went back to the sky at the end of Sonic 3 & Knuckles? Similarly, the Death Egg is still shown in Lava Reef Zone, despite being destroyed in the same game? And Tiny Planet is still chained to Sonic’s world, even though the chain was broken at the end of Sonic CD? There might be a sensible explanation if the gem induced time travel – though this would be the 5th time in the series that this was used as a key plot element – but it’s unclear whether the gem warps Sonic through time to his past, or if it sends him to places he’s visited before in their present state. Whatever the case, the story created a lot of conflicts for me, especially when trying to consider how this game affects the canon of the franchise as a whole.

           Still, the story of a game does usually matter little to me, and this game does more than enough right to keep me true to that philosophy. The mechanics and design of the game add new twists to old ideas, making their return even more welcome than it would have been to begin with. The game’s style is absolutely delectable, bringing a dynamic energy to Sonic that could hardly be more fitting for the speedy blue hedgehog. It brings out the franchise’s strengths to help it leave its flaws in the dust, and managing to do the same for its own issues. Sonic Mania is a stunning example of how well a project can come together when worked on by people who truly love it. SEGA gathered a team that displayed a great creative passion for Sonic, and their passion showed in the love and care that is clearly present in the crafting and presentation of this game. By working with their fan-creators instead of against them, (as many game developers are wont to do) SEGA managed to create not only a true testament of their fans’ love for Sonic, but also a game that exceeds expectations entirely, standing out as one of the best, if not the best, Sonic the Hedgehog game of all time.

[63824peace]

Sunday, 23rd of october 2005

I went to the office after lunch yesterday, but I took a day off from writing the blog. I just didn't feel like writing. The sun finally shone this morning, so I decided to start working on HIDEOBLOG.

I saw the film Wallace & Gromit: Curse of the Were-Rabbit. It's showing as a special guest film at the Tokyo International Film Festival at the Hills. I also wanted to see Kamen Rider: THE FIRST. Unfortunately it was showing at the same time in the next theater. I chose my beloved Wallace & Gromit instead.

I heard that Kamen Rider: THE FIRST will show in the theater during November. I'll make a point of going then.

The curtain finally rose just before 11 A.M. Wallace & Gromit's father Nick Park gave the introductory speech! Oh, it was real! Nick Park in the flesh! I was so moved.

Then Wallace and Gromit followed him onto the stage! They were quite big . . . and of course they weren't made out of clay.

Nick Park gave an interview while standing between Wallace and Gromit on the stage. The whole affair was congenial and amiable from start to finish. My suspicions were confirmed, too: the director has a distinct Londoner's accent.

Two weeks ago I heard that the warehouse of Aardman Animations burned down to the ground, taking with it thirty year's worth of cinematic treasure. Yet, despite my fears, Nick Park appeared on stage and seemed to be in high spirits.

The much-anticipated new Wallace & Gromit film lasts ninety minutes! It is a long one indeed.

The film was an absolute delight. It was so fun. Gromit took the lead this time, and the theater audience applauded warmly. They were huge Gromit fans like me.

An International Film Festival typically targets mature audiences, but many families with children attended the show nonetheless. Wallace & Gromit is so popular that I expect Japan's reaction will follow England's lead. The film was ranked #1 at the box offices in both Europe and the United States.

Wallace & Gromit has finally become popular in the United States. It will show in all the Japanese theaters beginning March 1, 2006. I will go and see it again next spring.

I would really like to hear Kin-chan dub Wallace's character in the Japanese version.

I saw Rupert-san's name among the film's credits. He seems to have contributed to the film's music. He is Harry Gregson-Williams' younger brother. Harry-san's latest work is featured in the film Domino, which also looks like a great movie.

Universal Studios produced the video game for Wallace & Gromit: Curse of the Were-Rabbit. It has already been released in Europe and the United States. It so happens that Konami has the distribution rights for the game's global release. The game's Japanese release will coincide with the film's theatrical debut.

I played Wallace & Gromit a bit during August's GC Show in Leipzig. I had a good feeling about it then.

The game still carries the warmth of the film's claymation style, yet it is entirely digitally rendered. I'm confident that it holds a lot of promise. I anticipate the Japanese release.

I first discovered Wallace & Gromit when I saw the second film titled The Wrong Trousers. My son and I have been huge fans ever since. I have never missed a Wallace & Gromit exhibition, and I have bought almost all of the merchandise. I own all of the DVDs, and to this date anyone who walks past my work booth can see the remainder of my personal collection.

For ten years I have thought, "I want to make a Wallace & Gromit video game." I was naturally pretty shocked when the distributor told me about the game's release. I felt envious . . . I doubted the game's quality but felt relieved after playing it. The game is well-crafted and it won't tarnish the reputation established by the films.

I have two animated series in mind to transform into video games. One is Wallace & Gromit; the other is Tom & Jerry.

It's wonderful to develop a game for which you wrote the story yourself. I expect that it would also be interesting to develop a game out of someone else's imaginative world. I would need to express another person's creative talent. I'd like to experience that one day.

At lunch someone asked me, "You're working today as well?" I hid my embarrassment and answered, "Oh, I'm just here for the movie." It's really embarrassing when people perceive me as a workaholic.

I took care of sundry tasks in the office. I prepared for my upcoming conference, responded to some mail, and performed various other small tasks.

When I returned home I finished reading Eiichi Ikegami's novel Shangri-La, published by Kadokawa Shoten Publishing Co., Ltd. It was really interesting. It's legitimate science fiction.

This is the type of science fiction that my generation dreamed about and longed to claim as our own. It's the type of writing that excited us, moved us, and enlightened us in the past.

Overall the novel had really good settings. The environments were very elaborate and full of ideas. This is essentially where science fiction finds its charm.

The science fiction story requires that the effects of its setting be established before the storytelling begins. These effects include the narrative establishment of technology and the futuristic society, as well as the imaginative gimmicks and relationships.

Those were the characteristics of my generation's idea of science fiction.

"The Carbon Society!" "Teknology!" It was all really witty.

We exhausted most imaginative material like global warming back in the 70's, but Ikegami's novel treats that material in a fresh way.

I actually had a similar plot somewhere in my backlog of ideas. I got the idea from a news article dated three or four years ago. The article's text read:

"Developing nations have agreed to limit the overall emission of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Thanks to the Kyoto Protocol however, nations and industries can now barter for the rights on carbon dioxide emissions.

"The principles of the market exchange that started in 19th century Chicago have finally become applied to the exchange of business eco-rights. We are now ready to deal with ecological issues according to the ideology of marketplace mechanisms."

I used this article as a tip and imagined a project based on carbon dioxide emissions within business eco-rights. The story focused on the confrontations between global analysts, national agents, corporations, and mafia organizations behind the scenes of a futuristic carbon dioxide exchange market. Its themes were economic issues and the wars that resulted after petroleum ceased to serve as a viable fuel source.

At the same time I had planned to incorporate terrestrial and oceanic burial methods of carbon dioxide disposal. These methods of waste disposal have been studied extensively.

I don't know if Mr. Eiichi Ikegami used the same news article as a tip. I'll simply bury my old idea for good since such an interesting novel already exists.

My generation's science fiction aesthetics really came around in the 1960's before fantasy became a popular genre. Our sci-fi aesthetic defined a new type of literature that focused on the social aspects of technology. Our aesthetic became converted into movies and then into anime, according to the times. Our science fiction has returned to us in the forms of these new media.

Our aesthetic themes include criticism intending to benefit our civilization, race, and society; an imaginative idea given historical context; a warning for the future; the succession of a new generation to adulthood; and a positive message. The success of the aesthetic doesn't rely anymore upon an original perspective on the future. The vivid manga-type characters enhance the stories and make them more effective.

Ikegami's female characters are incredibly strong. The main characters include Kuniko (the heroine), Momoko, Sayoko, Ryoko, Mina, Karin, Miiko, Nagiko, and so on. One member in the group is a new-half: a transsexual man whose operation procedure is only half complete. At any rate, these women go wild and take action in ways that outshine some action movies. The novel's second half really speeds along! It has enough power and momentum to carry readers to the end in only one sitting!

Shangri-La is a story about Tokyo that could only have been written by a Japanese person. The novel makes its reader feel the essences of Tokyo, the present moment, and the Earth. It is also a bold, audacious novel that makes us reflect upon Japan. It simultaneously delivers Hollywood entertainment while it takes complex narrative turns. I didn't know that anyone could write a novel like this.

Japanese literary culture isn't hopeless, even though it's currently flooded with self-improvement books. Shangri-La is only a novel, but I would like to see it adapted as a movie. I would prefer to see it rendered as animation rather than live action. I can't imagine showing the true charm of the characters using only live action shots.

Does Shangri-La exists in our world? The answer is no, of course. As Kuniko and the others discovered when they awakened, Shangri-La doesn't exist unless we seek it. We create our own Shangri-La.