Brienne
Reality check.

Was at OG. People were polyphasic but still adapting. Skyped in. Was asked to move to another room 'cause we were being loud. There was a very Alfred-like butler/chef. We all went to some sort of performance, but it was canceled. Went to Steak and Shake. Was terribly sleepy so I asked someone else to drive home.

Dream was about swing dancing. A big swing dance, I think in Bloomington. An exchange, a workshop maybe. Not at the Union. Christain was there. Ended up in cafeteria of my grade school. Jazz band. We danced to live music from them. I think I sang.Someone was teaching basic dance moves. I was having trouble with one of them. Was very frustrating. I was very irritable in this dream. I lied to someone. TOld them I didn't have a phone. 'Cause I didn't want to have to deal with them, talk to them. Felt really bad about that. I don't know how to get out of a lie. Someone offered me some kind of gum. It was maybe spicy or shocking or something. I turned it down.

Later in a video game. But actually *in* the video game. But I knew it was a video game. That's promising, that's like a dream. That's like knowing you're in a dream almost. I even remember regenerating. It was an FPS. I didn't want to shoot anything. I wanted to take pictures for some reason. But I tried to hit the "take pictures" button and it just ended up shooting. I don't know how it had a take pictures button given that I was actually *in* it. Like virtual reality, but more like a dream.

Several people sitting around having dinner. Candles. Took the wicks out of all the candles so I could melt them down and make big candles. Dragonfly or something hiding on the wall. Hiding in the wallpaper pattern from something. From a bird? A monkey? Some kind of animal. There was a parrot. These few creatures ended up chasing each other around flying through the room. Yeah I was really irritable in this dream and I don't know why.

Success! Finally! Fully lucid with control.

The first, non-lucid part of the dream was about a museum sort of thing. Lots of details I can get to later.

I left there and was running with a couple of other girls. Running in dreams is an in-between for flying for me. I was making my strides longer and jumping higher each time. Soon I was sort of moon-jumping, purposefully making my way toward flying. Then I decided to fly. I was in the middle of a large jump and just before starting to come down, I felt the slightly dizzying lift in the pit of my stomach that always accompanies the beginning of flight. And at the same time, I started moving toward lucidity.

I was looking at a tree when it happened. It takes strongly believing it will actually happen for me to fly in dreams, and usually some sign to myself that I really believe it. In this case, instead of looking down to make sure I wouldn't run into any of the branches, I looked up. Then I shot way up into the air, high above the city. I was flying toward the top of a sky scraper, and I knew I was asleep. I thought, "I'm dreaming. I'm dreaming." My test for whether I'm asleep is to snap my fingers and open my hand, and if there's an apple there I know I'm asleep. I tried it. I couldn't seem to produce an apple. I said, "Apple. Apple!" a few times, trying to get it to work. I was a little frustrated with that, but it didn't really matter, because I already knew I was asleep and it was time to enjoy it. I flew up above the sky scraper and toward a small cloud, making circles around it before diving toward the ground.

I'm a little fuzzy on what happened next. I ended up back in the museum place. I was sitting on the very top shelf of some display or other thinking about what to do next. "I could steal all the jewels in this museum," I thought, "and find out what it's like to be rich." I hopped off of float on my back and fall very gently toward the ground. Then I woke up.

I was an artist. Of more than paint and more than words. I created through raw imagination. I would focus on a canvas and a world would be created inside. My worlds were dark and frightening. My gallary was called "Hell". You could enter through the door but simply opening it was not the way in. Opening the door and stepping through it brought you to just another static gallary of paintings and poetry. You had to make an offering to enter Hell. You dip your fingers in the holy water and instead of crossing yourself you spread the water on the door and listen to it sizzle. Then the veil becomes sheer and Hell can be entered.

I was trapped. Surrounded by fire. My friend--Cordelia?--made it through before the ring was complete. I'd been here before. I could abandon the poem and run through the fire to the other side, to safety. But not this time. This time the poem had to be completed. This time I didn't know I was reading or writing. "I am Milton," I said. "No you're not," pleaded my friend, "Just jump through the fire!" "I can't," I said, "I must complete the poem." The fire drew closer and there was no longer any hope of escape.

In the back of my mind I felt an angel turn its head from God. It tore itself away from the Kingdom and descended upon me. "No," I thought, "Not forever!" but it was too late. The angel took me downward and we descended into Hell.

Katie H from grade school was posessed by something that wanted to kill. I went outside toward the garage and found a group of people cowering in fear. "What's wrong?" I said. They all gasped and one said, "I thought she was back. Get in here. She'll see you." They said Katie was trying to kill them. Sure enough she came around the side of the house at a bizarre sort of drunken gallop, screaming and tearing at her hair. I'm not sure how I managed it but I locked her in the basement. Dad and Lloyd came downstairs to help. Whatever was inside of Katie started jumping to other objects and people in an attempt to escape. For a moment it was in me. I can't remember how it felt. It left me and I started running toward the garage. It was back in Katie and she started throwing things at me, including Dad's throwing stars. I kept dodging.

Another dream: at Phillip's. It's Christmas or some other holiday. The S's are doing that horrid stressful "everything must go exactly as planned" thing. I'm trying not to be involved. Somehow Lowren shows up. Phillip is being polite and talking to him. Pretending everything's ok. I completely ignore him. I know he's here just to find out about me and if I don't encourage him he'll go away. Eventually he does and the S's are furious that I ruined their holiday. They said everything was a complete disaster and they started lecturing me and Phillip. I ended up laughing at them and telling them how pathetic it is that they treat us like children.

Later I entered a race. A 5k I think. It too was a horribly stressful dream because there was so much paperwork to fill out and I kept losing it. I was late and a legal hearing was held to decide whether to delay the race for me. The judge ruled in my favor and finally I found the missing piece of paper. The dream did not include the race itself. Alas.