#mind-bending

[probablybadrpgideas]

Inverted metagaming. The players aren't allowed to know what the characters do, but their characters know everything the player does.

[a-typical]

Neither of them had any feel for the passage of time. It could have been days before he regained enough strength to go to the faucet in the bathroom. He drank until his stomach could hold no more and returned with a glass of water. Lifting her head with his arm, he brought the edge of the glass to Gail's mouth. She sipped at it. Her lips were cracked, her eyes bloodshot and ringed with yellowish crumbs, but there was some color in her skin. "When are we going to die?" she asked, her voice a feeble croak. "I want to hold you when we die."

"Are they… the disease. Is it talking to you?" He nodded. "Then I'm not crazy." She walked slowly across the living room. "I'm not going to be able to move much longer," she said. "How about you? Maybe we should try to escape." He held her hand and shook his head. "They're inside, part of us by now. They are us. Where can we escape?" "Then I'd like to be in bed with you, when we can't move any more. And I want your arms around me." They lay back on the bed and held each other.

Buried in some inner perspective, neither one place nor another. He felt an increase in warmth, a closeness and compelling presence.

>>Edward... -Gail? I can hear you- no, not hear you- >>Edward, I should be terrified. I want to be angry but I can't.

They fell quiet and simply reveled in each other's company. What Edward sensed nearby was not the physical form of Gail; not even his own picture of her personality, but something more convincing, with all the grit and detail of reality, but not as he had ever experienced her before.

Edward and Gail grew together on the bed, substance passing through their clothes, skin joining where they embraced and lips where they touched.

[tmarshconnors]

"Truth is as terrible as death but harder to find."

Philip Kindred Dick, often referred to by his initials PKD, was an American science fiction writer. He wrote 44 novels and about 121 short stories, most of which appeared in science fiction magazines during his lifetime. 

Born: 16 December 1928, Chicago, Illinois, United States

Died: 2 March 1982, Santa Ana, California, United States

Influential Works: Philip K. Dick's impact on science fiction is profound, with several of his works adapted into popular films. "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" served as the basis for the iconic film "Blade Runner," directed by Ridley Scott. The movie's success helped cement Dick's reputation in mainstream culture.

Personal Struggles: Dick faced numerous personal challenges throughout his life, including financial difficulties and mental health issues. His struggles with mental health and experiences with hallucinations and visions heavily influenced his writing, contributing to the surreal and introspective nature of many of his works.

Prolific Output: Despite his personal challenges, Dick maintained a remarkably prolific writing career. He wrote 44 novels and over 100 short stories during his lifetime. His ability to produce imaginative and thought-provoking content at such a high volume is a testament to his dedication to the craft of writing.

Philosophical Themes: Dick's works often explore philosophical and metaphysical themes, challenging the boundaries of reality and identity. Questions about what is real, the nature of consciousness, and the impact of technology on humanity are recurring motifs in his stories, reflecting his deep interest in these subjects.

Posthumous Recognition: While he faced financial struggles during his lifetime, Philip K. Dick gained increased recognition after his death. His influence on science fiction literature and the exploration of complex philosophical ideas have earned him a lasting legacy. The Philip K. Dick Award, established in 1982, is given annually to outstanding science fiction works in paperback original format, honoring his contributions to the genre.

[howtocarveroastunicorn]

If "Life on Mars", "The Matrix" & "Inception" had a baby...

WAKE UP - white injection T-Shirt

WAKE UP - black injection T-Shirt

[writingforevren]

WIP Intro - Eldenstow Creek

{ Story Description }

A drive through the empty roads of the countryside, along the edge of the woods and away from everything they'd once known. Sounds nice right? well not when you're running from something, something far more sinister than what they were about to encounter. The world was not as it seemed, there was another side, a side where strangeness & evil resided. Circuses popping out of seemingly nowhere, pools of mystical water trying to pull them in, unintended consequences after trying to fight this higher power. Everything had seemed normal but then they’d made one mistake, messed with the wrong person, spilled the blood of something they never should've. So yeah. They were in the same car and driving along the edge of the woods. Nothing to it.

{ The Basics } 

Genre - Urban Fantasy & Mystery

Themes & Tropes - Mystical, Supernatural, Adventure, Unlikely Friends, Unintended consequences, Derealization, Fear of The Unknown, Dark Imagery, LGBTQ+ Characters, POC characters, Dreamlike Descriptions, Mind-bending, Self-sacrifice, and Horror.

Setting - Fictional locations in Eastern U.S & Fantasy Locations

Status - Plotting & Drafting

Point Of View - Third Person Limited

Content Warning - Contains Dark Topics such as assault, violence & murder.

{ Spoiler-Free Synopsis }

Shae Brooks is just trying to live a ‘normal’ life, at least not one full of fantasy creatures and a girl who seems to be more full of bullshit than anyone else he’d ever met. He makes one mistake, he interacts with the wrong person, but instead of just letting him deal with his own problems like a normal person, a girl named Ruby Gardner comes along and decides the best course of action is violence.

Not wanting to be arrested for a crime he didn’t commit the best course of action is to go with her right? And when things go south from there the only choice is to follow this lunatic girl who seems to be stuck in her head far more than the real world wherever she intends to take them. The further they venture, the weirder things get, pools of mystical water, creatures from the unknown, woods that seem to be unending, bottomless creeks, and a journey they’d truly never forget. 

But the question is... why? why any of it? Why does he choose to go along with this girl who is the exact opposite of himself, whom he never in a million years thought could be a friend. What is this girl hiding and why did she do something so unthinkable such as spilling the blood of another?

There’s love and there’s loss, but nothing is as it seems and that stands true for the happy ending as well.

{ Eldenstow Creek Playlist }

Mysterious & Unusual, the perfect accompaniment to this story.

{ Notes & Conclusion }

I was inspired to write this story by two very different stories, one of which is Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman where it starts off seemingly normal and gets more and more strange as time goes on, and the other is The End of The F***ing World mostly in writing style and also the whole- murder thing y’know? So if like those, you might like this one. 

Character Intros will hopefully be soon (if I get any interaction that would help motivate me to share) for the two main characters Ruby and Shae who are complete opposites but both have very strong personalities.

This story is early in development, I’ve just written bits and pieces here and there but I did want to put an intro out there so if you are interested in this idea, you can watch as it develops.

{ General Writing Taglist }

@weirdfishy | @wannabeauthorzofija | @annlillyjose | @radiomacbeth | @opes-magnas | ask to be +/- 

{ Eldenstow Creek Taglist } 

this one’s empty for now but if you’d like to be informed of updates and shared excerpts feel free to send an ask and I’ll add you :)

[itsmymono]

‘Sightless’ review

This movie was full of twists. Once you expect the movie would end there, it continues with another twist. The story is about a violinist, Ellen who lost her vision to an assault. When she thought she was brought places for treatment to cope with her blindness, she was kept in a cage trapped like a bird without her knowing. 

It amazes me during the whole story, the audiences are blind together with the main character because the setting was portrayed as what she imagined in her head and you cannot believe anyone in this story. The feature of the movie is truly entertaining because it can change according to how Ellen perceived. It’s amazing how her senses go overdrive at a certain moment that she’s able to identify some pattern around her setting and could easily sense something was wrong. I believe losing her vision does not just cause her a loss but also gain her benefit in her other senses.

I would recommend this movie to thriller fans who love suspenseful mind-bending movies.

[jjr1971]

Rewatch of Satoshi Kon’s Paranoia Agent on Blu-Ray disc.

So I just finished rewatching Satoshi Kon's one and only television series Paranoia Agent on Blu-Ray.  And wow was it so much darker than I ever remembered it.  In fact, I think it plumbs depths of human depravity deeper even than Perfect Blue or Paprika.  

Analyzing the series as a whole would take an entire book, so I want to zero in on what to me stand out as a few key themes, and also, I want to Zoom in and Enhance on a few Key scenes. I don't think I picked up the first time through that Tsukiko had really bad, sudden menstrual cramps that made her let go of Maromi's leash. Maromi was right--it wasn't her fault. But she couldn't possibly tell her Dad the whole truth.  Way too personal, and her father, being very strict, was not emotionally available to his vulnerable daughter going through this significant change in her life.  The mother seems to be absent, the figure a young girl experiencing the ups and downs puberty would naturally turn to.  The blood splatter of the dog-car accident serving a dual symbolic role...also menstrual blood. God, Satoshi Kon was a mad genius.   The mere idea of telling her strict father it was because she had sudden painful menstrual cramping that she dropped the leash was so mortifying she made up the whole Lil’ Slugger story to explain it away... That adds a whole fucked up psycho-sexual layer I completely missed the first time through...and the whole cognitive dissonance between levels of culpability...yes, it was a hot day and she was a distracted tween-to-teen girl already and letting go of the leash lead to the dog’s death...but letting go of the leash wasn’t a conscious act but an involuntary reflex in response to pain stimuli...and because of her strained relationship with her father she couldn’t tell him the truth of it...a painful delusion she buried deep in her psyche.  And the cartoon version of Maromi was right---it WASN'T Tsukiko's fault...not really....but damn that return of the repressed is a BITCH.... And like I don’t think her producer was “actually” a victim of Lil’ Slugger, he literally commits vehicular suicide right in front of her....after physically assaulting her then pretending like nothing happened...because he realizes he just destroyed his work relationship with his best artist by roughing her up physically & terrifying her and there's no fixing it or pretending everything's still fine now. And for Tsukiko personally, cartoon Maromi’s ongoing commercial success was a double edge sword....yes, it’s a cute mascot which she can be legitimately proud of, but it’s also a painful reminder of the violent death of a beloved pet that she loved and whose demise she felt partly responsible for.  Not exactly the healthiest creative muse, and hence her creative mental "block" as an artist that she struggles to overcome....This final scene where adult Tsukiko enters the memory of young Tsukiko and embraces real Maromi's lifeless body and apologies from her heart represents real closure for Tsukiko...a final admission of the stark truth of what happened, without reference to fault or blame as such.  It's a shame she couldn't have worked her way to this truth on the couch of a therapist, in a safe & supportive environment. The ending is open enough that maybe Tsukiko produced the adorable cat mascot at the end but the more likely reading is she quit the profession entirely and is in a happier place now...and look, there’s always another artist who will step up to produce the next big thing...and struggle like Tsukiko did to come up with a new thing that’s even better.....For that’s the artist’s eternal struggle, to surpass even oneself...success and achievement being forever fleeting and transitory...forever chasing the next big high....something Satoshi Kon knew as well as anyone. Also, Ep.10 is so darkly funny....Kon's own j'accuse at his audience and bosses....."we're literally killing ourselves to make this entertainment for you, you ungrateful shits!" And the ending is so defiantly BRECHTIAN in tone...like Kon is screaming at his audience: "Get out there and experience real life, you fucking gross Otaku!"; escapist fantasy is a fine diversion but it's no replacement for actual life! The ending is pretty stark...the lead detective is now a widower and still an underemployed security guard.  His former police partner has gone insane and is now himself a white-haired mental patient at the very same hospital as the crazy old man who passed away.  Tsukiko has cut her hair and seems happier now, while the sleazy reporter is still scraping by, and the crooked, creepy pedo cop still looks after his amnesiac daughter who is spared the memory & knowledge of her father's creepy voyeurism towards her.  And oh yeah, this time around when said pedo cop was on his masked crime spree, I think he actually raped that girl....damn! I really enjoyed this re-watch and it very much deepened my appreciate of Satoshi Kon's work.  I could say so much more about Paranoia Agent but this will suffice for now.  Back to sleep everyone....