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    Alyzarin

    Sometimes it's good to just wander around, you know?

    by , 02-26-2013 at 02:58 PM (836 Views)
    No supplements this time, I decided to just go clean and see what happens. I did smoke a little during the day, but not much, and not too soon before going to bed.

    #1 - How Did This Become About Aliens? [Non-Lucid]

    I was at some house party with JE and JG, among other people who I can't quite recall now, and we were all lying around or sitting on this bed in the dark waiting to each get pizza from JG one at a time, or something really odd like that. When he was calling me to get mine I suddenly realized that I was naked and felt really embarrassed, but it was really dark so I quickly made a grab for my pants and cami which I saw on the ground not too far from me and slipped them on. I went over to JG and got my pizza, like in a personal pan-sized box, and then I decided to head out (and the pizza just kind of disappeared in the process). I was walking to the door and this big dog came up and tried to get outside, but I held it back and went out and just started pacing back and forth in front of the door for R to get there to pick me up. I started anxiously texting him, but then after a minute JG came out to tell me that R was already sitting in the car parked in the driveway, even though when I looked a second later I didn't see anyone there.

    I went over and got in the car and, down on the street, this car pulls up and a group of mean looking thugs or something get out. We drive off recklessly, swerving and barely missing obstacles along the way, and eventually we accidentally hit some of the thugs. R (though I'm not sure it's actually him) drives us off quickly so we can get away before they come beat the shit out of us and we end up in some frozen and snowy lake, which was the first sign of this kind of weather in the dream. Suddenly I had a third-person view of the thugs trying to figure out who we are, and they were referring to us as aliens (and I had a mental image of me being a humanoid one, while R or whoever looked like Roger from American Dad!) when someone pointed out that there were just some aliens at JG's house, so they decided to go ask him about us. It flashes back to us now except that it's still in third-person and we've become Robin (Cobie Smulders) and Barney (Neil Patrick Harris) from How I Met Your Mother. I could guess who was supposed to be who but I can't really say for sure, I didn't feel a distinct connection to either since this was all very detached still. Robin was freaking out about the situation but Barney was saying don't you get it? Something had to have started all of this alien business, and it might have been there at that lake. However, before he could really go any further with that thought,
    I woke up.

    #2 - Just An Ordinary Office [DILD]

    Something led up to this part of the dream, but the first thing I really remember is when me, Butters from South Park, his dad, a psychiatrist, and a cat all walked into this nice little room that was visibly (through the windows) on the first floor of some building we were in. Butters had some kind of supposed emotional problems that needed discussing, and the psychiatrist started talking about how she had the perfect method to make him feel better. It sounded really deep and caring, until she started saying about how wonderful it would be to do... whatever it was (some form of relaxation or self-expression I think, but it's hard to recall now) "as a lesbian". As she was saying all this, I became lucid. Poor Butters was just starting to get really confused as always, and I start petting the cat who's still walking around the room and laughing my ass off at how ridiculous this is. I started thinking about someone I know in waking life who always has stories about how when something funny happens in one of her dreams she wakes up in a fit of laughter, so it made me a little cautious not to make myself wake up but thankfully that never happened. I started observing everything around me just to stabilize a bit, and I decided to go through this other door in the room (aside from the one we came through) that I perceived as leading to the closet, but I wanted it to lead somewhere else.

    I opened the door and there was a hallway in it, and as I turned around and it left my sight while I was closing the door, I willed it to lead to some kind of work office. I'm not sure why I chose this exactly, I guess I just thought it would be more likely to happen since I could easily picture it in the kind of environment I was already in. It worked, and I suddenly felt that I was no longer on the first floor of the building. I walked down and this guy walked past me and smiled at me, so I just kind of smiled back while I was still busy stabilizing, but then I decided I should stop worrying about that and just be confident that the dream will hold itself together for at least a little bit. I turned back around and said hey to the guy and asked if I could see his shirt, just to see what it said. It was one of those things where there are two phrases that each have one word the same and in the image they're combined so that they each end up at that word (or sometimes start from that word, but not this time) and that particular word is only written once, you know? The two things it said were "PUSH IT" and "SHOVE IT", with the 'IT' being at the bottom. The whole thing was made out of craftily placed black and orange borders, and I'm not sure if it would have actually made sense in reality or if it just worked because I only focused on one section of the shirt at a time, but I did think it was pretty cool and I told him so. He got all happy and was like "Isn't it?" or something like that, and then walked off.

    I kept walking through the office a bit and came across a few people, a couple guys sitting at desks and a girl just kind of standing around. I walked up to the girl and asked what's up, and she says something like they're just hanging around, and then she asks me if I want to dance. I say sure and we do a dorky little dance for a moment (you know when you like just raise your fists up to your shoulders and barely shake back and forth a bit? ), and then she asks me if I want a piece of paper. I'm like um, sure? And she reaches over and grabs one with something on it from a printer that was sitting next to us. I reached out to take it from her but she pulled it back and started telling me something, and I think it was about something I had to do to get the paper, but the dream started becoming flat and seeming distant, and then it faded away and
    I woke up.

    I thought about trying to fall back asleep and go for more, but I kind of had to go to the bathroom when I woke up and I was already alert enough that I knew that afterward I would be too awake to really have a chance at it, so I just decided to fully get up then.
    CanisLucidus and NewArtemis like this.

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    Updated 03-10-2013 at 04:30 PM by 50803

    Categories
    lucid , non-lucid

    Comments

    1. CanisLucidus's Avatar
      All right, nice work on the back to back LDs! I'm not going to jinx you by calling this a hot streak. Even though you're totally starting a hot streak.

      Quote Originally Posted by Alyzarin
      I opened the door and there was a hallway in it, and as I turned around and it left my sight while I was closing the door, I willed it to lead to some kind of work office... I reached out to take it from her but she pulled it back and started telling me something, and I think it was about something I had to do to get the paper
      LOL. Going into an office and performing bizarre rituals in order to obtain office supplies? I'm already living the dream.

      I'd have never chosen to have a lucid dream in an office setting, but it sounds like you managed to have a very good time. I'll be sure to inject some additional fun into my life by allowing myself one of those dorky little fist-to-the-shoulders dances if the next performance review goes well.

      Cool dreams!
      Alyzarin likes this.
    2. Alyzarin's Avatar
      Thank you! And it's not a hot streak yet, but hopefully it will be. The last couple of nights I missed my dreams because I was busy and had to get up early, but tonight I recalled some. Both about video games again. >.> But to be fair, I'm in the process of researching tons of games right now to find a new RPG worth playing, so it's probably my own fault lol.

      Well, I've never had an office job before (or any kind of genuine job, for that matter), so maybe the environment just doesn't have any negative connotations for me yet. I did enjoy myself though, you should definitely do that dance if you get the chance.

      And thanks again!
      CanisLucidus likes this.
    3. CanisLucidus's Avatar
      Both about video games again. >.> But to be fair, I'm in the process of researching tons of games right now to find a new RPG worth playing, so it's probably my own fault lol.
      Ha! That's cool. Hopefully you'll be willing to share the results of your research once this process has concluded.

      I did enjoy myself though, you should definitely do that dance if you get the chance.
      Review today actually! You have my commitment that if it goes well, I will perform a fist-to-shoulders Dork Dance afterward.
      Alyzarin likes this.
      Updated 03-01-2013 at 05:56 PM by CanisLucidus
    4. Alyzarin's Avatar
      Ha! That's cool. Hopefully you'll be willing to share the results of your research once this process has concluded.
      I most certainly can. Do you have any kind of RPG preference? Right now I'm focusing largely on ones where it's either a SRPG with a turn-based battle system (usually grid-based, I don't know if you've ever played anything developed by Nippon Ichi Software, but in that vein) or ones where it's open map but battles take place in their own instance and you can run around and switch between the character you control (while the others are computer-controlled) to do real-time attacks. I'm also fine with the ones that work just like that but are turn-based and the characters just stand around until they get their commands, they're just not my number one focus.

      And in case those descriptions weren't that clear, here are some pics lol. (Just click them, I have to do URLs instead of images here because of the limit.)

      Spoiler for First:






      Review today actually! You have my commitment that if it goes well, I will perform a fist-to-shoulders Dork Dance afterward.
      Hehe, sweet. Good luck with that, too!
      CanisLucidus likes this.
    5. CanisLucidus's Avatar
      Wow, you are thorough! I am a #3 kinda guy, but #1 looks fun! I haven't played one like that before, but since I like to kind of chill out, relax, and think during RPGs (rather than rush through menus), it sounds like a lot of fun. I am of course also partial to games on platforms I actually own (PC, PS3, 3ds, iOS), but that's not your concern -- I'm interested in hearing about whatever you find that's super cool.

      Quote Originally Posted by CanisLucidus
      Review today actually! You have my commitment that if it goes well, I will perform a fist-to-shoulders Dork Dance afterward.
      Quote Originally Posted by Alyzarin
      Hehe, sweet. Good luck with that, too!
      And... the Dork Dance has been performed! And yes, I confirmed that there were no witnesses.
      Alyzarin likes this.
    6. Alyzarin's Avatar
      Wow, you are thorough! I am a #3 kinda guy, but #1 looks fun! I haven't played one like that before, but since I like to kind of chill out, relax, and think during RPGs (rather than rush through menus), it sounds like a lot of fun. I am of course also partial to games on platforms I actually own (PC, PS3, 3ds, iOS), but that's not your concern -- I'm interested in hearing about whatever you find that's super cool.
      *deep breath*

      Alright, I have some suggestions for you then lol. If you're looking for something relaxed and strategic, then this is definitely the type of game for you. These won't be anything I've found in my research, just stuff that I knew going in. If your PS3 is backwards compatible with PS2 games then this is going to apply to you much more, but it'll still be relevant even if it's not. (Mine isn't. T-T)

      So like I said, good examples of games in the #1 style are many of those developed by Nippon Ichi Software, also shortened to NIS (or NISA for the US branch). This just happens to be my favorite game-developing company of all time. They pretty much set the bar for this type of game now, as far as I'm concerned. Just as a quick review before getting into them, the main theme of their games is that they have a strong focus on demons and netherworlds, they're usually pretty comedy-based, and despite that they usually have pretty deep or touching storylines. In addition, they have a tendency to be very over the top, with insane attack moves involving lots of explosions, summoning gods and monsters, laser beams stretching for miles, and etc. They also make use of obscenely high numbers. If you're the type of gamer who likes to max character stats, these games can be very dangerous but potentially life-affirming. This is your one warning.

      So, first of all, their first three games I haven't played, and their fourth I haven't gotten that far into. The first is a PS1 game called Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure. And yes, it's a musical lol. To my understanding, though, the songs are still in Japanese even on the English version, but it's still said to be good. There's also an updated re-release for the DS. The next two are direct sequels, and they only came out in Japan. I don't know much about them, but together these three games are known as the Marl Kingdom series. The fourth game is a PS2 game called La Pucelle: Tactics. It is technically a standalone, but from what I understand it is somewhat of an indirect Marl sequel. This is somewhat common throughout all of their games, as they all take place in the same multiverse. Also, I can't say for sure about the first three, but at least from La Pucelle onward the maximum character level in these games is always 9,999. In La Pucelle, this is a hard cap, but in subsequent games this can be expanded.

      So, next is the first Disgaea game, which spawned what is undoubtedly their most popular franchise. There are games that came out in between the Disgaea games, but I'm just going to cover that whole series first, because there's an interesting pattern to it. The first two, Disgaea: Hour of Darkness and Disgaea 2: Cursed Memories, were released on PS2, and then a re-release of the first called Disgaea: Afternoon of Darkness was released on the PSP (and then again on the DS, which is the only exclusion from this next bit). From that point on, the pattern continues. Disgaea 3: Absence of Justice came out on PS3, then Disgaea 2: Dark Hero Days was a revamped release on PSP, including new features that were added in D3. Disgaea 4: A Promise Unforgotten followed on PS3, and then Disgaea 3: Absence of Detention on PS Vita. That's where it ends with that so far, but they're about to come out with Disgaea Dimension 2 on PS3 in Japan. It's ridiculous, but they do update them with each release, and believe me... if you get through all of them, even just reading what kind of new features they have on the Vita D3 is enough to make you foam at the mouth. X3 It's insane. The Disgaea series is also their most egregious when it comes to numbers. In the first, the stats cap around 21 million (be warned, they will roll back over to 1 if you ever manage to push past this point, but in future releases this is fixed by placing a hard cap at 20 million). In the re-releases of each game they stay consistent, but with each actual sequel they go up. Disgaea 2's stat cap is at 40 million, and Disgaea 3's is at 99,999,999. That stays the same with the fourth one, but other variables such as weapon modifiers go up, and the maximum damage that I've seen someone do so far approaches the hundreds of quadrillions. And no, that's not a typo. It's completely absurd. The last thing I'll say about the Disgaea series for now is that the first one introduced a type of character that stays consistent through them and appears every now and then in the other games known as a prinny - a penguin that talks, says "dood" a lot, and explodes when thrown. Yes.

      All of the ones I've mentioned so far use the grid-based system. The next one, Phantom Brave, was the first to use the open map wireframe system. In addition, while it is still turn-based, the turns are not based on your team vs their team (as the others are), but on the speed stat of each individual character. That means that if your SPD is significantly higher than your opponent, your character will go multiple times before they will, and vice-versa. This doesn't matter much until the postgame, though, but it does mean that you have to use your characters wisely because they won't all go at once. A big change about this game is that the story is actually fairy depressing, but this is bizarrely offset by the fact that the gameplay might be the most enjoyable (in my opinion, anyway). There are endless amounts of customization, it's great. Re-releases of Phantom Brave also came out for the Wii and the PSP. After that, there was Makai Kingdom. This is one of my personal favorites. It combines the open map element of Phantom Brave with the turn system of all the other games, and while it has the lowest stats (still over a million is possible, though) and the least customization, it introduces the use of facilities with special properties and vehicles for extra attack power in battles. It's definitely underappreciated, it's loads of fun.

      Then there's Soul Nomad & The World Eaters. Actually, I should correct myself. This one has by far the lowest stats (capping at 99,999), but you command troops instead of individual characters, so you can still do massive damage. It's been a long time since I played or looked into this one though, so it's hard to remember much else about it. However, the characters... oh man. Let me put it this way. There's a character named Gig from the start of the game... and if you like video game psychopaths, you're going to have a mancrush on him. No joke, be prepared. The last one worth mentioning is Zettai Hero Project: Unlosing Ranger VS Darkdeath Evilman, though it's only on the PSP. This one is a bit different. I don't know if you ever play roguelike dungeon crawlers, but it's basically a fusion of those and the grid-based games (oh, and Soul Nomad is grid-based, too). It's a bit less forgiving, since it is a roguelike. If you die in a dungeon or quit your game without finishing one, you will lose all of your equipment and your money. It's also unique among these in that you use only a single character, but the maximum level is 999,999. I've only just started playing this one myself, so that's pretty much all I can say about it.

      All of these games make very heavy use of cameos from the others, with more and more showing up as the multiverse progresses (including in the updated re-releases). They also, from Disgaea: Hour of Darkness onward (**except** for the PS2 version of Phantom Brave) use a New Game+ function, so you can carry everything over to a new cycle in the game and unlock extra features. They also, including Phantom Brave, use a reincarnation/transmigration function where you start over at level 1 but get stat boosts based on your previous level and total stored levels (usually maxing out at 69,000 or 186,000) that dramatically effect your maximum potential, and that combined with item leveling is how you hit those crazy stat caps. So it's important to get that stuff down if you want to reach those high numbers!

      Alright, I'll stop there for now. The last note is that if your PS3 does work with PS2 games, then all of those will be accessible to you other than Zettai Hero Project, except the ports of course. If it isn't, you'll miss out on Phantom Brave, Makai Kingdom, and Soul Nomad, but La Pucelle and the first two Disgaea games are available for download on the PSN and do work with any PS3, and they only cost like $10 each. And believe me, I haven't even begun to tell you about these games, I've just told you everything I think you need to know to see if you think they're worth looking more into lol. Sorry for making it so long, but if you are looking for this kind of game then I don't think you'll regret taking a look at the NIS franchise! And you can always ask me for more info if you do want some!

      And... the Dork Dance has been performed! And yes, I confirmed that there were no witnesses.
      Hahaha, yesss. XD This made my day.
      CanisLucidus likes this.
      Updated 03-02-2013 at 12:53 AM by Alyzarin
    7. CanisLucidus's Avatar
      Wow!! What an excellent SRPG overview! Seriously, this is much appreciated!

      If the original Disgaea game is on PSN download for only $10, that's a no-brainer pick-up to start out. Disgaea 2, same story. And it looks like Disgaea 3 and 4 are quite cheap on Blu-Ray disc (~$20) so the whole series is really accessible. This sounds like the place to start!

      And yeah, we were fairly early adopters on the PS3 so we not only have backward compatibility but also a PS3 that is the size of a small refrigerator. We've got a separate PS2 as well, though, so we're well-covered. (There was no way we were letting our Dance Dance Revolution pads go to waste! )

      Those stat caps are hilarious. And 4 quadrillion damage!! That is totally freaking insane! You're way, way past what a 32-bit integer can handle at that point and you're just a few orders of magnitude off of exceeding a 64-bit int. Too funny. I remember thinking that I was the man when I was putting out the max damage (99,999) on Final Fantasy X. I don't have the free time to be such a completist these days but I can sure as hell appreciate the art.

      By the way, since you're a PS3 owner, did you ever play "Journey"? That game reminded me so much of a lucid dream and I was curious whether it had struck another LD'er the same way.

      Anyhow, thanks again! Great info!
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    8. Alyzarin's Avatar
      You're very welcome, glad I could help! I actually got one of the bulky PS3s early on too, I just got a 40GB one. I had other systems and tons of games back then too, but I ended up selling them all.... That's something you're not missing out on in the drug scene. >.> The only thing I kept was my PS3, and I had to make sure I sold all of my controllers so that I wouldn't be able to sell the whole system (they won't take it otherwise), so I just got a new controller and dusted it off for the first time in like three years. That's part of why I'm searching for something new to play, too. (Though I do have an Xbox 360 now as well.)

      I miss DDR, I really do. X) I used to play it all the time in school, our old orchestra teacher would always set it up in the room for the next couple school days after a concert lol. He was a cool guy....

      But yeah, there's no game with better stats than a Disgaea game. I'm a completist too, so I've wasted dedicated SO much of my time playing them. The first time you hit level 9,999 or break a million in any stat is pretty satisfying. I hope you enjoy the games! Oh oh, and by the way, I always feel the need to tell people this.... In the first Disgaea, the boss of the first chapter has this setup where the map is pretty difficult, and if you lose it actually gives you a custom credits scene and asks you to start a New Game+. You by no means have to do this, you can just reset the game and face it again. And you can start the new game again if you want to rerun the first maps and level a bit more, I just think it's kind of annoying if you don't really want to do that lol. Just a heads up!

      I haven't played Journey, though I'm interested in it now. :O I'll have to look into that! Considering the selling my controllers thing, I really haven't played many PS3 games other than a few early titles.
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    9. CanisLucidus's Avatar
      The only thing I kept was my PS3, and I had to make sure I sold all of my controllers so that I wouldn't be able to sell the whole system (they won't take it otherwise), so I just got a new controller and dusted it off for the first time in like three years. That's part of why I'm searching for something new to play, too. (Though I do have an Xbox 360 now as well.)
      Ah, so this really is like a reunion for you! Cool. I guess this means that it's been several years since you even got the chance to play Disgaea 3-4. Oh, or maybe you got those on your Xbox 360. Anyway, I'm happy for you! We're cable cutters so the PS3 is pretty much the center of our media universe.

      I miss DDR, I really do. X) I used to play it all the time in school, our old orchestra teacher would always set it up in the room for the next couple school days after a concert lol. He was a cool guy....
      I know! Is DDR not awesome? The fact that we had pads and a zillion of those games meant that it was well worth getting a new PS2 when Old Reliable finally crapped out on us after years of good service. And hey, you were in the orchestra! I was a talentless but well-meaning violin player back in the day. What'd you play?

      I haven't played Journey, though I'm interested in it now. :O I'll have to look into that! Considering the selling my controllers thing, I really haven't played many PS3 games other than a few early titles.
      I really enjoyed Journey. The game is astonishingly short and almost entirely without challenge -- perhaps 2.5 hours to complete? But it's probably one of the more moving pieces of art I've encountered in any medium. Also, great soundtrack and the multiplayer system does the impossible by pairing you up with some random schmoe and actually making you feel like you're bonding with them.
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    10. Alyzarin's Avatar
      Ah, so this really is like a reunion for you! Cool. I guess this means that it's been several years since you even got the chance to play Disgaea 3-4. Oh, or maybe you got those on your Xbox 360. Anyway, I'm happy for you! We're cable cutters so the PS3 is pretty much the center of our media universe.
      Thank you! But nah, aside from the DS port of the first one, the Disgaea games are PSx exclusives. I just never got to play all the way though Disgaea 3 or 4, and it's been eating me up inside ever since they each came out. T-T I'm going to though, and I would've bought them already if I had more money to spend. A lot of it has already gone to PSP games since I just got one of those back too, namely the ports of Phantom Brave and Disgaea 2, the Japanese-only port of Makai Kingdom (which still hasn't shipped, and I ordered it like weeks ago ), and Zettai Hero Project, and then Disgaea 1 and La Pucelle off the PSN for my PS3. I think I'm going to grab the second one there pretty soon, too. The one I'm most actively working on at the moment is the PSP D2, which totally kicks ass. I got started on the PS2 version of it, so it holds a special place in my heart, and getting all these new D3 features added on to it is just great.... I'm about to have a second character hit level 1000. Of course, I'm considering also getting the JP-only PSP port of La Pucelle, two copies of the JP-only updated version of the PSP port of the first Disgaea which has extra unlockable characters only attainable through multiplayer achievements, and the corresponding DS port because I just learned today that it has character sprites in it for things that I would love to use that aren't in any of the games at all that are only available through hacking because they were just scrapped ideas, but that still work perfectly if that's done properly. Yes, my obsession goes that far. I haven't forgotten about 3 and 4, though! Or the new one that's about to come out. >.<

      And of course, this is excluding the fact that I'm currently researching other games to play, as well. But I'm actually doing that so that I can go through something brand new for a change.

      I know! Is DDR not awesome? The fact that we had pads and a zillion of those games meant that it was well worth getting a new PS2 when Old Reliable finally crapped out on us after years of good service. And hey, you were in the orchestra! I was a talentless but well-meaning violin player back in the day. What'd you play?
      Do you have a favorite DDR song or group? I used to like a lot of the ones by BeForU, like BREAK DOWN. I think it would kill me if I tried to jump back into that one now. X)

      I played the viola. How far did you get into it? I was in the top orchestra in middle school, but I was only ever first chair once. In high school I dropped down to the second highest because I didn't care enough to put up with sectionals lol.

      I really enjoyed Journey. The game is astonishingly short and almost entirely without challenge -- perhaps 2.5 hours to complete? But it's probably one of the more moving pieces of art I've encountered in any medium. Also, great soundtrack and the multiplayer system does the impossible by pairing you up with some random schmoe and actually making you feel like you're bonding with them.
      That sounds pretty interesting.... I'm guessing it's on the PSN then, if it's so short? I'll definitely check it out later on when I'm browsing the store. Thanks for the recommendation! :3