#. waking nightmare ;

[nightmaresyrup]

Painted what it feels like to remember something URGENT in the middle of the night in deep, deep, comfy sleep.

I LEFT MY PHONE AT WORK

[kawa-goat]

General Thoughts on Buried Secrets (Hello Neighbor)

Not sure if I'd classify this as a rant post or not. Spoilers ahead, obviously.

If some of my points don't make sense, we can discuss it in the comments. It's 1AM by the time I'm writing this post, so forgive me if the text feels all slammered and not cohesive.

Took me a decade to finish it, but the secrets were unburied (like Jay would say).

And holy crap, I have pretty strong feelings about this book.

Okay, it's not that bad, but comparing to the previous two... it felt flat. I don't know how the explain it in more cohesive terms, but it didn't hit the same way the previous two did.

First, I like the ending. Though it ended on a pretty sad note, this is exactly what the Nicky trilogy (it feels surreal to actually type that) was leading up to.

The very prologue of Missing Pieces is a warning for Nicky to stop wandering, else he'd not make home some day. Nicky's character in general is centered around that: wandering.

"Oh, but what happened after he got kidnapped? What about Nicky's friends? How did he escape?"

Questions like this come from a misunderstanding. The books aren't meant to be your introduction to the lore. They're meant to be an additional piece of information, for those that were curious about the world of Hello Neighbor and wanted to know more about the past.

The true story is told in the games. Make no mistake—Hello Neighbor is a gaming franchise. The story originates from the games.

The ending of Buried Secrets is one-to-one with Act 1 for a reason. You're meant to read these books with the knowledge from the games. So that when you read the trilogy, you went: "Oh, so that's how it happened."

At least, this should be in theory. The sad reality is that games just fucking suck in storytelling and gameplay, to the point where the actual plot is shoved aside for other matters. That's why, in most cases for fans, the books act as an introduction to the story of the games, instead of how it should be in the other way around.

This is why Buried Secrets ends in this cliffhanger way. It's a prequel of the games, but it isn't meant to be an introduction. It's meant to be an additional explanation. You can blame the games' lack of quality for this.

Anyway, I liked the ending because it tied up Nicky's wandering arc in a pretty neat way.

... And that's it. That's literally the only thing that I like about this book. Everything else feels forced just to reach this specific ending.

I'm not sure if Carly was forced to make this a trilogy, but either way this definitely harmed the pacing and plot. Every character is written in a specific way that feels a little unrealistic based on the previous books.

See, Nicky is supposed to break into Peterson's house alone, without the help of his friends. Their method of justifying this is by having literally everyone in town suspecting that Nicky was the one behind the weird activities. No matter how illogical that seems.

My biggest complaint is Maritza.

Like, I won't lie that she isn't reasonable at first glance. Maritza is tired of fighting. She wants to move on. She thinks Nicky is changing for worse because of his obsession with the case. This is all understandable.

The problem is, instead of trying to convince him to move on, she would rather believe he did all of this to frame Peterson specifically? Despite knowing what Theodore's capable of, she'd rather believe that her closest friend would lie to everyone just to convince them of something they were already certain (that Theodore is fucking dangerous)?

I get they tried to apologize to Nicky by the end of the book, but it's too little and too late. Yeah, Peterson framed Nicky in an ill-timing, but would Nicky's only friends believe he'd actually do all of this ALONE?

It just doesn't feel natural.

The beginning and middle part of the book is literally Nicky getting kicked around like an abused puppy and being lonely again. The latter chapters, as well as Jay and Lu, kinda hard carries the entire book. Earthpro is not as interesting as it was in Waking Nightmare. And Buried Secrets tries really hard to get you to hate Trinity and Maritza with the "we are changing clubs" thing.

Overall, I wouldn't say It's a bad book, but definitely the weakest and most surreal among the three.

[willowaddison]

[loriksadoptionagency]

Slowly learning Warhammer 40k lore as I look deeper into Darktide. This week I found out how the pox plague in Darktide affects the victims' bodies *and* souls. It puts my Psykers' comments about "so many voices!" into context when carving through the Pox Walkers. It also gives new meaning to the sound of buzzing flies before a horde surge.

[nerevar-quote-and-star]

Instead of saying "Good morning", my wife and I go straight into explanations of how badly we each slept.

Rustleif, who lives in a town where Vaermina likes to party, probably

[howifeltabouthim]

'One can have these open-air nightmares, meet open-air ghosts, in summer.'

Iris Murdoch, from A Fairly Honourable Defeat

[xeyesofstardust]

It's been a day and my mind keeps ping ponging between fear and anger and more fear.

Germany has declared Trump to be identical to H*tler (which I've been thinking all along) and is suggesting that Americans should leave.

Here's the problem with telling Americans to abandon ship. People like me cannot leave. I am disabled. My mother is even more disabled than I am. We cannot leave and I doubt that we would be taken in by any other country.

I get they're trying to really drive home how dangerous things are about to get but leaving isn't an option for many. Moving within American is hella expensive. I cannot imagine how much moving to another country would cost. Money that most of us just do not have.

You'd think that with our economy issues that people would understand that. I mean, Europeans are constantly talking about it online.

It makes me just as angry as it does when a nurse at the hospital tells me to drive my mother to the hospital (my disability doesn't prevent me from driving I just don't have a drivers license nor a car) it's not a helpful solution.

I mean, surely, there must be disabled persons in Germany. They're everywhere, aren't they?

It's like a nightmare I cannot wake up from.

[fallenfelina]

Another poorly coloured image :)

[ayyy-imma-ninja]

Have one of the jars containing the nightmares ever broken or loosened enough for the nightmare's escape and if so what would happen if all of them went into Sun's head or mind? Or does it not work that way? (for your fairy au... Also, Daylight jumps from her universe to the fairy boys' universe giving sun 20 bars of chocolate and giving moon a tiny and very sharp bow and arrow. Before going back to her universe.

The jars are all sealed with a spell. They can't be re-opened by anyone else other than Moon, and if anyone tried the lid wouldn't budge. Someone struggling to open it would risk dropping and shattering the jar.

If that were to happen, the Nightmare would escape and target the nearest living being--which would be the person who broke the jar.

Say Sun broke a jar. The Nightmare would latch onto him and invade his mind. And remember, each Nightmare has its own base (like fears of monsters or dark places).

If a Nightmare based on a fear of, let's say, a dark hallway invaded Sundrop's mind, it would change to fit his own fears and he would experience a Waking Nightmare. His biggest fear is his brother leaving him. So as an example, he'd be alone in a spooky hallway, chasing his brother's shadow only to never find him.

But this will never happen. Moon has ensured that.

[ciceroandlucien]

Daedric Artifacts part 4

[machetemaiden27mcx]

Omg the nightmares are getting worse

Dreamt it was my mums birthday and we were getting ready to go out for a meal when i kept feeling like i was gonna pass out. I had some chicken and bacon pasta and felt better. We had a lot of people around for some reason and kept getting strangers knocking on our door. My friend worked for the special forces so was the one predominately dealing with these callers as she was armed. We kept seeing this figure in black robes and a black mask.

We go to this local pub for the meal but theres a lot of chaos goin on (people kicking off drunk, police cars, just general ruckus) so decided to leave straight after we ate to go to a club for a few drinks in the city.(think it was London)

We get to the club and outside we see the black shadowy figure in robes and mask again. Hes got guns. We realise a big scale drug deal went terribly wrong but its too late. We drive around trying to dodge the bullets but most of our group end up dead. I have a gun aimed at my side, the cool metal brushing against my skin but somehow manage to get away. We all end up going on the run out of fear

We end up on this old secret underground military base where my special agent friend assures we will be safe and get introduced to the people who run the place, there are loads more people on the run here too

Thats when we notice a boat on the monitor pulling into the docking area and panic. We all get down low so the cameras dont pick us up.

This is about the point i realise im dreaming but im still terrified.

I get up and try and turn the monitor off to end the dream but instead it alerts the strange ship to our presence and one by one they start picking us out and plunging us into the ocean. Of course its the black shadowy figures' henchmen

Im far too scared to go back sleep now in case the dream continues.... i dont know how to ensure it doesnt continue

[punkrockmixtapes]

HAZZERD - Waking Nightmare (Official Music Video)

[kawa-goat]

Enzo Esposito: The Most Basic Misunderstanding of a Character

Don't really wanna make this a long post, but 'wanting' doesn't mean you 'can', so here we are. Been a while since I've done one of those, so I hope I still have the gas.

I'll be frank; for a fandom that still insists on trying to justify (understanding is one thing) Theodore's actions, I'm not really surprised some people still fail to get Enzo and his arc correct. It's funny, because I wouldn't even say he's that much of a complex character with a brain-wracking morality.

What Enzo suffers is what pretty much every child character goes through: he acts like a child—therefore he's annoying. Unless your character is a serious, flawless person with a strong sense of morality, he's whiny. He's 'unnecessary'.

Gregory. Cassie. Elizabeth Afton. Charlotte Emily. Cassidy. Susie. Daniel Diaz. They're all victims of that (the treatment's even worse if the character is a girl).

With that in mind, let's try to understand who Enzo is.

Enzo Esposito

We first see him in the early parts of Missing Pieces—though he doesn't appear much in this book in general. Enzo at first is that quirky kid with nerdy interests that you can click with for some reason.

Let's see: when they first meet, Nicky and Enzo have one thing in common—their parents know each other. Like any parent, they expect their kids to become friends as well, despite the differences between them.

Still, Enzo (and I want to emphasize this) is the one that sparks their friendship. He helps Nicky get clothes. They game for a bit. Then Aaron appears and Enzo becomes distant. Everything seemed fine between Enzo and Nicky, until, for some reason, Aaron's friendship with Nicky made Enzo act strange (in the purest form of a romance novel).

Time passes, and Enzo goes largely missing (pun intended) from the novel. Nicky does end up mentioning to Aaron about Enzo's weird behavior when he appeared earlier on in the store, as well as how everyone seems to look at Aaron... differently.

Reading is a fun exercise, so I'd like you to pay attention to these following excerpts:

“I think [Enzo] said he knows you,” I say, trying again.

This time Aaron looks up. “He doesn’t know anything.” (Page 69.)

and,

“Enzo stopped hanging out with me because he’d rather play video games,” Aaron says quietly, wiggling the tab of his soda can until it comes off. (Page 70.)

Aaron suggests that Enzo would rather play his expensive videogames than wasting time with weirdos like him. He says that Enzo doesn't know anything about him, despite claiming so. This prompts Nicky to avoid Enzo as well.

A lot of things happen, Nicky is prohibited to see Aaron, and then he goes to spend quality time with the Espositos. This is one of my favorite parts of the book. Nicky tries really hard to paint them as a rich, snob family, but it crumbles real quickly when Enzo acts nice to him.

“Cool hat,” [Enzo] says, and he ruins everything because he’s nice again. (Page 131.)

Their bonding goes over gaming, and they start to have fun. Nicky eventually brings up Aaron again, and Enzo brings a new perspective over things.

It was far from being a rift over wealth, but because Mr. Peterson said something extremely inappropriate to Maritza (his younger sister, by the way). And Aaron and Mya were starting to act as if the Esposito siblings didn't belong in their house after Lucy's death—instead of the other way around.

Given Mr Peterson's weird behavior (that Nicky experienced by first-hand), it's not unreasonable to assume that Aaron lied about Enzo.

Okay, so the beef between Esposito and Peterson was a more complicated matter, instead of materialistic reason. Still, Enzo never said he hated Aaron, nor did he have anything against him. It was his father who was problem.

That's part one.

Flash forward to Waking Nightmares. Enzo's character has a peak here. He might be the quirky kid with nerdy interests, but he's far from shy.

Actually, Enzo slips up a lot.

It starts with him ditching Nicky and Maritza over Seth and Ruben—the latter who were obviously keeping Enzo around to make fun of him. Enzo was oblivious to this and acted neglectfully over Maritza missing Mya (which in turn leads to Nicky and Maritza bonding).

Anyway, the gang would go on to investigate Mr. Peterson behind Enzo's back and consent. This leads to the rift between him and Nicky in chapter 7, which mirrors the conflict between Jay and Mr. Esposito.

This chapter has one of the best delivery of lines from this book.

“Have fun with your new friends,” I say.

As soon as I have my back to [Enzo], I hear him say, “Have fun alone.” (Page 82.)

Meow.

So they obviously went too far here. Both of them. Mind you, the original topic was over the investigation of Mr. Peterson, which then escalated to something else.

The point is: I'd like to highlight that, despite acting a little rude, Enzo has a point in the overall discussion. While it's understandable that Nicky (and Maritza) wants Enzo's support in the investigation, Mr. Peterson is a very dangerous man—Enzo knows from experience. Putting Maritza and Trinity in danger is a no-brainer for him, so you can understand why Enzo would be reluctant to help and even try to pull Nicky out of it.

Now, there's something really important that needs to be stated here.

The Hello Neighbor kids aren't the mystery gang. They don't solve problems without flaws. They aren't detectives. 12 year olds should be focusing on socializing at school, not solving a missing case.

The hello neighbor kids are a bunch of children trying to find their identities in a town that has a bunch of problems.

They are all tweens. They are stupid. They say stupid things. They get out of hand.

But they aren't enemies. By the end of the day, they are still friends. They want what they think is better for them.

Despite their fall out, Enzo manages to realize that he was being used as a laughing stock by Seth and Ruben (although I'll admit that was off-screen and a little rushed). He does make up to Nicky and does apologize over what he said.

The overall point is:

Enzo is a dynamic character. He has quirky interests and acts a little nerdy (and has a lot of comebacks), but he can mess up sometimes when he thinks he's right. He's still just a kid. He doesn't hate Nicky or Aaron. He manages to see beyond his flaws and try to be a better person.

To me, Enzo is a good character because there's nuance behind him. He's not one-sided. He's not just mean, but he's also not just nice (unlike a certain character from the franchise whose only remarkable trait is being mean).

Anyway, the reason behind the mess that is this post (I'm sleepy, sorry) is that Enzo is kind of a misunderstood character in the fandom—like pretty much any child character. Usually characters that holds realistic expectations (especially when it comes to their age) tend to be hated.

Oh well.

[thestuffmybraincomesupwith]

A strange day dream (a bad one):

I had a fear that the man who is obsessed with me saw me and chased me. I ran to my favorite shop and shoved past customers to hide in the basement. I texted the shopkeep and told him I was hiding in the basement, and would be here until past close, and to please let me know when everyone was gone because I was scared.

The day dream stopped there. I don't know what the reply or response would have been. I don't know if the man would think he lost me and continue searching outside, or stick around, or go to haunt around my car until I came back for it. I don't know if I would cry or get mad or just sit and be quiet, if upset. When I dream at night, I don't have main control. I am a reactive passenger, and even my reactions aren't all under my control. When I day dream, I usually just the let the narrative take me where it will, but I still have some semblance of control; I can normally push the plot along and think of "what could happen next". I didn't this time. Couldn't. "What if the shopkeep came to check on me?" Nothing. "What if he suspected I was down here and told the shopkeep he was a friend, looking for me, and the shopkeep hadn't checked his phone?" Fear, but nothing. "What if he left and you didn't see him again for months or years?" Nothing. "What if he was waiting near my car to talk to me?" No. "What if he waited out of sight and followed me home?" No no no no no.

My mind does not want to spin what could happen next. It's almost like it's saying "we will not manifest this into existence. We are not even going to imagine it and give the universe ideas."

Living in mild anxiety and trepidation over scenarios that will likely never happen.

[nerevar-quote-and-star]

Erandur: I pray I don't mishandle what I prayed for.

[howifeltabouthim]

There are mornings when I wake up and it takes an instant to remember. For a few hours sleep snuffs out the terrible real.

Siri Hustvedt, from The Blazing World