The concept of Dreamworlds is an arduous topic that I am not certain exists in anyone else besides myself. The chances of this are incredibly small, but I've yet to meet a person who shares my experiences, or anything like them. I’ve taken it upon myself to create the terminology necessary to categorize these experiences until I find terms which have already been established, or if there are none, indefinitely.
It shall be noted that due to this project being an ongoing effort, terminology and criteria are subject to change. If anyone would like to reach out to contact me about their own strange dreams, or whether or not they would be a dreamscaper, I am always looking for more data. Please visit the CONTACT page for more information.
First, we must define a Dreamworld. A Dreamworld can be defined as a concrete universe within one’s mind that can be accessed through dreams and is made up of multiple dreamhubs (two or more). Dreamhubs are defined as specific locations that have enforced and unchanging rules, consistent observable traits, and common reoccurrence during dreams. They are typically accompanied by lucid dreaming.
You can enter Dreamhubs through filler dreams, which are non-lucid dreams that take place in spontaneous locations. These dreams are more abstract, and if you become lucid, you may change your surroundings and break pre existing rules if desired.
You can also simply fall asleep and begin dreaming you are in a Dreamhub, or you can enter Dreamhubs through portals. Portals are regular areas that take you from one Dreamhub to another, or into a filler dream. Lastly, if you occupy a Dreamworld in your own mind during your dreams, you are a Dreamscaper, and any real life people you encounter in your dreams have the prefix Hub-, like a Hubteacher, Hubcousin, or Hubfriend.
Dreamworlds and Dreamhubs must meet certain criteria for the dream occupant to be considered a dreamscaper. Dreamworlds must consist of at least two or more Dreamhubs, they must be long-term experiences (over the span of a year or longer), and they must be accompanied by lucid dreaming at least 50% of the time.
Dreamhubs are required to be visited on a semi-frequent basis (One night per 10 nights) for a span of 2 months or longer to be considered a Dreamhub, though before or after this period of time, they may show up more or less frequently. Dreamhubs also require consistent physical and atmospheric attributes, and may include rules that cannot be broken during lucid dreams. There are few exceptions to this.
Dreamhubs cannot perfectly match a place that exists in the waking world. If there is some semblance to a place you visit frequently in the real world, there must be significant changes to the atmosphere, the Hubpeople present, or the way in which the Dreamhub works that makes it significantly distinct in a way that elicits a different opinion of the setting AND a different set of behaviors necessary to traverse it. Example: A school full of clones of yourself that otherwise feels like school or where you act as you normally would in school is not a Dreamhub, despite the different Hubpopulation. A school where your clones roam the halls and interact with you in a way that elicits camaraderie or self defense and makes you feel more or less safe (an in turn encourages or requires different behavior than would be acceptable in a school as a student) could be a Dreamhub.
Some rules may apply to the entirety of a dreamscaper’s Dreamworld, and other rules may only apply to one unique dreamhub. There are two types of rules: Definite and Indefinite.
Definite rules cannot be willfully broken. They are axiomatic facts of the section of one’s Dreamworld that they apply to. Much in the same way that one cannot jump out of a window and fly away in the waking world, definite rules cannot physically be broken in these dreamworlds.
Indefinite rules can be broken through action, but could result in unsavory consequences. A dreamscaper could choose to break the indefinite rules, but this may cause an unpleasant dreaming experience in either the short or long term.
Breaking indefinite rules can result in ruining. Ruining is when a Dreamhub is permanently altered due to the actions of it’s Dreamscaper. This often results in deeply unpleasant experiences during the dreamhub or dreamworld, and may result in revoked ability to access entire Dreamhubs if the ruining is severe enough. This blocked access could be either temporary or permanent.