Sanctuary Dream

An Autism Simulation Movie

I ran into this while searching for authentic-looking movies dealing with autism. Sanctuary Dream is as authentic as it gets. Written and produced by Grant Carsten, a young man who is himself autistic, it thematizes domestic violence and homelessness, and attempts to simulate the way autistic people experience the world. This is achieved through unusual visual and sound effects, as well as the purposefully chopped-up narration.

The movie follows the journey of Faisal, an autistic teen, who flees from home and his abusive family in search of the Peace House, the titular dream sanctuary, where he could at last feel safe. Both the content and the presentation are raw, dissonant and disturbing, but the story ends on a hopeful note. Faisal finds the Peace House where one would least expect it at that point — in the company and kindness of well-meaning, open-minded people; and manages to connect with them through his interest in music and poetry.

For an indie production with a very modest budget, Sanctuary Dream is an amazing achievement. I enjoyed the soundtrack and the beautiful photography, and I was impressed by the performance of the lead actor, Traven Thomas, who was impeccable. I invite you to read the many thoughtful and overwhelmingly positive reviews on the Sanctuary Dream website, and visit its Facebook page for more info and some juicy behind-the-scenes morsels.

The movie can be purchased on Vimeo.

Fanart (!) for Ghost in the Machine, and Announcement

My friend Gladius created this phenomenal illustration for the Virmire chapters of Ghost in the Machine. The joy of seeing an offscreen moment such as this, that would otherwise exist only as a vague idea in my imagination, would be hard to overstate. Perhaps more importantly, this is hugely motivating and invigorating as a token of interest. I am honored and deeply grateful.

Rocannon’s World

By U. K. Le Guin

I don’t have much to say about this book itself. I’m posting about it because it made me recognize some issues I have with “classical” science fiction in general. I’ll use it as an example and an excuse to try and articulate those issues.

A New Mass Effect Fic: Teardrop

In which Garrus makes a disturbing and embarrassing discovery while sifting through data recovered from Saren’s base on Virmire.

Teardrop is actually anything but new. It’s one of my oldest Saren/Nihlus stories, written shortly after The Candidate and initially posted on Mass Effect Kink Meme in reply to some long forgotten prompt. It’s also one of my not-so-many Saren/Nihlus stories that feature an explicit sex scene between them. Heed the content warning.

I gave it a well-deserved revamp now, with changes both to overall tone (to make it a little less emo) and specific character actions (to clarify the nature of the power exchange). While I wouldn’t call it an outright rewrite (probably less than 1/4 of all the words has changed), this is a new and, hopefully, improved version. Enjoy!

Read the story here or on AO3!

Mood: Teardrop by Massive Attack

Image: “Unity”, by a dear friend who gifted me this unfinished work of art a long time ago.

Themed Challenges

This is the third in the series of posts about Mass Effect Multiplayer Challenges and Halls of Fame. In the previous one I wrote about Platinum Solos Hall of Fame. Here, I’ll talk about fan-created themed challenges.