MAPPING THE DREAMSCAPE

All that I write here is not fictional inasmuch as dreams are not fiction. I have not invented dreams for this catalogue nor their locales; everything written below has been personally experienced. This is not intended to be interpreted as some manner of creative writing exercise. It is a testament to the places I wish to recall.

PLACES AND ENTITIES

I have three categories for entries in my dreamscape map- places, entities, and themes. Entities are objects, things, characters, or setpiece locations that are typically of a fixed form. They change little (though sometimes do change, though their permutations are still "in character" so to speak) and will appear elsewhere in my dreams. I usually only will record something as an entity if it shows up more than once, though some entities are memorable enough that even with only one appearance they warrant entry. "Places" are defined by me as a backdrop or setting rather than a specific object or thing that exists in such a space. They tend to have more open-ended definitions for what comprises them and will often by populated by entities. "Themes" are recurring events or motifs of a nature.

PLACES

LAKE HOUSE

Appearances: 2
The lake house is a location I associate with childhood (not necessarily my own) and childhood friends, many of whom are invented for the purpose of the dream's narrative. It is a larger home of Victorian styling that gives the impression of a mid-1920s build; three stories, white walls, hardwood floors that when oiled are almost yellow in color and tight room layout with few doors. The home is located adjacent to some larger lake and its front door goes into a walkway that joins with a paved but unmarked road going horizontal; beyond that some twenty feet or less is the lake itself. There's generally a somewhat unkempt grass lawn fenced in around the perimeter of the house and the "scene", while always bright or daylight, is generally foggy to cut off sight beyond the house, the edge of the lake, and the road. Despite this obstruction the fog never comes across as sinister or ominous; it's just there.

ENTITIES

"EBONY MAUSOLEUM/TEMPLE"

Appearances: At least 3
The "ebony mausoleum" is an entity that I associate with death and sacred places. It is characterized by a pair of rectangular, tall double doors (varied heights, but anywhere from ~12 ft to 30-40ft+) in a rich dark brown-black color. Ebony, like ebony. I'll add a picture of what ebony looks like later if you can't picture it. The doors have a similar chocolate-bar pattern with engravings that I think were floral in appearance and they open without touch. The doors are usually attached to tall structures or to tombs. I refer to them as the mausoleum because of their first appearance; they were the doors to a mausoleum on a hillside with all the graves and tombstones made of the same glassy brown-black material. I only managed to enter twice and both times the interior was the same; a large room, also rectangular with the visitor entering from one of the wide sides. Tall Roman-style pillars that go up around forty feet with an open ceiling (never looked up to check, perceived to be open) that natural white light pours down into, and the center of the room as empty with the only non-ebony material being a floor of white marble tiles. This room will have a small wooden table in the center-left side visible from the doors which has a red incense stick burning- its smoke floats upward to the open ceiling. The last time I experienced this entity, there was a woman praying or watching the incense directly to its right (from where I was viewing)- she was Caucasian, wearing blue robes and a blue cowl. I assumed this lady to be the Blessed Mother.

ENTITY

THEMES

"GUN DOESN'T WORK"

Appearances: Countless
Violence and danger are frequent in my dreams, but the problem I frequently encounter is in my attempts at favorably resolving violence with the myriad firearms I own and own in dreamspace. It is very common for guns to not work properly in my dreams; all manner of mechanical malfunctions arise when the weapons are needed most. I often find that ammunition "doesn't fit" or smushes into clay when trying to load magazines, semi-automatic actions never seem to fire more than once without jamming, sights are nonexistent, or the guns themselves break at critical points rendering them inoperable. Funnily enough, because of the sheer quantity of weaponry I keep in my living spaces, my usual dream-logic answer is to irritatedly grab another gun that my mind has already registered as "reliable" and get back to it. Even finding the desired weapon in the first place often is troublesome, having to dig through piles of useless guns or missing magazines before finally finding the right one. Fortunately, the weapons' terminal effect is almost always guaranteed; if I resort to fistfighting I frequently feel my blows are weak or effete- I've never really beaten anyone up in real life and most of my old fighting experience was when I weighed ~120 lbs as a gangly teenager. My subconscious doesn't keep itself updated with my current weightlifting 1-rep maxes. Either way, this phenomena is extremely annoying and I think I need to more solidly register where my weapons are at all times so if nothing else they will be a constant and consistent fixture in the night.

THEME