dreamcore is still actually kinda cool

when i say dreamcore i do NOT mean all those eyeballs and mushrooms and that "erm... i think i've been here before..." nonsense!!!!!! i'm talking those images without humans/human body parts, no object headed people either... like the kind of dreamcore where it *actually* feels like you've been there in your dreams before

i feel like it was ruined a little when people started putting eyeballs and teeth n shit in there... like something about human presence in those images kinda worsens them??? like i feel like it's better if there's little to no presence of human life. when i look at the images, i want to feel completely alone. it's not interesting anymore if there's another living thing with me/eyes and teeth or whatever

the feeling i want to gain from looking at them is a comfortable loneliness. i want it to feel like i really am in a dream and if the dream feels unsettling, it'll be okay because i'll wake up anyway!! i want to be looking at an empty, unreal landscape that still feels like i could be there.

like this image for example:

the atmosphere feels otherworldly, but the neighborhood looks as though i could actually go there. be there. it's normal, yet not normal. it's comfortable, yet unsettling. there's nobody there but me, but it feels like there could be someone there. but there isn't. and that's the true beauty of it!!! it's just me and the neighborhood, even though i might think there's another presence there as well.

with some images, it doesn't give me the same feeling. the ones with eyeball angels and mushrooms with eyes and teeth scattered everywhere- i don't feel the same way i do when i look at the empty ones. the presence of humanity, be it big or small, dampens the feeling of the comfortable liminality i long to feel.

for example, this image:

this *could* also be classified as weirdcore, considering the fine line between it and dreamcore. though many could say it is mostly dreamcore, i think it'd be more classified into weirdcore. the eyes, the shadow figures, the mushrooms, the angels, the tooth- the life in this image is too much. the presence of humanity in this image is shown by the body parts scattered about, which dampens the feeling i'm looking for. it doesn't feel like a dream at all, at least, not one that i would have. when i look at this image, that's all i see. an image. not a dream.

now, the presence of humanity *can* be incorporated into dreamcore images, if done correctly. just not in overwhelming amounts. a set of hands could add something to the image, if positioned in the viewer's perspective.

take this image as an example:

the hands are positioned in a way where the viewer feels as though they are their own hands. the surrealism of the image adds something as well. it feels like i'm reaching my hands out, trying to determine a dream from reality. the hands are positioned in a way that make me feel as though they belong to me. those are *my* hands. the only presence of humanity is my own, and other than that, i'm still alone in this field.

text can also be incorporated into dreamcore images as well, if executed correctly. though, not in excess. maybe one or two sentences can give an image that feeling of unrealness, depending on what they say.

for example:

"we can follow the rainbow together". it sounds like something an old friend would say, an old friend i haven't met yet. a kind invitation, or a sentence meant to motivate. it's comforting to me. i think text like this is the kind i most prefer, nothing meant to scare me. something meant to give me a sense of safety, but at the same time, who is telling me this? is there really anybody behind the text itself? has it always been there, or did someone put it there for me to read? maybe the text itself is a separate entity, or maybe it isn't. whatever the case, i like it. maybe the "old friend" is the text itself, here in my dream with me, but not providing any real presence. it is a source of communication and information, with the illusion of having a presence. i can see it, yes- but i can't *feel* it.

there's thousands of images like the ones i've described, and it's quite literally impossible for me to put them all into here. but, i think there's more beauty to dreamcore than most think. they focus on the "bad", and not the "good". i say these in quotations, since there's really no good or bad dreamcore. i just have different tastes when it comes to it, and i have my own view of what can make it good or bad. you may or may not agree with what i've said about it, and whatever the case, that's fine. everyone's dreams are different, so everyone's preference of dreamcore is different, too. 

i just wanted to share my personal take on the subject, since i used to be heavily into it during the days of quarantine. and now, i think i've gotten back into it again!!! it's just a cool concept that people seem to overlook/shit on now. and yes, people can have opinions- but if you're not into dreamcore, don't bully/harass people who *do* like it!!! as long as they're not hurting anyone, there's no reason to hate. just let people enjoy things :)