Inspiration for NaNo /// Music Monday #37

So I almost forgot about this, but thankfully I didn't. I will make the post a bit snappy, though, since I need to get back to writing.

Today we'll be listening to . . .

"Saviors of the World" from the album Unleashed

Composed by Skillet

Something that inspires me a lot when writing is listening to songs that inspire scenes, or even entire stories. One of these happens to be this one, as it is a theme for my revamped Portal Chronicles trilogy. And while it's specifically for book 3, it's pumped me up so much for writing the first installment, called Shattered. Seriously, cranking the song on my home from work gets me so excited about what this series has become.

Also, a lot of the lyrics really fit the overarching tone of both the third book and the series as a whole. If the villains succeed, they will bring apocalypse to both worlds. In the end, Mark, David, and Warren are the ones who must rise up as saviors, even though the task at hand is very overwhelming.

I won't talk more, as you need to focus on the song and I need to keep on writing. If you're curious about my NaNo project, not to fret! I'll be sharing more on it in December, once the event is over.

Sorry for the SUPER short post! (I'm not really doing the music justice.) What'd you think of the song? Does it get you fired up like it does me? Does it make you curious about the series I'm working on?

One Last Spooky Song /// Music Monday #36

Spooktober may be over . . . but we can have another Halloween-themed song, right? After all, I only got to choose two last month, so we might as well do one more.

Today, we'll be listening to . . .

"1,000 Doors"

Composed by The Living Tombstone

This is for a game called Spooky's Jump Scare Mansion, formerly known as Spooky's House of Jump Scares (it was changed for copyright reasons, if I remember correctly). It's a seemingly cute game where you, the player, decide to explore the abandoned mansion on the hill to see if all the legends about it are true. You're greeted by a little ghost named Spooky, who challenges you to make it through all 1,000 doors of the mansion.

Initially, the only jumpscares you get are adorable little slime blobs, cupcakes, coffee mugs . . . even the spiders are cute! But that unsettling atmosphere is always in the background, putting you on edge to the point that even the quaint cardboard cut-outs popping from the wall surprises you. Then you meet the specimens, some of which are showcased in the music video. It's a downward spiral from there, where danger and creepy-crawlies are lurking around every corner. Even some of the cutsie jumpscares become disturbing.

Will you find out what happened to Spooky so long ago and what her plan is? Will you emerge victorious, or will you become a slave to the mansion's dark host? Well, you'd have to play the game to find out. Or you could watch a YouTube gamer play it. It works either way.

As for the song itself, I love how it encapsulates both the cheery façade and the underlying horror. The Living Tombstone's music is always so good, and he nailed it once again with this song. Plus, the combination of BSlick's and Crusher-P's voices is amazing. BSlick sounds exactly like I would imagine the dude exploring the mansion would, and Crusher-P crushes (see what I did there?) her lines, though short they may be, as Spooky. Also, the way the song cleverly hints at the game's lore while not giving it all away is fantastic. An all-around wonderful job!

Hope you all enjoyed the song! Have you played the game before? If so, were you jumpscared at any point? And if you haven't heard, I'm participating in NaNo this month, so there probably won't be a blog post this Friday. Sorry about that!

Monthly HapPENings: October

Well, 2018 seems to be drawing its last breaths . . .

I don't think anything out of the ordinary happened this last month. The biggest difference was me starting my new job on the 1st. My job now is being a direct support worker for people with disabilities. I supervise and work alongside them at a facility that gives them jobs so they can experience more of a . . . normal life, for lack of a better term. While it definitely has its challenges, and it can sometimes be mentally exhausting, I still love it. I'm gonna miss a lot of these people when I leave one day, which'll probably be a year or two down the road at this point.

Aside from that, nothing too exciting occurred. It was just me adjusting to the full-time life and savoring those sweet, work-free weekends. Oh, yeah! I almost forgot: I went to a friend's house over one of the weekends. I quite enjoyed it; we had fun watching a movie, playing games, and just plain chatting and hanging out. And thanks to both of us having full-time jobs, it made planning "super easy, barely an inconvenience." (Kudos to you if you got the reference and aren't any of my sisters.)

Bookish HapPENings

So I may still be reading the same book since I finished The Iron Trial in September. Whoopsie-doopsie. Here's to hoping I can finish my current stack before the year's end!

HapPENings on the Screen

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This was my third or fourth time seeing this movie, and it's been a while. I'd forgotten just how amazing it was. Though it wasn't confusing like it was the first time, I was still in awe of the masterful storytelling on display. Everything, from the increasing stakes to the puzzling--and intriguing--plot to the incredible score, was so on-point. You'd have to be crazy to never watch this film.

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I went into Ant-Man and the Wasp with virtually no expectations, aside from "I hope this is as funny as the first," which it totally was. As the article I linked above as the source mentioned, it's a nice breather from the heavy-hitting movies we've gotten lately and the ones we'll be seeing next year. I've always appreciated Scott's family-oriented nature, and that shines quite nicely in here. Plus, the music still had that awesome style from the first movie, so that was a bonus. An excellent piece of cinema overall!

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When I was at my friend's place, we watched Mad Max: Fury Road on his big projector screen. Man, was it a blast, somehow going with my expectations and subverting them at the same time. On the surface, it's an action-packed, two-hour-long car chase through the dystopian desert. But I honestly believe that when you peel back the layers, you find some pretty interesting and thought-provoking stuff. I wouldn't be doing it justice by trying to unravel it so briefly here, so maybe for another post? Oh, and the soundtrack was amazing in the context of the movie! (I'd only listened to it by itself before, and it's still epic that way too.)

S6's plot thickens, as the villain, Nadakhan, cleverly catches the heroes alone and imprisons them in his special sword. I still hold firm to the belief that each season is better that the last, and you can tell that the writers are acknowledging their audience's changing age. I also love the fact that one seemingly small thing--Jay not using his third and final wish from Nadakhan--is going to have a big impact in the season's finale.

Finally! My sisters and I are four episodes away from completing our rewatch of S1. Even though I know how it all goes down, the turn of events is still suspenseful and chilling as the heroes get closer to the Reverse-Flash. And I already know that the last episode is gonna make me cry. That's probably a sign of a good show, right?

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I decided to give Avatar: The Last Airbender a chance, and I'm actually quite enjoying it! I was appreciating how the plot and characters were being set up in the first episode, and the progression from there has been pretty good. It's a very entertaining show, and it's fun to throw in my own comments now and again when I'm watching with Chloe and Kaitlyn. I'm curious to see how the story unfolds throughout the rest of the season.

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I was interested in this show because it's written by the same guys who did the Ninjago show and The LEGO Ninjago Movie, and a good friend of mine recommended it to me. I've only watched one episode so far, and I'd already say it's quite entertaining. The main characters have been set up well, the plot is interesting thus far, and the villain was someone I didn't guess, but perhaps should've. I'm looking forward to watching more!

Gaming HapPENings

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I missed playing Breath of the Wild. Like, a LOT. It's just such a good game, and a very unique Zelda title. I hadn't played in what felt like a long time, and returning to it seemed like coming home. I've done some fun stuff, like crazy shield surfing that would've killed if I didn't have Daruk's protection. Or finding two stables that I've somehow managed to miss until now. Or exploring Gerudo Town for the secret club that has special clothing that reminds me of a Fortnite skin. Or waiting forever for a Stalnox to awaken in the night. It's just been a blast, and I need to play some more soon.

Writerly HapPENings

I've written about 1,200 words this month, most of which was for Mechanical Death, my creepy flash fiction I shared with you guys last week. And I realized that I was supposed to go over my writing goals last Monthly HapPENings post, but I forgot. Now I'll just wait to assess the whole year in December's summary.

On the subject of writing, if you don't follow me on Twitter, you won't have heard my big announcement: I'M PARTICIPATING IN NANO THIS YEAR WITH THE PORTAL CHRONICLES! It's my first time, which is why I'm so hyped. While I have no doubt it'll be fun, it will also eat up a lot of my spare time. So I'm not sure what my blogging's gonna look like in November. You'll definitely get both Music Monday posts, but I'm not sure what else. It will depend on how I feel and how the writing goes.

Anyway, I'm finally done. Thanks for listening to me blabber! What'd you guys do/read/watch/play/write last month? Are you participating in NaNo? If so, what's your project about?