Dream Log Archive

Category: Urban

  • January 17, 2025

    (ireland arrival / palace vision / crowded japan transit)

    I land in Ireland, not Dublin, and meet up with Dad and Sister. They say they’re going to the hotel to drop off their things and then wander around. I remind them that I came last minute and still need to find a hotel. Dad wonders if I’ll be okay, and I tell him it shouldn’t be an issue, though I worry about Baobao.

    I look up nearby hotels on an app. While I’m searching, we sit outside on large stone steps and look around. In front of us is a large park, and on the other side of the park is an old hospital. Around the park are old European buildings. To the left is a road going up a hill.

    Dad points out that under one of the building steps on the hill there is a statue of Woody and Jessie and what look like their parents, huddled together and holding up the landing. They are half buried. He says the hill had to be re-landscaped because it was slowly eroding, and when they did that it covered the bottom of the statue. A lot of people were upset because they had to reconstruct their houses to match the new level of the road. He also points out a painted sign on the building next to us. He says it reads “war makes money” in Latin and shows a man holding a gun against a red warfront background. It faces the old hospital and signifies people’s anger at wars the government participated in.

    The building whose steps we’re sitting on is a palace. Inside, we go up a spiral staircase to an exhibit room displaying dishware, including an entire wall of tea sets. The tea sets aren’t the thin fine china I expect. Either the family wasn’t wealthy enough to own fine china, or it hadn’t become popular yet. The cups are bulky and dyed primarily one color, sometimes with gold around the rim or a second color inside.

    I see a vision of the ladies of the court having tea when the king comes in to see his queen. They seem to have a good relationship, and he appears to love her very much. She has white hair, possibly a wig or dye though she’s young, curled around her head with a small curl down the back. He has orangey-brown hair stacked high like a beehive. He consults her about information she gave him that was confirmed true, and she tells him what to do next.

    In a cutaway scene, her father speaks with someone about her gift. She has foresight, or has come back in time, and can tell the future. Her father listened to her and gained a great deal. Then she asked him to send her to marry the king. Shortly after, a call went out among the aristocracy that the king was looking for a wife. She passed every test smoothly and became queen. Now she is expecting her second child and seems to anticipate future trouble that she is trying to prevent.

    Back on vacation, I’m in a museum. It has many separate dark rooms with yellow lights illuminating artifacts that look Western in origin, possibly Greek or Roman. Between rooms is a hallway that occasionally passes doors opening to a courtyard. It almost feels like a movie theater. Someone, maybe a group, comes to tell me we’re moving to another location.

    Still on vacation, I’m now in Japan. I’m in a suburb of Yokohama, and it’s extremely crowded around the train station. I try to stay with my group, but we get separated. They shout that I should just keep going and get off at the last station. I look at the train map and see that one end in a direction is Gifu, which doesn’t feel right, so I choose the other direction. It’s crowded down the stairs and onto the platform, and I’m carried along with the flow of people.

    In a new town, I stop for lunch with a friend, possibly UK Friend K or High School Friend L. I like the place but don’t feel very hungry, so I order something light. She orders a large portion of spicy shrimp tempura and a side salad with full slices of cucumber and carrot, and she eats almost none of it.

    I try to help two elementary schoolers pay at a touchscreen machine, but one insists on pressing the buttons herself and, because she can’t quite reach, selects the wrong dish. They’re on a sponsored trip and need receipts for reimbursement, but the dish she chose costs 300 yen more than what she bought. I try to change it, but the system won’t allow it. I ask the staff, but she says she can’t change it either.

    The child explains why she needs the receipt, and the staff seems conflicted because the transaction is already recorded in the system. I think privately that it’s a flawed system. I notice an elderly woman behind the counter working the machine and assume this can’t be the first time someone has entered their order incorrectly.

  • October 30, 2024

    (hotel reception / disaster ethics / bianca’s escape plan)

    I’m in an open, windowed hotel reception area. Long tables covered in white sheets are set up with food and drinks, and people stand around talking in small groups.

    I’m standing with a female friend of mine, though I can’t remember who it is, and Bianca Del Rio.

    We’re talking about what would happen if there were suddenly a terrorist threat in the room. My friend suggests that the most generous thing would be to try to get everyone out.

    Bianca says she wouldn’t bother trying to save everyone. It would be a fraught situation, there wouldn’t be time, and people would panic. Instead, she says she would just dive for the window and maybe grab the two of us along with her, since we’re already nearby.

    We roll our eyes and thank her jokingly, but privately I think that’s rather generous of her, considering she could just save herself.

  • October 16, 2024

    (survival game / haircut disguise / mansion defense)

    I’m in a game with Witcher-style mechanics. Three streetrats are thrown into it. They’re tossed out and sprayed with rancid trash, then told to survive. The game is run by Bitro.

    Geralt joins up with others, including Motomi and a thin, energetic guy. Motomi is suspicious of Geralt. He meets Bitro in secret, but the other two follow him and witness the meeting. Motomi and Bitro seem like odd friends. Bitro asks about the newcomer and where he came from, and Motomi tells him it’s none of his concern.

    Bitro leaves quickly, and we explore the area. It looks like a tent camp, possibly where Bitro had been staying. I interact with highlighted objects and get bits of dialogue. After picking up a set of Bitro’s clothes, including a wig of his hair, a cutscene plays.

    A barber comments that the look doesn’t suit me and cuts Geralt’s hair, shaving it and combing it back. The thin guy is enthusiastic about the new style. He also complains about how Geralt rides a horse. Motomi says that’s just how witchers are trained and not to worry about it. I check the animation, and Geralt really does ride in a choppy, staccato way. It seems like he can only ride a horse that was trained the same way.

    In a mansion, a lord is kind to his servants and protects them, so they are very loyal. The lord may also be Geralt. His enemies learn this and send operatives to capture the maids as leverage.

    The servants are prepared. When the operatives enter, they throw down quick fire in the hallways and scatter. They aren’t fighters, but they don’t want to cause trouble for their lord by being captured.

  • September 22, 2024

    (racetrack event / waiting for pickup / suspension explanation)

    I’m at the My Company racetrack in Hometown, near the library parking lot, for an event. Sister and Sister’s Husband go home, and I stay for a while before calling to get picked up.

    As I leave, HS Chinese Teacher’s son from my school trip to China comes to pick me up. We cross the street toward the Belfry, and he runs down toward the park to get his car. I move closer to the racetrack parking lot so he doesn’t have to come as far.

    He gets stuck in a line trying to get his car out. I end up waiting in a different line where people are getting rental cars. Near the back of a large group, people are dressed vaguely as Mario and Luigi. I pass by a pair talking about using a AAA card to rent. Apparently the card will be wrapped by the service. The rentals are only for use around the racetrack and have to be returned if you go farther. This is meant to prevent pollution by keeping the cars within the same climate area.

    I’m near a group with a dad and a girl dressed as Mario, a man dressed loosely as Luigi, and another man in a black hoodie. The man in the hoodie is confused about the racetrack and keeps talking about suspension. He jokes that they must be proud of creating a little ball, clearly not understanding what suspension is.

    I interrupt and try to explain. I say that suspension involves the front forks and rear cushions, using springs and oil. The man tries to cut in, but I keep going. I explain that the oil has a property where its mass doesn’t change when compressed, and when it’s forced through a small hole, it resists compression and maintains its volume, which reduces how much you feel bumps.

  • September 15, 2024

    (drag queen battle / flight in NH / late to flight)

    I’m in a big city in an abandoned dance studio, trying to find something left there. There are drag queens with a condition where they have to freeze in a pose, and they can only be released under a specific condition. If the condition is too strict, they die, like gargoyles.

    I find Eureka and Kennedy and others. We’re also fighting against evil drag queens and corrupted security systems. I had originally been brought here by spirits—a giant whale mother and a red dragon puppet. I had just gained the ability to communicate with them when the whale asked for help here, and I was flown in through the sky.

    The whale disrupted the security, so we have to deal with that as well. I find a room with a computer system that explains what’s going on.

    I learn that RuPaul used to do interviews here in the early days, possibly early seasons of Drag Race. I see Bendela, Shangela, and others. The interviews take place in an underground room with steel beams overhead, like a construction area. Nearby, they also performed dances. In one scene, performers are getting ready with makeup. Blair complains about not being good at it and having to practice a lot. Ru points out that she applied blush too far on one cheek and says she’ll show her how to do it properly later.

    I get separated from the others on the way out and get attacked by an enemy drag queen. I shout “Catwoman” to signal who it is. Dax ExclamationPoint arrives in a mercenary uniform with knives everywhere and saves me.

    Later, I’m talking with Sister about flights. I’m going back separately. They’re going to Boston, and I’m going to a town called something like Ridelplaz on the Massachusetts–New Hampshire border. John Oliver is also going there, joking about when he’ll ever get another chance to visit a place with such a similar name to his.

    He has a layover there. It’s a very small town. He films the mountains and says that a woman in the park below is really playing music loudly, and the sound carries into his video.

    Heading back toward the village, I pass through a carved rock formation where I can see the sun setting on one side and the moon rising on the other. I take a video as I walk through. The moon is also reflected over a pond in the center of the village.

    I rush back to the airport. Another man is rushing too, and we’re on the same flight. He checks the status and slows down, saying we’ve missed it. I say it’s scheduled for 7:22, so we still have time, but he argues that boarding has already started. I tell him that if we arrive during boarding and have assigned seats, we can still get on.

    We run with our luggage. The airport is surprisingly large. He meets up with his dad and stops at the bathroom, while I continue running with another girl we met inside the airport.

    We reach gate 10-3 and line up for the elevator. At the front, I see the man and his dad have made it there after stopping. The elevator pauses partway, and we worry, but I feel confident that since so many people in the elevator are going to the same flight, they’ll wait for us.

  • May 14, 2020

    (bus stop detour / portrait & pursuit / ciel’s standoff)

    I’m on a bus heading home, but I need to stop at a convenience store for a drink, so I get off a bit early near the center of town. The rest of my classmates say goodbye, but then get off at the next stop and walk through town. They wave when they see me, but I keep walking like I have somewhere to be.

    I pass the town information center and reach a bridge where parade preparations are happening. In the river below, a group of giant turtles spins in formation. On the bridge and along the shore, a Shinsengumi squad practices swordplay.

    I continue to a small museum for handicrafts and ceramics. Everything is written in English, even though the setting is clearly in Japan. I go into a workshop and end up being the last visitor of the day.

    Right before me is a Chinese or Taiwanese girl with short brown hair, Xue Tsun. She has a watercolor portrait done, then draws her own picture of herself and me, the next person in line. When it’s my turn, I only get the portrait. I like her drawing and ask for a copy, but I’m told I’ll have to get it directly from her.

    I run out to catch up with her and find her just before the bridge. She’s being harassed by a man. I step in and fight him off, and he turns out to be her boyfriend.

    I walk down a nearby street to a mansion that belongs to Ciel Phantomhive. He has been dealing with difficult negotiations with someone trying to take what’s his. He suspects they might try again, but still invites them in, confident he can win.

    As they arrive, he realizes something is wrong. He hears his own voice coming from the door and understands that they may be creating copies of him each time to replace him.

    He runs and locks himself in the bathroom, nervously turning his ring. The opponent has the advantage—they only need to destroy, while he has too many things to protect: his claim to the ring, his estate, possibly Lizzie (Elizabeth Midford).

    He knows he has to think quickly, because if he shows any weakness, it will be over almost immediately.

  • April 23, 2020

    (department store loop / dessert outing / purchase hesitation)

    I’m at a 49-store department store, repeatedly passing around the bus stop out front.

    One of the floors is dedicated to restaurants, mostly very fancy places, all offering lunch and dessert sets.

    After a lecture one day, I go there with College Roommate S and we try cakes at one of the Italian places.

    At night, I return with Ex-boyfriend T.

    On the first floor, there’s a general store selling soft, fuzzy loft shawls. He tries on a blue one and hints that I should buy it for him for Christmas. I agree, but I don’t want to buy it in front of him.

    I go upstairs to look around the restaurant floor again, then come back down and usher him outside so I can go to the register alone.

    I buy a few other things as well, but when I’m checking out and trying to get my rewards cards ready, I realize I never put the shawl on the counter. I have to ask them to redo the receipt.

  • April 22, 2020

    (bus rides / support group / sex event escape)

    I’m being transported along with others on a set of buses—several yellow school buses and one small nine-seat shuttle. I’m on the shuttle, which is completely full, while the other buses are less crowded.

    On the way there, I sit near the front, but on the return trip I sit in the back. At one point on the return, I’m the only passenger left, and I chat with the driver as we pass Neighbor J’s house.

    I’m in Hometown Center, working at a company on the third floor of my high school’s math building. The job feels boring, maybe something like accounting, and my desk space is small.

    HS Friend A works at a McDonald’s nearby. I stop by with a friend during lunch and try to get her to come with us, but she says she can’t because her boss would fire her if he found out. We still talk briefly outside.

    I go to a small studio for a group conversation. We sit in a circle of chairs and talk—it feels like a support group setting, but not centered on any specific issue.

    A boy shares a memory from childhood where he tried to look openly at gay things, but his mother redirected him, telling him that “normal” people looked at cute fuzzy animal characters when they liked things like that. He grows up to become a major voice in furry forums, with his mother continuing to help him hide things from his father.

    Later, there’s a nighttime event on the floor of my high school science building. People are bringing in pairs for some kind of tribal-like hate-sex. The first pair is two drag queens, who are also sex workers. I don’t stay till the end, leaving a bit early to head back to work.

    When I go back toward work, the bosses are in a meeting and have taken over the office space, forcing everyone else into the hallway. I decide to leave instead.

    Downstairs, I find Language School Classmate A, who is a popular child actress. She asks where we are, and I realize she is supposed to be next in the hate-sex show but hasn’t been told about the event.

    I decide to protect her and take her home. We manage to get out of the high school building before we start being chased. I pick her up to run faster, but my limbs feel slow and uncoordinated. I end up pushing myself forward using both my arms and legs, almost crawling, trying to get her to safety.

  • April 15, 2020

    (hotel inspection / unsettling discovery / casual conclusion)

    I’m in a fancy hotel with a group. My boss mentions that we’ve received a request for my dad to give a lecture. The location is supposed to be at a hospital room, next to a golf course. Everything—the room and arrangements—would be covered as reimbursements, and I’m sent to check out the room prepared for him to stay in.

    The room doesn’t match the pictures. It looks grimy. The closet, bed, and drawers still have a few things left in them, like it hasn’t been properly cleared out.

    I check the bathroom and realize the blueprint is wrong. Instead of a standard setup, there’s a large shared shower room with multiple shower heads, some still running. The bathtub, which was supposed to be a single unit, is actually an enormous one—about eighteen feet long.

    It becomes clear to me that the space isn’t meant for normal use, but something more private and unusual. I feel unsettled, imagining weird sex parties.

    As we head outside to a meeting, I ask my boss about it discreetly. He implies that the person who made the request used to court him, and that his interests have shifted over time towards lingerie. I briefly consider asking him for store recommendations related to that, but we arrive at the meeting building and drop the subject.

    We’re a bit early, so we’re told to get drinks at a juice shop inside. We end up getting frozen lemonades and other fruity drinks.

  • April 14, 2020

    (beach search / dog facility / different childhood)

    I’m walking along a beach with my family, looking for something, though I don’t know exactly where it is. We pass a taxi area and continue to another stretch of beach, but that’s not right either.

    Eventually, we come to a white glass building and go inside. It looks like a chemistry lab at first, but there are dogs everywhere—it’s more like a dog hotel or grooming center. There’s only one woman taking care of them.

    Near the entrance are four small dogs: a fluffy white one wearing a headscarf, a blonde dachshund, a jumpy dog, and what seems to be the woman’s own dog, maybe a chihuahua with partially dreaded fur.

    Behind a high table with stools where we sit, there are more dogs, including a golden-brown retriever that loves attention.I try to take pictures with all of them. They’re friendly, though some are shy.

    Later, I’m in a restaurant talking about different ways my life might have gone if I’d been born into different circumstances.

    Then I wake up as a small child.

    Murasaki comes in with her daughter. I’m supposed to know Russian, but I only have my current memories. I make an excuse to go practice and escape into the garden, then head out into the street.

    Some kids make fun of my hair color. An older white man approaches and gives me a bad feeling. I try to leave and tell him we don’t look alike. He pulls my hair angrily, but I manage to slip away and run into another house.

    Inside, it feels like a community gathering space. Another girl finds me and pulls me into a crawl space so we can move around without being seen.

    We end up at an outdoor Korean cultural museum. There’s a theater building, exhibit spaces, and alley-like streets lined with restaurants. We look for somewhere to eat but don’t settle on anything there.

    Instead, we leave and go to a building in front of the museum and decide to have Indian food. We pay up front and each order a dish. I get a kind of dumpling set—seven pieces in a batch.