CanisLucidus

Color legend: Non-dream Dream Lucid

Lucid #248: Zed

I’m at the office at night, talking to my friend “Z” about the game we’re working on. Z says something about how he’s getting a special financial arrangement worked out with his “partner”. Then I realize that he’s talking about his wife, and it seems strange that he said it this way. Then I notice that Z has hair when he normally keeps his head shaved all the time, and now I become lucid.

“Hey Z, I’m dreaming right now,” I say, standing up. I make some comment to him about how now he has hair and he chuckles. I continue: “Was there anything else that you wanted to tell me before I go?”

“Yeah!” he says, and fires up a projector that’s sitting on his desk, pointing it at the wall, and beginning a presentation about video game art design.

Even though she hasn't physically appeared yet, I say to Dreamer, “Hey, this is cool! You’re finally getting to meet [Z]!” I make the motion of draping an arm over Dreamer’s shoulder, thinking this might result in a summon. It feels sort of correct for a second, but then there’s nothing. Instead I imagine that she’s standing behind me. I hear a small shuffle of feet behind me. I decide not to push my luck just yet and instead watch a little more of Z’s presentation.

Z splashes up some cool screenshot with all of these effects that use additive blending. Then the next slide is some text, but it’s too unclear to read. Z starts hitting the side of the projector, trying to fix it. “Here, let me try,” I say. I make a square shape with the thumb and forefinger or each hand and “zoom” it in and out to focus the image. Now it’s sharp but the text is something odd that keeps changing.

I look out the window and notice that dawn is starting to break. My point-of-view moves out through the window, briefly flying over another part of the city before the dream ends.

Color legend: Non-dream Dream Lucid

Lucid #204: Ozone

I’m sitting at a craft table with three other people: a guy in his late 20s (“Guy”), a woman in her 30s (“Lady”), and a crazy-looking woman in her mid-40s (“Crazy Lady”). Crazy Lady keeps talking to herself and acting disturbed as she works on her project.

Lady gets the bright idea to tell Crazy Lady that Guy has a prize for her. “If you get all your work done, maybe he’ll give it to you.” Crazy Lady keeps asking what the prize is, becoming more and more fixated on this prize until she gets out of her chair and approaches Guy. I have a feeling that something awful’s going to happen but that I can’t stop it.

Spoiler for Unpleasantness:

I see a pair of dirty scissors flash in Crazy Lady’s hand. She gouges them into the side of Guy’s neck and then grinds the thick, dull blade across his throat. Blood everywhere. Guy collapses to the ground.

Crazy Lady disappears from the scene as Lady and I rush to help Guy. Now I’m on the phone with emergency services begging them to come help us. They sound very unhurried and tell me that the wait will be “about 30 minutes”. I’m stressed out that they’re going to take so long but I hope they know what they’re doing. I nose pinch reality check in the hope that this isn’t real, and when I blow throuigh I think, No way am I so lucky that this is all a dream. I confirm with a second nose pinch, that yes, I’m dreaming!

Guy and Lady both disappear from the scene and I’m left along in an empty classroom. I wander outside into a misty nighttime street scene. I feel happiness and contentment to have escaped a nightmare and I peacefully explore the environment.

The bricks on the side of the building fascinate me first, and I bring my vision right up close to them. No matter how close I get, my eyes never lose focus. I seem to be able to look further and further in, zooming into every crack and imperfection. My fingers explore the moist bricks and it’s like I can sense each individual drop of moisture with my fingertips.

I suddenly give the wall a huge sniff. It feels invigorating and seems to bring the scene even more fully to life. I sense moisture and a sharp whiff of ozone when I do this, just like what you might smell after heavy rain.

There are a few DCs hanging around nearby, talking softly about something I can’t make out. I approach one of them, a brown-haired guy that’s facing away from me, and examine his hair and scalp up close. I’m fascinated how I can see down to the individual hairs on his head. The DCs’ conversation ceases as I do this and it feels like I hit pause on what they were saying.

I take another huge sniff, this time of the guy’s scalp. It just smells like a bunch of hair. I laugh self-consciously at what a creepy thing this is to do. Fortunately the DC doesn’t react. I walk onward now through the misty night toward a short stone bridge that runs over some unknown river or creek. Before I cross it, the dream ends.