strange dreams

as is par for the course, the dreams that disturbed an otherwise peaceful slumber were vivid and troubling. it was good to see my little brother, however, even if it was in the aftermath of our mother star going nova. what followed that (yes, we lived) was the kind of 'oh now what' moment usually reserved for cartoons—the nova blast set off all the automated counterstrike conditions for the world's nuclear arsenals.

boom.

the thing currently stuck in my memory's craw is my brother tugging at a piece of loose skin (in spite of my warnings) and pulling away most of his shoulder muscle.

first 'nightmare' i've had in a while.

when waking from dreams of the annihilation of humanity, one's mind predictably turns to various apocalypses. as i recall from monday school god said to moses something to this effect:

'this time a boat was for the win. next time wear asbestos.'

this begs the question of other pure elemental destructions. 'earth' would be easy to accomplish—massive earthquakes devastate the whole thing, possibly caused by the orange-peel-like crust sliding on its molten bearings and careening willy-nilly around the earth's surface. it can be argued that this has already happened, resulting in the current position of antarctica, i.e. atlantis.

water is easy, we've seen it before. fire is too common a theme, as my mind's yestereve playtime demonstrates.

what about air? this sat me up in the bed (on the couch). imagine a setting where the previous civilization were destroyed by making the air poisonous? or perhaps removing it entirely? it would leave lovely structure, but no trace of any people. it would betray the usual fantasy convention of gods getting their power from their worshippers, but i can live with that.

now, back to work.