The Road Not Taken

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth

If you don't know this poem, shame on you, google Robert Frost and come back when you're more educated.  I'm sorry, that's probably a bit harsh, this post isn't about Frost anyway, I just happen to be a fan of the man's work.  But no, this post is brought to you on request of a friend, he wants to spread a question around.  What happens after you take the Path of Black Leaves?  It is a good question, isn't it, going down that road is a changing experience for those with the fortune or misfortune to walk along its trail.

I have only ever entered the path once, and sometimes I still feel it, seeping into my head.  I have never had hallucinations, and I'm not one to remember my own dreams, but there is something in that realm that changes you.  When I first went in I knew far less than I do now, but I could feel the power of the place right away.  The ground, the sky, it all reeked of a darkness and His power permeated the trees, and it all hit me at once.  I... lost control, it's a place I have never taken it a second time for a reason, any power I hold over Cage is lost there, I all but blacked out as the cruelest part of my mind had more control than it had ever had before.  Even when I left the path, my mind was clouded and dark, I couldn't think straight for weeks.  It is a place that has more power over me than I prefer, so I largely leave it be, but there are still things that can be learned from it without actually taking the Path.

So little is truly well known about those trees, about that dark road, but some things are common knowledge:

1. Everyone's favorite weight-loss success story has some major influence over the place. It is believed to be his realm, or perhaps a barrier between his world and ours.
2. It can be used to accelerate travel, people can walk a few yards down the Path, and travel hundreds of miles on our land.
3. Traveling there is not a good idea, especially if you are not prepared, it has a way of infecting your mind, and no qualms about killing off the occasional trespasser.

Yeah, that's about it, sorry guys, that's all I can find that is even slightly reliable and consistent.  I should start scouring, more of the old blogs again, I suppose.  But for this one I'm leaving you with a request, please feel free to share any experiences you have had with the path, or any theories you've developed on it, this is one of those posts where I'll probably come back and add in the details later.

See you around

-Cage

A Return

The blogger A has returned!  Now some of you may not know who this is, I myself have never actually seen any of his actual work as his previous blog (Defining) seems to have been mostly erased, but it seems he is back after over a year of silence.  I have no idea what A is actually like, I honestly haven't looked into him all that much, but from what I have discerned he was once someone important, and so I will, of course, be watching to see what this develops into.  Of further interest he claims that he is "Going to kill the Slender Man", wonderful, it's not like anyone has ever tried that before... I could provide more links, but you get the point.  Also his URL is "overcoming my humanity", which is daunting or concerning in the slightest.  I don't know why I'm complaining, if he succeeds than maybe my life can be just a little less dark, and I can spend less time trying to make a decision that will eventually kill me.  Who knows, maybe he knows something I don't, maybe he knows something I do, wouldn't that be interesting, but regardless I'm sure all will be revealed in time, and it looks like it should be interesting until that point anyways.

Anyway, because I didn't start this blog to outline the specifics, I'd like to turn this to a more general topic: Zombies.  Seriously though, it seems as though some of you people just can't stay dead, and I'd like to explore why that is.  We all know the Tall Guy likes hunting his prey for a very long time before moving in for the kill, some people have gone years before finally being killed, now I have several theories on why that is, but I'm not exactly at liberty to discuss all of them, so we'll just focus on how this effects someone's survival chances in other high risk scenarios.  It seems like many times He will just leave someone for dead rather than killing them himself, giving them a chance to survive exclusively through the force of will.  I believe that being hunted by such a fear inducing creature gives people a sense of determination that fades only when faced by the Man himself.  It is this new found determination and desperation that allows people to push through events that would have left them helpless and resigned to their fates prior to their stalking.  In short, because they have already been through so much, surviving some of these incredible circumstances isn't as big of a leap as it once was.

I have a little more to say on this subject, but I have a draft for an essay due tom arrow and I've been putting it off for weeks, so I'm going to leave off here for now.


Right, so I'm finally updating this, good for me, I need to get a cookie later to celebrate.  But first I'd like to go ahead and reiterate what some of the comments below have already said: Many times we have no way of knowing weather or not a person really died.  Heck in the Messenger's List of the Deceased there is a second list filled with people who might be dead.  It can be difficult confirming the death of a hunted (new term of mine, it's faster than typing runner/fighter, this is the only time I'll clarify), so many people are spread out, and when the one unifier we have is the interned it can be tough finding someone who actually identify the body.  Also I'd like to refer you back to the sacred Rule #1, while this is for me, it is important to remember that just because one person says they saw someone die doesn't mean you can trust them on that.  It's things like this that make it hard to be sure of a persons death, and thus make it more common to see such people return.

Also I'd like to address the possibility of supernatural resurrections.  Yes, yes, let us all sigh and roll our eyes at this thoroughly absurd notion, in fact, lets do it in unison 3 ... 2 ... 1 ... go.  Good, now that that's out of the way let's all remember what we're dealing with here: a supernatural creature whose origins, motives, and powers are largely unknown.  Things like someone genuinely coming back from the dead should surprise none of us at this point, as virtually everything else has been done already.  Of course the ramifications of such developments should not be taken lightly, either, anyone who has truly been revived has likely undergone a tremendous psychological metamorphosis, regardless of weather or not that was the intention of the resurrector.

Well, that's all I've got, sorry it wasn't full of danger, excitement, and intrigue, but hey, this is an analysis blog, not an action one.  I promise if I ever decide to be interesting again I'll let you guys know.  I hope it was at least informative, and not mind-numbingly boring.

See you around

FreedomCaged

Happy Halloween

Hello again, everyone, and happy holidays.  I'm sorry I haven't gotten up my community post yet, though I do promise that it is half done... okay a third done.  I am a horrible procrastinator, and frankly I was hoping there would be a few questions on the last post to give me an excuse for not updating so quickly when I already had all of my information in order.  I do promise, however, that my new post will be up by Wednesday, or Saturday at the latest.  I talked to the tall businessman earlier, and he refuses to wear the tie I got for him, I'm disappointed, but I think we all knew that he wasn't going to change his wardrobe for trick or treating.

If I were a bit more dedicated of a person I'd crank out a quick analysis of All Hallows Eve and how it relates to the Catholic All Saint's Day on November 1st.  Or I'd talk in depth about how candy was symbolic of the gifts that were placed on doorsteps to ward of evil spirits.  Or I'd draw parallels between it and the Spanish holiday Dia De Dus Muertos.  However, I'm not that dedicated, so you only get what I remember off the top of my head, besides, you probably don't care that much about an academic lecture of today, and I have to design and program a game for my intro to programming class, so I'll leave you with this: Have a happy Halloween, and be wary of small children in masks.

Oh, and before I forget, it seems that my poll revels the greatest fear of those gathered here is losing control, either of your physical or mental capabilities, it seems that only one person who has voted thus far doesn't share this fear.  Second place goes to the fear of isolation, neither of these are particularly surprising fears, but if you haven't voted yet please feel free, the poll is still open for a few days.

See you around

Cage

Dreaming Is Free

O.k., I don't even like Blondie all that much, but it was that or a MLKJ reference, and this seemed less cliche.  Yes, that's right, it's time for my first semi useful research post, also known as the reason I started this blog.   I figured I would start on something easy, but still something that most of us can relate to: Dreams.  As I'm sure most of you have experienced, our tall acquaintance seems capable of influencing our dreams, and even without his hand some dreams seem to have a deeper purpose, and a higher function.

Dreaming begins when a person enters R.E.M (Rapid Eye Movement) sleep, which tends to be around 90 minutes after they fall asleep.  While there is no generally accepted explanation for why we dream, it is evident that without entering REM sleep we quickly lose the ability to function.  People who have gone several days without entering rem sleep often experience hallucinations, shortened attention spans, an inability so perform complex mental functions, and occasionally physiological reactions.  Dreams can seem to last hours or days, but in actuality they rarely last for longer than ten minutes.  This, more than anything, is a testament to the human brains untapped potential, if our subconscious is able to play out fantasies of such detail that much faster than we could ever experience them in real life, than the brain is capable of compiling and compressing more data in its free time than all the supercomputers in the world.  This also means that if our favorite dream demon can send these images to us, then he is capable of processing as much as our minds can handle on a consinouns and deliberate level.  There are many theories as to the purpose of dreams, including the ideas that they effect our long term memory, how we perceive individual memories, and how we remove unused emotions or sensations, these theories are not all bound together, but neither are they mutually exclusive, meaning if one had power over dreaming, he could possibly effect all these other mental functions as well.

Dreaming also has psychological implications.  Dreams are often seen as an opportunity to play out different scenarios in our head, with improved understanding of the results but no risk to ourselves.  Many people have claimed that dreaming has provided them with answers to problems that they couldn't solve while awake, showing another example of how much potential we have locked away.  Our favorite pervert, Freud, believed that dreams were a chance for the Id to live out its fantasies without the repercussions that would normally keep the ego or superego from stopping it.  He also believed that dreams were a way to conquer our emotions in stressful or confusing situations.

Dream interpretation is a heavily explored and long existing field of study, bordering on the realm of accepted science.  Many notable psychologists and ancient civilizations have contributed to the study of understanding dreams.  Despite all of these, or perhaps because of them, we are often left with many different interpretations for each dream.  One person could claim that a single dream represents several different issues manifesting themselves in a single scene, and someone else could say that the same dream focuses solely on a single issue, unrelated to the other person’s interpretations.  The fact is, to fully understand most dreams you need a lot of context, education, and practice, and I have very little of any in this field, so I'm not even going to try to fully explore this topic.

EDIT: A new note, one that is primairly speculation at this point, but I have found enough information that I feel comfortable talking about it here with the proper disclaimer.  There is evidence that the Slender Man is not the only creature capable of entering people's dreams.  At this point what evidence I have found leans towards the theory that whoever or whatever intiates the dream has the most power over the reciver.  This means that, if I am correct, Slender Man and creatures of a similar nature do not actually enter your dreams, rather they "manufacture" dreams, which they then place in your mind for you to view and interact with.  again this is just a theory, and it does not diminish the effects a dream can have on your mind, it is just an explination of how these dreams can occur.  I think that He can still "enter" dreams, but he does not have as much control in this situtaion as it is still "your dream."  Take from this what you will, it is hardly a breakthrough, but I always love stumbling across new information.  If you have any new ideas or evidence let me know.

Well that's all I have on the topic of dreaming for now, though new discoveries do happen from time to time, and every now and then my research will reveal some new light on a topic I have already explored, so it is entirely possible I will return and improve this information from time to time.  I know for a fact my roommate just committed to writing a paper on this subject, so maybe I'll steal some of his work when he is finished.  Also, please do share some of your own dreams below, I'm interested in seeing what all of your experiences are.

See you around

FreedomCaged