[Life] The Dream Weavers

[Fairy]

Crazy dreams over the holiday. KFC in space, estranged family, living without a (literal, not figurative) spine, the white room... A little hesitant to try to sleep. Will update since tomorrow is going to be wicked stressful for me and I know it will manifest in my dreams.

 

[CiCi]

I seem to be having the opposite problems. I can't really remember my dreams or they've been so underwhelming. Whenever I get depressed or stressed (both, in this case), my dreams suffer. As in, they become less interesting or I don't remember any of it or I can't fall asleep long enough to really even have them. :/ It's pretty obnoxious, tbh.

Good luck to you, though. Sounds like your dreams have been... Unpleasant, to say the least.

 

[VisionofMilotic]

This week I went to an exhibit of Mexican Modern Art highlighting Frida Kahlo. Her art is deeply personal like being inside of a dream world, or rather "her own reality" as she called it. Her paintings have given me something to meditate on and inspire me, it's been a therapuetic experience even, seeing all that raw emotion channeled into magical pictures. I haven't had nightmares the last couple of days, and want to continue to foster and environment of directing whatever tension are within me into something unique and colorful where I can fully express myself. I think that will be good for me, I can incorporate some of my dreams into the fiction I write. I do have a concept for a novel I want to pursue in the New Year, also I'll in the middle of making a new doll, this one an Incan maiden, and maybe a Southern Belle to enter into a local arts and crafts exhibition this summer, and if I get the right body parts an Egyptian Pharoah Taeyang doll for this winter. Since I have previously been very understated in my customs, barely a blush, painting very natural faceup, I want to do something intense, larger-than life with popping colors, fantastical

 

[VisionofMilotic]

I'm a sad mess today. My dreams the last couple of days had been uneventful, but it looks like it's time for me to pay the piper T_T

I underslept last night, woke up about an hour or so before dusk. I had risen to take some pain medicine to treat a chronic health issue I have. I had meant to go back to bed shortly thereafter, but while I was up I thought I saw a mouse in my home. I'm not sure anymore of what I saw, and hope my eyes were just playing tricks on me in the low light, but I am deathly afraid of mice and could not go back to bed so I stayed up shiny hunting through sunrise and breakfast just, and after I ate I tried to begin the day and get through my Sunday like normal, did the household chores, groomed pets, sketched out some new concepts for a book I'm working on, dialed up my mom and had a fun chat. I thought things would be alright, and took a little nap this afternoon to refuel since my sleep pattern was broken last night--- deeply regretted it. I had a horrible dream where I was pretty much living through the Texas chainsaw massacre, dodging axes from serial killers. I just want to throw up right now. I don't want to sleep ever again.

 

[CiCi]

Oh god, what in the world could've caused that?? D: I'm sorry to hear about your horrible dream. Such realistic nightmares are no fun at all, especially when you feel your life is actually in danger. Have you ever tried lucid dreaming techniques before? Not necessarily to make you lucid dream, but lucid dreamers often have reality checks throughout the day, which then translate onto reality checks in their dreams (typically after a week or two). If you were able to get into the habit, I wonder if it could help you escape from these sorts of dreams in future.

My personal favorite was to write the word "awake" on my wrist and check the time thrice after looking at my wrist. Only problem with that was I wash my hands and dishes a lot so I was constantly rewriting it.

There are other techniques, too, that you could consider looking into if this seems like something that might help you. I'd recommend at least trying it for a month to see if it works. What've you really got to lose, right?

 

[Aslan]

Sign me up! Writing this response out I realised that I have a lot of vivid dreams and especially nightmares it seems. This post is a little dark but it was interesting to write it all out and look back on how ??? my dreams are. Also it's interesting seeing other people's experiences with dreams!

What's your most recent dream (or nightmare)?

Most recent dream... I honestly can't remember the last good one I had :( I'm sure there have been some but they tend to not really stick out in my mind.

Most recent nightmare I had was my suburb's high school (not my actual school just the one in the area) getting attacked. 200 people or so died and the realism of the dream made it very disturbing. Won't go into it more than that but it was one of the more unpleasant dreams I had.

Have any recurring dreams?

Not really specific recurring dreams but a lot of themes tend to repeat themselves in my dreams. I've been getting a ton of vivid nightmares the past year for some reason and a lot of them center on very depressing topics like people I care about dying or past traumatic events I've experienced so it's not a good combo. I have a lot of dreams that take place in my actual house and also the shopping centre I talk about below.

Remember any childhood nightmares?

Yup! Some of them were super random like I had a dream the entire solar system became visible in the sky and it slowly became more opaque until it crashed into our school. I think I even blogged about it on PC back when I was 11, I'll have to find it from my old account later. I remember a dream where my entire house was made of insects... that was visually not a fun time. Another one was me getting chased down the street by a KFC employee with a knife?!? I also often had nightmares about a shopping centre in my town - it'd be pitch black and in my dream it had many floors of different horrors. No idea how any of those dreams came to be. I've also had the very confusing experience of a dream in a dream where I woke up still in my dream and got attacked by some shadow monster - then I woke up again. Needless to say I was very scared.

I've had the classic childhood nightmares too - getting hit by a car, getting struck by lightning, falling... you know super fun things like that. :D

What's one of your favorite dreams you've ever had?

Ok a lot of my past answers were dark so I'm happy to have this question! Mm I don't know if I have a favourite dream but I have had some very sweet ones. They're very ordinary but it's a good break from the ???? mess that are 90% of my other dreams - I had a dream about summer camp with close friends that was super realistic and so much fun. When I was having a super rough patch I had a dream where a friend of mine just comforted me and they gave me one of those long tight hugs and let me talk it out in my dream. Even if it wasn't real, it was so nice. My favourite random dream I remember is when my entire school building turned into different foods like jelly, chocolate etc. And I got to eat all of it and it was delicious and took forever - I had this dream when I was 6 or 7 I think?

Do you have the ability to lucid dream?

Kind of? I don't actively try to lucid dream but I've found that my brain often will realise it's in a dream through critical analysis of my surroundings. I'll have a moment of realisation where something is off and I'll know. I don't have conventional lucid dreaming though in that I can control the dream when I'm conscious of it - actually instead, it's like my brain has a meltdown and the dream collapses in on itself. My brain tries to wake me up but in its panic as I'm awakening I get stuck temporarily and experience sleep paralysis and vivid hallucinations of distorted voices, intense static etc. ALSO the dream itself turns more scary regardless of it is good or a nightmare - to explain how this sort of dream works:

I once had a dream our school was holding a swimming contest. It was already kind of ominous to begin with but not really a nightmare either. We were holding it in the basement of this super small hotel which... just imagine horror movie lighting and that's what it looked like. People were in the pool competing but not actually swimming, instead all of their eyes were closed and they were floating along vertically. It was very silent, no cheering or talking or anything. I was sitting next to a close friend of mine and halfway through had the realisation that I'd already been to our school's swimming contest in real life so I turned to my friend and asked "Is this a dream?". My friend slowly turns to me doing that 360 head spin you see in horror movies and with the blankest expression, they stare at me and say "Yes, this is". Then the whole dream goes pitch black, I hear the sound of water draining and a distorted voice which I recognise as my own going "Oh I see..." and there are a bunch of bright flashes of vivid hallucinations - scary faces and there's nothing I can do because I can't move. Everytime I try to move the static gets louder and the hallucinations get worse so I have to wait for them to pass until I fully wake up. It's disturbing to say the least and I can't say I'm keen to actively try lucid dreaming.

 

[CiCi]

Not really specific recurring dreams but a lot of themes tend to repeat themselves in my dreams. I've been getting a ton of vivid nightmares the past year for some reason and a lot of them center on very depressing topics like people I care about dying or past traumatic events I've experienced so it's not a good combo. I have a lot of dreams that take place in my actual house and also the shopping centre I talk about below.

That has been a common theme thus far that people have less recurring dreams and more recurring concepts. I wonder why that is. Recurring dreams tend to be a common thing in adolescence but not so much past a certain point.

Remember any childhood nightmares?

Yup! Some of them were super random like I had a dream the entire solar system became visible in the sky and it slowly became more opaque until it crashed into our school. I think I even blogged about it on PC back when I was 11, I'll have to find it from my old account later.

That actually sounds super cool (and terrifying). The visual I got from just that is gonna give ME nightmares xD

Another one was me getting chased down the street by a KFC employee with a knife?!?

KFC stands for Killing Friendly Children, obvs

When I was having a super rough patch I had a dream where a friend of mine just comforted me and they gave me one of those long tight hugs and let me talk it out in my dream. Even if it wasn't real, it was so nice.

Aww, that's so sweet! I hope you're doing better now. Sometimes our dreams can be a blessing. Though they seem more like a curse half the time in this club. xD So many nightmares. Had one last night, myself, in which a doll was trying to pull my eyes out. And the little doll girl was fast as hecc! Dx

Do you have the ability to lucid dream?

Kind of? I don't actively try to lucid dream but I've found that my brain often will realise it's in a dream through critical analysis of my surroundings. I'll have a moment of realisation where something is off and I'll know. I don't have conventional lucid dreaming though in that I can control the dream when I'm conscious of it - actually instead, it's like my brain has a meltdown and the dream collapses in on itself. My brain tries to wake me up but in its panic as I'm awakening I get stuck temporarily and experience sleep paralysis and vivid hallucinations of distorted voices, intense static etc. ALSO the dream itself turns more scary regardless of it is good or a nightmare

Saaaame! I don't get it! Stupid brain, just chill and let us lucid dream, ffs xD Can't ya see I'm tryna put the moves on Thief King Bakura? Dang.

Literally the whole dream

Okay, 1) thanks for the nightmares xDD and 2) you could write a horror short story with that content! The friend part was the scariest. Like... Just the calmness and blunt way they said it. Holy crap.

And lastly, you've been added to the list! :D I'm definitely looking forward to more of your dreams, they sound very cool (and horrifying)! 🖤🖤

 

[colours]

just had a dream where i was a "part" of a rowdy group of people and the most illegal thing we were doing was shooting fireworks when we weren't supposed to

the cops eventually found out and i had to sneak my way to not being discovered amongst the crowd

.... i wish it didn't feel so real, though.

 

[CiCi]

Had a strange, multi-part dream. One part consisted of me with superhuman speed on an island taking animals (pig and sheep) away from a crazed hunter straight out of Outlast. Put the animals in a cave and temporarily blocked the entrance off with huge boulders cuz apparently I also had elemental powers and could move earth and air. The hunter showed up as I was leaving and I opened a whole into the earth that led to magma, taking us both into it. I was able to manipulate the magma to stay safe but he obviously couldn't. Nasty way to go.

Then I was teleported to my grandmother's but I can't really remember what happened there. Something about going to my house and watching YouTube on my phone with her while, I think, the dogs were outside. Not sure the sequence of events.

Finally, I was taken to another island, a tropical one with crystal clear beaches instead of the forested jungles like before. My grandmother came with, so did my writing buddy and an ex-friend of mine along with her sister. We all swam in the waters when suddenly there were a lot of sharks swimming nearer the sandy bottom. Everyone else was scared but I apparently retained my superhuman powers and could calm the sharks and breathe underwater. It was nice to be under there with the sharks, just swimming and going deeper into the ocean. Which is strange because the ocean terrifies me. But not this time.

That's all I remember, unfortunately. A few details of John Hancock from Fallout 4 were also in there but I don't remember when or where. Just that he was hitting on me, which I can appreciate. ;)

 

[CiCi]

Dreamers! Had a painful dream last night where razor-sharp sequins were stuck in my hands and I had to pull them out. It hurt and it was scary!

That begs the following:
Have any of you ever had dreams in which you can feel pain? If so, when was your last experience and what was it about?

 

[VisionofMilotic]

Ouch! Sorry to hear about this one. I hope your recent dreams have been more relaxing. I wonder what the symbolism behind the sequins is? Especially since it's something that I would normally associate as beautiful and festive. Interesting.

This whole topic of pain in dreams is an interesting one. I was a little shy about approaching this at first because I'm prone to nightmares, but I'll be brave and the first to chime in if that's what it takes to keep the conversation going, because I think this is an important discussion to allow.

While I have witnessed violent scenes in dreams multiple times and have experienced it even directly in the dream, the odd thing is that physical pain is still somewhat vague to me.

Sometimes my dreams are interrupted before a painful outcome, I.e a serial killer is in my house grabbing me and I manage to fight him off, get the weapon first and kill him, or I dream that I am free falling stories off a building but wake myself up before I hit the ground.

I do however have a distinct memory of being shot by a thief during a robbery in a dream a few years ago, and losing blood to the point of death as I laid stretched out in the street. It was an out of body experience that was more dizzying and confusing than it was painful, things were happening fast. I was focussed more on my life slipping away, and less on the pain. Still I think it is a vivid enough experience to qualify for the topic question though.

Of late my dreams have been more of the common anxiety variety fortunately I suppose, classes I realized I was enrolled in but never went to as the semester ends, having hair and wardrobe malfunctions when I am supposed to be a bride's maid. They are stressful dreams, but nothing graphic that I can't deal with. So knock wood for me, hopefully they stay in that range at least or are positive.

 

[Megan]

I'm currently in a melancholy mood, so I'll join if you don't mind.

There are two dreams that I recently had, that may well be related in some shape or form.

The first one is kinda my rendition of "school dream". They are never the usual forgotten homework/papers due type, but usually of the school trip type.

It was a school trip to a town somewhere near the ocean. My class teacher from back in the day wanted me to go to some place. Her intend was for me to go to random people and asking them how to get there. However, me being me, I just went randomly through the town going my way and even doing stupid stings like walking on fences and such. It was really hard for my teacher to keep up.

Ultimately, I ended up in a small part with a big tree in the middle. In front of it there was standing a girl (about my age) looking towards it. The moment I started talking to her I woke up.

The second dream I had shortly afterwards I was standing in some sort of underground train station-esque room. In front of me there were two sets of stairs. On the right stairs leading downward towards a "dancing course". On the left stairs leading upwards to a "boxing course". The thing I know: I'm supposed to take the stairs on the right. But the only thought I had, was "what if I take the ones on the left?"

Anyway, to answer some of the questions:
lucid dreams: I had a couple and they all went the same way: I realize it's a lucid dream; everything freezes; I'm stuck and figure "guess I'll just wake up"

hurtful dream: many years ago, but I forgot all about it. The only thing I remember: waking up silent screaming.
There were also a couple times where I kinda found my real body shaking spastically, while I was still in a dream. Never figured out what was going on, though.

 

[VisionofMilotic]

I had an intensely horrible dream last night that felt like it went on for hours and hours, featuring these deadly monstrous insects that looked like something that could have come out of The Alien movie franchise. I was trying to escape but stuck in this labyrinth-like place with tunnels and rooms that just would not end. One by one we were getting picked off in bloody ends. I was living my own personal horror movie. It seemed to be a rather depopulated post-apocalyptic earth with a lot of darkness and bombed out buildings.

 

[Fairy]

That sounds awful, dear. :(

I actually had a fairly similar dream last night, with the whole post-apocalyptic setting. I need to actually start posting here again to record that nonsense, haha.

 

[VisionofMilotic]

I was wondering if any of you guys have any relaxing night time habbits before going to bed? Some people might count sheep for instance to help fall asleep, or enjoy a cookie and a glass of warm milk or maybe say a prayer. What things do you do to help prepare for a nice sleep?

I'm always looking for tips to help go to bed in the right state of mind. My mom did give me some plants to put by my bedside, and told me they help you sleep, but I found that aloe doesn't help me in a good way. It makes me drowsy, and my dreams become more vivid when I sleep, but since I'm usually having a nightmare I don't want to recall them in new crystal clear detail. So, I'm listening for new nighttime rituals to help bring about a good night's rest and sweet dreams.

 

[VisionofMilotic]

Horrible, horrible nightmare. I may not be right today, so bear with me. I was being forced to kill myself. It was feudal Japan, and there was someone political reason for my death. It was detached and impersonal, nobody hated me, but I was locked in a room with a blade. There door to my room was heavily guarded and if I didn't obey the captain of the guard and his men all had swords drawn and ready to murder me. I looked our the window of my chamber and their were guards who looked like samurai for miles patrolling the roads, making sure nobody escaped.

There were other women there with me in the palace. They had poison wine they could drink and some did, if they opened the door of the chamber to escape they were chased down with swords. I remember observing a pair of doomed twin sisters who are prisoners, and the older one trying to comfort the younger.

Some of the bodies of the dying women begin to float through the air, headed our the window of the palace to their final destination, but one of the gaurds speaks of a sinister omen after seeing one of the floating bodies fall in mid air, breaking the bones, the crumbled body looks like a human spider it is so badly contorted after the fall, and he says she will become a demonic creature now.

There's more, I had two or three other uncomfortable dreams last night and this morning, but I am the limits of what I can discuss now. Pray for me y'all.

 

[LucarioBread]

Given how much I like discussing dreams, it's a shame I haven't noticed this club earlier. So here are my answers to the questionnaire:

What's your most recent dream?
It was a really bizarre one I had last night. I was asked to put up a net between 2 poles in a random field near a pond, god knows why. The thing was, the poles were made out of stacked Styrofoam tubes, not connected together in any way, mind you, just stacked on top of each other. So naturally, whenever I'd tie the net to a pole, the pillar of tubes would immediately collapse. Then, I'd stack the tubes again and give it another shot. This continued for a while until I said to the bearded middle aged man who was nearby that I don't think this will work, to which he literally replied with: "Huh. I guess not." Then I woke up.

Recent nightmare?
A month or 2 ago, I had a dream I woke up one morning back at my family house, instead of the apartment in the city where I study. I look at my phone and see a reminder I have an exam in about an hour. Somehow, I came to my hometown the day before the exam and there was no way I could make it in time. And for whatever reason, if I didn't take this exam, I'd be expelled from uni and thus my future would be ruined. Luckily I woke up for real after that. I was covered in cold sweat and my heart was still racing. I guess because the premise of the dream was so simple, it was very vivid and had a larger impact.

Have any recurring dreams?
I used to as a kid, mostly bad ones unfortunately. These days, not anymore.

Remember any childhood nightmares?
Oh yes, I sure do! I had this dream multiple times (I was maybe 3-4 years old) where I'd be walking through the town cemetery with my parents paying our respects to deceased family members, but then a green goblin looking thing riding an orange jet-scooter would ride towards us along the gravel path (as one does) and if you look at his face, it would start spinning really fast which would make you dizzy and you'd vomit on the spot. And as a kid, vomiting was one of my worst fears. It reached a point where I was afraid of any kind of graveyard. Not because of ghosts, skeletons and that stuff. No, it was because of a goblin riding a jet-scooter...

Another vivid one was where I'd wake up, get out of the bedroom and into the living room which would be covered in spiderwebs and in the cocoon underneath the coffee table, a large spider emerged jumped on me, bit me and I'd pass out from its venom. Then I'd wake up again, do the exact same thing, except the spider was slightly larger now. This cycle repeated itself 3 more times, after which I woke up for real and was afraid to leave the bedroom until my mom took me by the hand. We entered the living room and there was nothing scary there.

What's one of your favorite dreams you've ever had?
Hmmm... this is a tough one. I rarely have dreams that involve something really nice happening to me. They're mostly bizarre situations like the net dream I mentioned earlier.
I guess from the entertainment point of view, it's one of the most bizarre ones I have ever had. Let me share with you the story of Gogo, the talking pigeon:

I was in 5th grade and it was time for a school trip. We went to a location called Croatian Stonehenge, and it's literally like it sounds, Stonehenge but in Croatia. We were staying in bungalows at a nearby resort complex. With us came a regular looking pigeon named Gogo who could talk for some reason. There he met 2 completely white pigeons who mocked him for not being white (looking back on it, this is very much yikes) and thus Gogo was feeling down. But worry not, he was cheered up by a green-skinned witch, one of the employees and a tea expert. Then, the 2 douchebag pigeons get kidnapped by an ex-classmate I didn't like very much and he attempts to sell them to a tribe of shapeshifting dragons who craved some pigeon meat for lunch. So Gogo goes to save them by finding a magical crystal hidden in the front lights of a train that was standing at the train station (???) and places it in the middle of the Stonehenge. The Stonehenge turns into a Regirock-like creature and kicks the dragons' butt and the 2 pigeons are freed and apologise to Gogo.

Do you have the ability to lucid dream?
I can recall having only a couple of lucid dreams. They usually ended shortly after I took control and I therefore wasn't able to do anything. But, one time I did manage to remain dreaming for a little bit longer, the first thing I did was look at a random sign to see if you really can't read in your dreams. And you can't, well, at least I couldn't. All I saw was a pixel-like mess, it reminded me of GBA and DS era Pokemon game signs. Aaaand I woke up shortly after that.
Idk if it counts as lucid dreaming, but I was at one point in my childhood able to cut off a dream if I didn't like it.

 

[VisionofMilotic]

Everybody will respond to things differently, but this was a sleep hypnosis video for a peaceful rest and pleasant dreams that has been helpful for me to hear these last couple of nights. I will add it in case it might be of use to somebody here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MsCJ28uoFew

 

[VisionofMilotic]

I remember lucid dreaming for the first time last night.

In real life there was a rundown, badly-managed apartment building that I lived in a few years back. The place was falling apart and would have been closed down if properly inspected, and while I was living there I had nightmares about the state of disrepair. I dreamed of accidents happening and all sorts of danger, things like the elevator breaking down while I was stuck inside-- something that really happened to other residents there actually.

Even though I am gone from that place I dream sometimes as if I am still living there. I usually dream that I am homeless and have snuck my way into the apartment building for a place to stay, hoping that nobody notices me.

I often dream that I am climbing the steps to the upper levels of the apartment. There are holes in the wall and the staircase is still under construction, there are no bannisters, and it's a dangerous ordeal like climbing a mountain just to get to the next floor.

I have dreamed of this many times, and this time I began to realise that I don't live here anymore, and have a house of my own. I know that I am dreaming, and decide that I don't want to wake up. Since it's my dream I change the way the building looks, and make it nice and safe. it is after all my imagination and I have the power. The place is new again, everything is fixed, no more hazards, there's beautiful new tile and lighting fixtures, the place is spacious and I walk down halls installing luxurious bathrooms for the tennants like a wizard. I then decide to start flying because I can, leaping into to air. It was an interesting experience to lucid dream. It felt like I was creating my own heaven as Robin Williams did in the movie What Dreams May Come.

 

[CiCi]

*Lit everything you said*

So sorry for the long wait, Seliph! You're very welcome at this club, so feel free to post any dreams you want to! :D Guess we have a lot of people who can lucid dream, but then wind up getting stuck or waking up or having it ruined. Very strange why that happens, and so frequently! :(

***


Welcome to the club, LucarioBreed! Time to get dream-postin'! If you can remember them. By the time I get back online, I very rarely remember my dreams in enough detail. xD

I've had really odd nothing sorts of dreams like the one you'd posted in your "Most Recent" section. Always wondered why people have those kinds of dreams.

Can't say I've had dreams about failing school, particularly not ones that affect me. Guess I've just never cared enough xD

Gogo sounds like a true bamf, though! Go, you cute little pigeon, you! <3

I'm sort of in the same boat with lucid dreaming. They rarely ever happen, and it's usually something pretty boring. But I've been able to cut dreams off when I don't like them by closing my eyes really tight and counting to 10. I usually wake up around 6 or 7 at the latest.

That said, I can't relate to that "you can't read in your sleep" thing. I can almost always read in my sleep, and I've ever read the same thing multiple times by looking away and looking back. Really odd, but might be because I'm a writer so my world revolves around words.

but then a green goblin looking thing riding an orange jet-scooter would ride towards us along the gravel path (as one does) and if you look at his face, it would start spinning really fast which would make you dizzy and you'd vomit on the spot. And as a kid, vomiting was one of my worst fears. It reached a point where I was afraid of any kind of graveyard. Not because of ghosts, skeletons and that stuff. No, it was because of a goblin riding a jet-scooter...

Aside from the emetophobia (which I still relate to quite a lot), this actually sounds kind of hilarious. The things we're afraid of as children, eh? Green goblins on jet scooters. Guess it was more the spinning and nausea that got you scared then, though, due to the aforementioned fear.

***

*your lucid dream*

That's a big first step for you since you suffer from so many nightmares! Glad to hear that you were able to lucid dream, finally. And that it went so well for you! It's almost like you conquered those reccuring dreams of that dilapidated apartment complex. Congratulations!

***

As for me, I don't remember my dreams from last night. Spent about 24 hours awake, so my brain was completely fried. But I do remember a very short dream I had when I was napping today.

It wasn't a big deal. Just me playing Spyro the Dragon (OG not the remakes cuz I'm an OG type of gal), and I was running through the Ice Cavern level mixed with the Haunted Tomb level. I'd just made it past the falling rocks when one of the snowball-throwing Gnorcs rounded the corner. My controller died before I could move out of the way, so Spyro got hit with the snowball. Sparx went from golden to gone, which surprised me, and I remember saying "oh *expletive*, I just got hit! Where's Sparx?!" before I woke up. Odd, but one of those nothing dreams again.