Mishalak

I dreamed of a man who went down to the seaside. I am not sure if there was more dream before this, it could be that I just have a sense of the story before it without it actually having happened. He was the particular friend of a fairy who made a bargain with him. The result of this bargain was that when he went to an English seaside town and was talking around a little park and expressed how nice it would be to live there it started to transform when he walked further down. The sunken brick space all well tended and surrounded with trees grew up into a little house. This being magic the house even had a history to go with it. A mean woman an her granddaughter who were near there became, at least temporarily, its residents. They called it the old admiral's house when the protagonist came back. And the magic soon had the mean woman offering this fine little house with big beams, polished woodwork, and brick to the man in exchange for his house in Swindon. This was all magic because the woman was a tight fisted terror who'd no more exchange a fine seaside home dominating the view at the end of the high street for one in Swindon than she would give to charity. This became a problem because even though she should have forgotten all about the house as soon as she'd given the protagonist the key she came back and was trying to throw him out. The little boy (her grandson?) served as a foil that allowed her to explain what she was doing to the audience.

As is frequently the case I identified strongly with the protagonist of this dream and was very upset at the machinations of the old woman as well as the fairy for causing this messed up situation. After much running about and arguing in well lit rooms she went away long enough for the protagonist to go upstairs and start ripping some music to iTunes. Yeah, I know, that did not really seem to fit on the same level of story telling. Looking over the balcony to the main room of the house it was dark now, pale blue light barely illuminated the normally blond wood of the floors. The LEDs glowed in their cool way in the dark and I wondered what music this was. Perhaps the music to Hellboy 3 or a video game about him. I was not sure, but it fit with the mood. I had the sense that things were not over with the woman who was trying to claim the house before I woke up.
 

I dreamed of reading a story, an old fairytale. It was a Polish story and the hero comes upon two towns that have good reputation, but it turns out the reputation (which are built up very tall like medieval/victorian skyscrapers) is false as are the towns and each had just one evil sorcerer type living in it. And I remember that they were Jewish and that made me wonder if this story was anti-Semitic. I cannot remember their names now, they they started with H and T and each had made his town a variation upon the other's name.

If I read the rest of the story I don't remember it now, but apparently I got busy with a roleplaying game night using a supplement published by John Fiala. I was in a strange house and quite a few Dasfans were there including the author. And we talked writing shop for a while and I congratulated him on his black magic game supplement. Then, perhaps in the course of playing the game, my character got a hold of a book of evil magic that he proceeded to keep in an iron safe bound with lead despite what the other characters wanted. And the whole dream began to dissolve into random thoughts as I woke up.
 

I rescued a lobster creature and was carrying her through the forest. It was dimly lit as if by an overcast day. The trunks of the pines around me stood out as rough pillars of variegated charcoal and black bark. I walked down a little into a shallow gully and back up the other side, the dark green canopy above me. And there I came to the edge. A series of glass doors set in a long, maybe endless, concrete bay. I could easily see through them as they were the type of door that is one thick sheet of glass with a handle set into it. There was a LED sign above each showing its status. Behind them a city at sunset, a dark smoggy place with a wide freeway immediately before me. I could see an oil refinery beyond, and far off, there was the ocean that was my goal. I stepped onto the old and pockmarked concrete before the doors. It was clean though it was in the middle of the forest, as if someone came by each day to sweep away needles and dirt. The first door I tried was unlocked and I escaped.
 

A Pointless Story
One morning about a year ago when I had stayed up far too late I staggered to the shower to try to wake up. Usually the hot water of a shower revives me quite nicely and that's why I shower in the morning rather than in the evening. Into the shower and then something very, very strange happened. I was standing there swaying a bit and suddenly I was dreaming. I dreamed I was in Vorkosigan House. There were vague encounters and I fled up a chimney that then started to tumble end over end. That continued for quite a bit and then I was back in the shower again swaying under the constant rain of warm water. My fingers were very prune-y and I found much to my horror that I had been in the shower, dreaming while standing up, for around an hour. Since then I have not tried to get by on so little sleep.
 

So I had this funky dream about being at a science fiction convention/parties. At one point I went to a room party where they were selling stuff and I tried on this really heavy necklace. It was made of some sort of interlocking ceramic or carved stone stuff pieces that flexed even though it seemed too solid too do so. The pieces were dark blue and white with deep diamond shaped spaces going deep into its center, the whole thing must have been an inch around. It had a heavy-duty silver clasp and regretfully said I could not buy it. Too heavy to wear practically I said.

Also at this party there was a weird cross between a harp and piano that had a strangely car like wooden frame. It was a long sleek shape, like a streamlined train made of polished wood and the player would reach inside to pluck strings when the panels were opened. Funky.

I also dreamed I was trying to chat up this guy at the party. And then I drifted awake.
 

Okay so I'm sort of watching Anime in this dream thing. I seem to watch a lot more telly in my dreams than I do in real life. It had this anthropomorphic sort of fox fellow with the attitude of Lupin, roguish hero, who loved to eat. The part I was watching him taking on this whole bar with karate and such and getting in food at the same time.

Apparently I was watching this with Spike because after watching the fight he suggested we go out do some stuff rather than watching this all night. We wandered around to this grassy raised park sort of area in the moonlight. Saved this white witch/fortune teller type person. Big fight and Spike was of course all into that. I was more laid back, just getting in a few licks here and there.

Spike took her home with me trailing behind, like I do. We talked about how cool moonlight is, making the vampire demon face much less obvious than by bright streetlights. He was all proud that he'd rescued the woman, so I suppose this would be seventh season Spike. Apparently I wasn't that bad as a vampire because I was cool with the whole helping rather than eating thing. Perhaps he was mentoring me a bit? I dunno.

I suggested a bar with some Roman characters (not making sense here, Romans?). There was an excellent brawl at the bar after we got there. This one big guy, huge like Hagrid, looked like he was going to be ganged up on until he suggested he could take any two of them. So this guy with more bravery than brains teamed up for a fight with his mate, they were both wearing the Greco/Roman leather skirt things. I talked to Spike and he commented that the big guy was brilliant. He was going to have the whole place coming at him then he made it about honor and he could take them two at a time instead. Then someone who looked rather like Lister said that his friend taking on the giant was not the sharpest pencil in the box.

Interesting sort of dream, but I didn't get to have slash action with Spike! <silly laugh>
 

I was too busy to write about it on Saturday, but I had a dream that I remembered on Friday. I was at the closing ceremonies of MileHiCon. The remaining guests gathered around the critter crunch platform as usual and we were waiting for the "Benediction for the Fallen" to start. I looked around and saw that we had torch stands around and they were all lit with green flames and I thought, "That must be for Roy. I wonder where they got all those." That's all I remember.
 

<cue Mishalak's Pointless Stories intro song>
When I dream it seems to almost always be strange and disturbing things that happen to me. There is probably an insight into my personality in that, but I'm not clever enough to suss out what it might be. When I was in college I had a simply splendid one about coming into my dormitory late at night. So here is that dream in very short story form.
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I loved walking back to my dorm on nights like that one. The rich damp smell of the earth and the ponds, the quality of the light from the moon and street lamps, and the cool of the air made me happy to be alive on an autumn night. I was thinking about the poker game at the coffee house and talking to Ben about how the hands had fallen. I didn't really notice that there was no one on duty at the front door. Usually at night all the doors are locked so residents can only get in through the front door by showing their ID to a student on duty.

The big common room was dark as we entered it, and the hair on the back of my neck prickled up. The lights were never off in this room and there were several people standing around the disused hearth.

"Ooooohhhh goodie, more partygoers," said one of the guys in a mocking voice.

Were these frat boys partying? Should I try to walk past to the stairwell near the fireplace? Go back... and some of them were already moving towards us. I turned and found my arms caught in strong hands, or course I struggled but only for a moment as the grip was like fighting against carved wood. Ben and I were half dragged to the figure lounging on hearthstone.

What I could see was a man with long oily hair in motorcycle leathers. He smirked and asked, "So do they wish to play with us?"

The one who held me was the same who spoke earlier, "Oh I think they do." We were both forced down to our knees. I realized there was a body on the floor, I could not see him clearly... no her. I could barely make out her face, but I think I knew her. One of my fellow work students and I could tell she was hurt, maybe even dead. I don't know if Ben saw more or what, but he started struggling as the group laughed cruelly at us.

The leader in the biker outfit asked me, "What's your name?"

I looked up at him and replied coolly, "Matthew."

"How calm he is, I think his friend understands, but he doesn't yet. Let's show him. Are you hungry Cruella?"

"Always."

She came forward and with excessive drama grabbed the back of Ben's head. He was crying by now and she bared her fangs at me. Vampires are real. I had occasionally thought about the supernatural, but I didn't believe in it. Maybe I was in shock, but it didn't feel like it. I just felt very annoyed this was happening, a growing outrage that these creatures were playing with our lives.

She sunk in her fangs with the same theatrical excess; I think she let some of the blood spray from his neck onto me on purpose. I flinched at that, but I didn't react otherwise. The rest save the one holding onto me moved forward to have their bit of the meal. It was horrible to watch, but I had already decided to give them nothing. If I were to cry it would be later if I survived this. Which I didn't really expect to happen, this was not looking good at all for survival.

The leader looked up from the kill with bloodied lips. "Why aren't you afraid?"

Best to answer him, I was going to be brave, but not suicidal, "I am afraid, but would showing it do me any good?"

"You expect to escape then?"

"Not really, though I am looking for any possible way. None has yet occurred to me."

He laughed at this some of the other vampires tittered, "I like you, would you like to be one of us, immortal?"

"Not particularly."

"Too bad you won't have a choice in this."

He moved towards me and pushed my head up to expose my neck and he bit into it. At first the pain was very sharp, but that faded and I felt like I was falling down a deep well. Like falling asleep from exhaustion and I heard voices there. Arguing, one the mocking voice of the vampire that held me saying, "Not worthy," stood out. And I felt a fire within me and then I knew nothing.

Too be continued...