Epic Lights and Silhouettes

Blog No. 7c: Winter Dreamscapes Part III

Part 3. Winter Dreamscapes. This one's a doozy. Enjoy.

*Northern Lights and Silhouettes*

I look down at my usual checkerboard sequence, waiting what would happen. I felt a movement from underneath the checkerboard, feeling a sudden gust as the checkerboard flew upward toward my face from my hands.

I fell backward to see darkness in front of me. I was somehow luminescent in this dream because I could see myself perfectly as I sat up.

After waiting another second, a hypnotic, electronically produced sound resonated in front of me in lieu with a pair of illuminating green lightning bolts. The bolts felt like they were being stretched in front of me, as suggested by the sound of an electronic didgeridoo. The bolt stretched until the bolt immediately shrunk and died.

Clap! A silhouette appeared in front of a green light illuminating against a stage screen. The green spot light did not cover the entire screen, but only a section of it. The silhouette was of a bassist, standing behind the screen. From his body structure, I somehow translated this silhouette to be my friend, Eric, from high school, seeing as he sported a faux hawk and had massive arms. Low sounds that matched the hypnotic didgeridoo droned from behind that screen. It was odd because his base had looked like an upright bass, only not with a thick body so that the tall bass can double as an over the shoulder electric bass, which he still played with the upright bow.

Another pair of lightning bolts, purple this time, started stretching in front of the screen. Clap! Like an elastic band, a purple spot light illuminated only part of the screen, revealing a skinnier, taller silhouette with long hair and a rock guitar. He looked like Levi, also from Charter. He added some continuous guitar riffs.

Another pair of lightning bolts, blue, stretched in front of the screen, only it was clear with the light that someone was in front of the screen stretching these bolts. This silhouette was still hard to make out, though. He stretched to his limit and Clap! The bolts snapped back together like a palates belt. A blue light partially illuminated behind the screen and revealed another silhouette on a drum set. This one was of Monty, what with the curly afro. He was rolling dark and intense drum rolls on the floor tom with bass hits like heart beats.

A pair of red lightning bolts, revealing more of the person in front of the screen, stretched in front of me. Clap! A silhouette of a man with a bandana and an electric mandolin was revealed. He resembled Justyn, skinny in structure with a circular face and an emo haircut. He was strumming somber, low chords that matched Levi’s riffs.

Finally, a pair of yellow lightning bolts stretched by the might of a curled up, still blacked out silhouette until both ends collided together into the final Clap! The last person revealed with the yellow light was a female, I characterized as Youbin, playing a hallowed electric violin. She played in a melody in the soprano range that caused tension every alternating note to Levi’s riffs.

The music got louder and faster as the dark figure in front of me slowly stood up, raising his head an revealed a tall, spiky flat top. I recognized this figure, but only in my dreams. As the music reached its epic, climactic ending, the spiky haired silhouette raised his arms up, cupping his palms toward the sky and Clap!

A blackout. The screen and the silhouettes disappeared within that split second, the colorful lights dimmed to black as the stage itself became dimly lit. The eerie electric didgeridoo still plays in the background.

On the left, there was a glistening ice sculpture of a feminine figure. The lightning bolts were held at the base of the sculpture by metallic hemispheres which somehow gave the piece a nice flowing yet non-uniform color that resembled the Northern Lights. Each curve and smooth texture prominently showed intricate colors like a tye-dyed flame engrossed in the ice.

On the right, there was a towering tree, the size of the ice statue. The roots were twisted, the leaves swayed, the vines hung, and the vibrant fruits and flowers sprouted in such a way that made the tree have a look of a male figure. The dim light of the stage provided dark shadows and even green color that accented the outline of facial features, a chest, and arms. The legs looked bent, like he was kneeling, shown through the hollow of the tree.

Words then fade in and out on the screen behind them:

“Fate is unpredictable… Like the flare and form of glacial lights.”

“Or a woman of foreign beauty.”

“Like roots of a geriatric tree, we absorb our power through Hope.”

“Together, we can break from the chains.”

“Together, we can fight the odds.”

“But… Would we want to?”

A meteor circled from above the stage, around my head, and into the statue, where it shattered into pieces. The crash caused sparks of fire that spread to the tree which weakened the roots and fell over. The fire wasn’t a normal colored fire. Because the statue was shattered, the lights were not enclosed into one form, so the lights emitted onto the fire, causing rainbow colors to emit pastel smoke.

The dark and colorful smoke whirled around me until I couldn’t see anything. There were flashes of light here and there. Whispers whirled around me as I tried to find the source. Then I saw the silhouette of two figures run from behind me onto the stage. There was a male figure, the one with the spiky tall hair from before, and a female figure, smaller in stature and had long wavy locks. The male dragged the femme along onto the stage.

Once the smoke dissipated, I saw the silhouettes climbing a circular staircase around a castle turret from behind the screen. There was only a red light emitting from behind the screen, just enough to see the two forms differentiated from the turret.

It was the femme that stopped in the middle of the stairs. Her voice cried out: “It’s no use! I can’t see through this smoke! He’s going to capture us!”

“There’s no quitting now,” responded the male, “We have to keep pushing!”

“Listen. I’m going to expire from this world—”

“No you’re not—!”

“It has been decided. There’s no arguing any longer. You can still run, be safe, and be free to love again!”

“I want you safe with me! We have to keep hope. Together we can break the chains and together we can fight the odds!”

Just then, the red light illuminates a large dragon silhouette emerging onto the turret, wagging his head back in forth. Its eyes and nostrils glow in the shadow of its silhouette. Its wings expand the broad length of the stage. It gave a ferocious war and turned its head to the left.

“You can’t fight Fate, it’s not worth losing your life over!”

“It’s worth losing my life if I get to keep you with me. Now come on we have to move forward!”

The human silhouettes embrace each other as the dragon silhouette raises its head high and breathes a giant ball of flame in my direction. The flames breach through the screen and engulf my view entirely.

THE END

Epic Hail

Blog No. 7b: Winter Dreamscapes Part II

The second part to my four part Winter Dreamscape series. This dream is in three parts because, as you might be able to tell from the dream, that night was pretty restless...

*Fire Hail*

The beginnings of this dream, like any other, had started out with a checkerboard. A small ball of flame lit up from above and landed into the checkerboard, making it ripple and dissipate into a dark blue.

The phenomenon was intriguing. The sky had a blue to red gradient corresponding with the ocean and the sun. The clouds were thick and black, blanketing the sky in darkness. The air was visible and wavy, rippling from the heat. The ocean was dark and brewing, boiling, steaming… It was too dark for it to be day, but too bright for it to be night.

I examined the ocean on top of the cliff to observe all of these changes. I could feel a sense of sorrow, like the place had felt familiar and I was depressed that I was never going to see it again.

“HURRY INTO THE JEEP!” A voice yelled from nowhere.

At that moment, the clouds open up a giant hole in the sky, revealing a large fire ball about to crash into the ocean. Different colors, like fireworks, swirled around the giant sphere of fire.

I ran and jumped into the passenger seat of the jeep. The jeep skidded and screeched as it drove past the road. A few seconds later, I hear a large BOOM!, as well as a large rush of water. I looked in the rear view mirror and saw that the flaming meteor hit and a giant tidal wave started to rise.

“Oh man, I’m too young to die!” said my Econ TA, Jeremiah, only in this dream he was apparently my brother.

“FLOOR IT OLD MAN!” said the remaining passenger, Lauren Graham, which suddenly made sense about why I was in a jeep. (Gilmore Girls reference)

“Ol’ Bessie is grinding her gears as fast as she can!” said the father figure in this dream, Robin Williams.

(Come to think of it, can you ever see Robin Williams in a thriller?)

The jeep tears up asphalt as the screen transitions, (by a flame wipe, where the screen burns up from left to right to reveal the next scene), to somewhere in the middle of what seemed to be a desert. We were exhausted, we were hot, but we were safe. As for the jeep, the engine started smoking and the tires had melted.

Robin and Lauren were having a little back and forth conversation:

“Well I think she finally did it…”

“Oh not this again.”

“I’ve had her through the coal mines, up the Mississippi, down with the man… Ol’ Bessie’s gone to the big car dealership in the sky!”

“Hey! At least the big flaming torpedo isn’t coming at us anymore!”

“Though the massive monsoon of boiling water almost did.” Jeremiah interrupted.

“Shut up, Toby!”

I walked away from them to find any sign that indicated our location. All I could see was the dead grass and the unavoidable heat ripple. I look up to see the sun to try the boy scout compass trick, but the brooding clouds made that impossible. There were no landmarks within view, so I walked up the road to see if there was any over the hill.

Below there was a city, only not a city. The buildings and roads suggested a bustling city, but the lack of human presence and the mounds of rabble suggested a ghost town. Among the buildings, I recognized a tall, metallic structure that held up something that looked like a UFO with a point on top.

“Hey guys! I think I know where we are!”

Robin, Lauren, and Jeremiah ran up the hill to join me, to take in what had happened to a once lively Seattle.

Fade out.

~

Fade in.

“How hard is it to find a car?” Jeremiah complained, “There are loads of them we could hot wire and drive!”

“It has to be the right one,” Robin said, “Something that can drive fast at manageable gas mileage.”

“Well hurry because we need to be in New York before sun down!” Jeremiah said anxiously.

I look at Jeremiah and feel this sudden sense of pity and woe.

I flashback to the beginnings of this apocalypse, when Jeremiah and Tao, another TA, had been walking hand in hand along a beach of some sort until they noticed the clouds darkening. The scene changes and they started running through the boiling hot rain toward the docks. They were at the end of the line and the boat only had room for one more person. Jeremiah was prepared to stick behind with Tao, holding his arm in his hands. Tao responded by giving a peck on Jeremiah’s cheek, and then pushing him onto the boat.

“I’ll find another way,” Tao yelled back, “I’ll meet you in New York. Don’t worry!”

“How can we meet your gay lover by sun down if we don’t even know where the sun is?” Lauren had remarked, unaware of Jeremiah’s vulnerable state.

I stomped on Lauren’s foot. Jeremiah didn’t speak up to defend himself.

A pebble at jet force speed fell and hit my shoulder. It fell to the ground, a small light of fire burned out.

“I think it’s starting to hail.”

We all looked up at the clouds as tiny drops of fire fell, and then we ran out of sight.

Somehow, the four of us were sitting in silence inside a giant Escalade in the next instant. Robin kept staring back at me behind the passenger seat, as if he was trying to communicate something to me. I can feel the tension between everyone in the car. I wanted to try anything to break the silence.

“So… Nice weather we’re having today.” Probably not the best choice of words…

“SHUT UP TOBY!” Lauren yelled.

“Don’t yell at David!” Jeremiah defended.

“I’m trying to break the silence, yo,” I said, “It’s becoming unbearable.”

“Unbearable?” Lauren sarcastically remarked, “Oh how can giant flaming balls of doomsday goodness become unbearable?”

“It doesn’t hurt to be optimistic!”

“It doesn’t hurt to be YOUR FACE!”

“How does that even make sense?” Jeremiah interrupted.

“It just does! We are all going to die in the end, you know it, I know it, we all fucking know it!”

“No we don’t! We don’t even know how far this storm expands! If we stay ahead of the storm and ride out the hail, then we have some hope of surviving this catastrophe!”

“It’s pointless to think there might be a light at the end of the tunnel if you can’t see any of the light to begin with!”

“The VonHolsens would have never thought of the situation that way!”

“Oh, well if you like the VonHellsings so much then why don’t you have THEM drive you five thousand miles to meet up with your boyfriend?”

“Would you all just SHUT UP?!” Robin interrupted, “Now we are a family. Family sticks together, right? Well right now we are one member short and our one member is headed to New York as we speak! I don’t know about you, but I could sure use some good news right about now!”

Jeremiah cracked a smile.

Just then, a large boom erupted from behind us. A giant fireball landed in the distance into a bunch of buildings. When the fireball landed, a bunch of little fireballs exploded across a few blocks, creating more wildfire.

Robin pushed hard on the pedal and we sped out of the main crash site. We kept hearing crashing of different kinds around us. The buildings started to fall over onto the other taller buildings like a domino effect.

“Hurry! I can see a helicopter up ahead!” I peered out the window and, sure enough, there was a helicopter gearing up its propellers.

Just then, the car decides to break down.

“Great… So much for gas mileage.” Lauren responded.

We all run out of the car and jetted toward the direction of the helicopter. Robin was getting weak and falling behind.

“Hurry! They’re going to leave without us!” I screamed back. Lauren, Jeremiah, and I paused as Robin fell to the ground. Jeremiah and I ran back to carry him up and then we continued running.

The helicopter blades whirred faster and faster. The helicopter pilot yelled over the speeding blades, “Hurry aboard! We don’t have much time!”

Just then, Robin, took a step back.

“Dude! What are you doing!?” Jeremiah asked.

“You guys go ahead; I have some things to settle here!”

“You’re crazy! Come on! LET’S GO!” Lauren demanded.

“As long as my family is safe, that’s all the assurance I need! Now I’ll meet you in New York as soon as I can find a ride!” Then Robin shut the helicopter door and the helicopter started taking off.

“That crazy oaf!” Lauren yelled.

“We need to turn back!” I yelled at the pilot.

The pilot looked down, we were already up pretty high. The pilot answered, “He’s going to have to find a different ride! If we turn back now, we’ll all be blown to smithereens!”

The three of us looked out of the window, helpless. We couldn’t help but feel that we would never see him again. As cars exploded and buildings seized up in flames, Robin waved goodbye as the helicopter speeds off.

Fade out.

~

Fade in.

The helicopter lands on top of the roof. The clouds were as brooding as ever. On top of the roof, a sign of hope, was Tao. Jeremiah ran out of the helicopter to meet up with Tao.

“Is that him?” Lauren bent over to whisper in my ear.

“Well it either has to be him or some other really friendly gay Asian dude waiting to make out with people that land on roofs.” I said this as Jeremiah and Tao locked lips and embraced each other tight.

Lauren and I stood there in the foreground observing the two lovers for what seemed like ten minutes. The both of us shifted in patience as this went on. After whistling show tunes, playing rock, paper, scissors, and even some mime, Lauren got restless.

“Okay, we GET IT!” Lauren interrupted the vigorous make out session.

Jeremiah and Tao chuckled as they walked back to where we stood. Jeremiah introduced Tao to the both of us more formally. Tao was noticeably tall compared to the three of us, which I took as a plus because I remembered that Jeremiah liked climbing on Robin’s shoulders when we were kids.

“Glad to meet you,” I said, raising my hand to shake his. He pushed it away and then lifted me up in a giant bear hug. I could hear Jeremiah’s laughter out of my free ear. As soon as he put me down, I fell back into a seated position.

“Don’t you have something to say, mother?” Jeremiah poised.

Lauren paused for a minute, took a step back, and said firmly, “Welcome to the family.” I heard Robin’s voice being echoed from her words. Tao came closer to try and hug her, but Lauren immediately replied, “Don’t even try it!” raising an index finger to Tao’s face.

We walked down the street, talking about nonsense things, avoiding the topic of Robin even though it was still conscious in everyone’s mind.

Just then, the sound of crunching metal came from behind us. We looked back and saw a tower of flame that engulfed the helicopter where it landed and started moving forward. The four of us ran and ran from the tornado of fire. City infrastructure had melted and burned as we passed.

“There!” Tao pointed at the tall building where there was a window washing platform waiting on the ground.

We all got on and Jeremiah and I cranked the platform upward toward the top of the building.

“Wouldn’t it have been easier to use the elevator?” Lauren cried out.

“The fuses are gasoline powered! We would potentially explode once the elevator started!” Tao replied. This somehow made sense.

The platform climbed 23 floors as the four of us looked down in amazement of the spectacle of flame engrossing the street. Smoke started to rise and fill our lungs. Slowly, but surely, we rose above the fire and the smoke to the clearer air.

Suddenly, two of the four ropes snapped, tilting the platform forward. Lauren and I managed to grab onto the ropes as Tao and Jeremiah hung by the edge of the platform. I tried to loosen my grip on the ropes to help Jeremiah and Tao, but the platform threatened to fall into the smoke below.

Lauren screamed out, “How can this situation get any worse?”

“Don’t say that!” I screamed back, “If you say that, something might actually happen!”

“Augh! I don’t think I can hold on much longer!”

Jeremiah and Tao looked into each other’s eyes, Jeremiah’s watering up. I knew what they both were thinking. Tao’s words only confirmed it, “It was a pleasure to finally meet my family… For however short a time it was.”

The two interlocked lips one last time as they let go of the platform together into the smoke below. Lauren and I screamed back to them, unable to reach their hands in time and unable to let go of the ropes keeping the platform from meeting the same demise. I could feel tears coming from my eyes as the heat got more intense from below.

“Let’s climb up.” Lauren finally said.

Using the ropes, we started to snake our way up toward the top of the building ten stories up. My arms got weaker and weaker and I couldn’t help but feel the hope draining my body. I just wanted to let go right then and there.

As I looked up, I saw my reflection on the window that was a few feet away from me. I started to unclasp the rope with my legs, holding onto the rope with my hands at my chest, and then start swinging toward the window. I could hear Lauren’s confusion and sudden outbursts, but a few swings later, I kicked the window and shattered the glass, rolling inside on stable ground.

“Come on! It’s just like a tire swing!” I assured Lauren.

“I don’t think I can make it!” Lauren yelled back.

“You have to try!”

Lauren looked up toward the roof and rationalized the swing in her head. She started to swing, her hands seizing the rope tightly above her head. As she slowly recoils around, she shouts out expletives and complaints.

Suddenly, the rope had tied around Lauren’s wrist to the point where, as soon as she tried swinging into the open window, she screamed out bloody mirror as she felt her wrist joint being dislocated. She retreated back to the rope with her good hand and her legs. I looked around to see if there was anything I could use to pull her in, but there was virtually nothing in that room. She was stuck.

“Look, I’m sorry, Okay?” Lauren started to tear up, “I’m not good at handling Armageddons like the VonWilsonspicklemeyers down the street. Just know that I never meant to hurt you in any way… I just felt that I needed to stay strong somehow, and for some reason that translates to sarcasm in my book—”

“No kidding,” I mumbled.

“CAN IT!” Lauren lost composure for a second. Then she starts to breath heavily, the tears evaporate as soon as they leaked from her eyes, “I just feel powerless… I couldn’t even save the only few people that care about me… The only people I have ever really loved in this world.” I stared into her cute pouty face as tried so hard to reach her, to offer her one of my hugs, but the distance was too far. I couldn’t help but stand there motionless…

The heat and the flames were visible down below now. Like a piece of paper smoldering in the flames, Lauren burned away, piece by beautiful piece as the suns rays finally shine through the clouds behind her, her arm was outstretched trying to hold on. The sunlight shined a bright light that blinded my last sight, searing it into my mind.

THE END

What was extremely strange about this dream was that it felt like it was both a movie and an actual experience. I was waiting, practically begging, for the intense background music that my mind’s orchestra would concoct for the action scenes, but it never happened. It made the experience all the more real and frightening…

… Also, on a side note, I’m not exactly sure whether or not Jeremiah or Tao are actually gay, so I apologize if they somehow find this blog. XD

Fro On Epic Shingled Roof

Blog No. 7a: Winter Dreamscapes Part I

Four part series of weird dreams/SPORs (Subconscious Personifications of Reality). Enjoy.

*Fro on Checkerboard Shingled Roof*

Fade in.

I brush my foot across an oddly beveled checkerboard, each black and white tile curved and angled upward. I walk up the checkerboard to the top, where the checkerboard is folded slightly at the center, where a long platform was at the crease, extending from end to end of the checkerboard, slightly curved upward at each end. It’s suddenly clear that every tile is actually a roof shingle.

I glance up and see a tall figure in a fencing uniform, raising his epée and widening his stance. I can hear the blood pulsing in my ears.

“Prepare to DIE!”

The fencer charges on his tip toes toward me as I, somehow, push the blade down with my hand and lift myself up to kick the fencer’s mask off. The mask rolls off his head, sliding down and off the roof. This was where I noticed that I couldn’t make out the ground below. We must’ve been on a tall pagoda-ish building.

I look up to see the fencer’s face, only there was no head. In fact, the fencer had completely disrobed, leaving the uniform idle in midair. The blade, clothes, and armor fell and slid off the roof. As I looked down, I saw a shadow darkening below me, which prompted me to quickly look up.

The sun blazed in my eyes as a tall, slender silhouette comes rushing into view. I dash out of the way as the silhouette lands on his right foot. JT was holding a katana behind him, his bare left leg up in the air like a flamingo, (flamingo came into mind because his very short robe was a bright pink).

“Draw your weapon and show me what Jew’s are made of!” JT writhed in fiery anger.

I look down at my waist and noticed I was wearing a belt and a sword holster. I grab the sheath in my left hand and the handle of the sword in my right, hesitating on drawing the weapon as I scanned for options.

My time grew short as JT charged again. I was trying to avoid hitting him, but I didn’t have a choice. It seems however, it didn’t take too much to make him fall as I pull the sword from its sheath and jam the handle into JT’s chest. I examined the sword as I pulled it; the wide-thin blade was a deep bluish-grey with designs of a golden crescent moon and golden Jewish stars. JT rebounds back up hit me, too, with the handle of his blade against my forehead.

“Cheap move… Even for you,” JT muttered as he rubbed his rib cage.

“I haven’t even the slightest idea what we are doing!” I yelled out, awaking from my stupor. I stood up, still feeling dizzy. JT was pointing the tip of his blade in my face. “What if we get hurt? I have no armor! What kind of man are you?”

JT drops his katana on the ground and opens up his pink robe, revealing a naked JT, (of course my reaction in the dream had blocked JT’s privates from my actual view).

“Apparently, that kind…”

JT ties up his robe and picks up his blade, pointing it back to my face. “FIGHT me.”

I raise my blade up to the same position his blade was. “BRING it.”

The battle begins with JT thrusting his katana blade forward. I jump to the right to avoid the attack, almost slipping on the roof shingles. I swing my blade at his feet, to which JT skillfully skipped and cartwheeled. I run up to the stable part of the roof to regain my stance. Then the both of us jumped forward and started swinging our blades in midair. Clanging and sparks of light fly from each blow as the duel got more and more intense.

The intensity of one blow threw us backward at either ends of the roof. We both stand up and, mirroring each other, we run toward the center readying a backhanded swing that clamored on impact. JT and I both stood our ground and kept pushing our blades forward, refusing to let our will power be broken, our stance unhindered.

Suddenly, JT bends his head forward and kisses me on the lips. I was taken aback by this act just enough for me to lower my guard and JT to continue his strike. My grip on my sword had loosened and, as a result, the blade flew in the distance toward the sun on the mountainous horizon.

“It’s the art of distraction, my friend!”

Then he readied a horizontal slash. I quickly bend down and, without missing a beat, punch him in the groin. JT cuts the slash off short as he drops his blade and sits down in a fetal position, squealing in pain.

“Distraction. Got it. What’s next?”

After a second, he gets up and says, “I guess a costume change is in order.” His outfit changed from the short pink robe to a blue and white garb with a conical straw hat. He raised a giant pole and swung it around his body to a fighting stance. I look down and my outfit has changed, too, to where I looked like Cid from FFVII, complete with goggles on my head and a pole of my own.

A spar ensues, where we both repeatedly try to trip and poke each other with our very large sticks. It got more interesting as it went on as we both started using our poles at higher speeds and in creative and unconventional ways. The roof, also, started shifting upwards in areas where he or I stood to prevent us from falling and then return to normal.

When my subconscious got bored with that, JT would do an outfit change as soon as he would knock my weapon out of my hands. Then I would get a random weapon to use thrown at me from below the roof shingles. Occasionally, JT gets a new weapon, but only after I was able to use my weapon to make JT lose a round in an embarrassing and hilarious way.

It went like this for awhile. Random weapons kept getting chucked onto the roof, (a tennis racket, a body pillow, a frying pan), as random articles of JT’s endless wardrobe kept sliding off, (a baseball uniform, a scuba suit, a Vegas showgirl outfit). It definitely showed the timeline in the background of the duel as the sun had gone from one end of the roof to the other, sunrise, sunset.

When the sun finally set, the sky filled up with stars and celestial clouds like I’ve never seen before. We both were breathing heavily after a huge day of fighting. I knew I had to end it here and now…

“I know now,” I said as streams of light circulate around my hands behind my back, “without a doubt,” JT raises his version of Cloud’s Buster Sword, “that Kingdom Hearts… is BRIGHT!”

I twirl two keyblades into existence in my hands and pulled them up as JT swung his blade down for the final blow. The impact of these blades caused a flash of bright light…

THE END.