Stardust29 DREAM I can't quite say how this dream started. The clearest moments I remember are already right in the middle of the action. I was at a family gathering, and my cousin (yes, the same one in my other dreams who I seem to be projecting something onto) was incredibly angry at me. I discovered that we've been having a terrible miscommunication over text, each of us feeling inferior and envious of the other. I had no idea she was feeling similar insecurities until she was yelling at me, clearly hurt by what she thought the implication of my words was, and I was horrified. I'm not sure exactly what the situation was, but I get the impression she resented me for supposedly thinking I was better than her in some way— which is especially crushing because I actually feel the exact opposite. I think she said something bitter about how I don't think she's as "whimsical" as me? And I was like, "What???" And I started desperately going back through our texts to try and figure out where I could have gone so wrong. I guess I'd said something about how I hadn't thought she was "whimsical enough" to be doing a certain thing, which I meant like... "Oh, that's something I thought I was weird for doing, and you're not weird, you're cool." But she interpreted it like, "I don't think you could possibly be good at this." So, yeah, I was horrified. I not only hadn't intended to hurt her but was actually making painstaking efforts to avoid doing so. I think, within the dream itself, I realized the irony of this and wondered if this was a lesson (irl, I do recognize this as a problem I struggle with), but I didn't linger on it.
Instead, I was scrambling to rectify things and clear up the misunderstanding. However, my cousin was just so angry, and I was struggling to speak. I believe I was whimpering in my sleep during this, like maybe I wanted to cry but couldn't. It must have been a Christmas gathering because I had gifts for her, and I thought that would help. I also went searching through a closet of my things to get her more gifts, now that I understood her interests better. I stopped to think if it would be too weird to give an unwrapped gift but ultimately decided that it didn't matter right now. I guess— now that I think about it, although it wasn't my focus in the dream— I must have realized that worrying so much about how I came across was what caused this problem in the first place. So, I was going to just do it, even if it was messy or imperfect or not done the "right" way. No one really batted an eye, I don't think? I'm not sure; maybe I just wasn't focused on them. I get the sense that I would have known, but maybe not. Idk. My cousin was skeptical at first but seemed interested after looking at it. I think after that, we were able to talk a bit. But if we did fully clear things up, the dream didn't really let me experience it. I remember asking her to look back at the texts with me so I could explain and her being agreeable, but that's about it. Through all this, I might have been carrying a sort of unacknowledged feeling that this was all kind of unfair... or unbalanced, maybe. I wasn't actively thinking that, so idk if it's just in retrospect, but it seemed I was the one putting in all the effort. I don't really know if that makes me feel some type of way or what. Just noticed it.
Also at this family gathering, I think my dad surprised his parents with some kind of AI imitation of their late parents? I'm not entirely sure, but they seemed to enjoy it. It was just so they could feel like they got to say hi to them this one time, not meant for long-term or anything, but it sparked some debate among the other people there. I could kind of see both sides and was just trying to protect everyone, since they all had the best intentions. There was this one couple who was deeply offended on their behalf, though— maybe it was meant as one set of their parents that was still around? Idk, I didn't recognize them. But I was ready to defend my own parents if need be. I'm not sure what else happened.
Another part of the dream involved my childhood neighborhood, I think? There was a party of sorts in some girl's driveway, and we were dancing in these pink cotton candy cloud things. I guess some people were complaining that this girl was taking up all the fun or something, but I didn't really see it like that, or maybe I just didn't notice. Later, she was sad for whatever reason, and she sat down trying to make a paper star. She was struggling, so I gave her the paper star I made. Idk, I get the sense she was supposed to be some kind of self-centered "mean girl," but I liked her. After that, I went back to my old house. I knew that it was the old house, but we were living there again, and I didn't question it. If anything, I kind of found it nice and comforting. Also, my grandma showed up, and I was really surprised to see her, but it wasn't like my past dreams where it was because she's passed away. Idk why I was surprised, I just was. She looked healthy and happy, and I wasn't worried, I was just very happy she was there.