#and yes I’m aware many ppl don’t recall dreams and only remember the dream right before waking up

[zinniapetals]

Okay I was just gonna leave this post alone but ya know what, nah, lemme try to do damage control on my original statement. I’m so glad Chuuya doesn’t remember his dreams.

Even though, Chuuya technically doesn't dream. He doesn’t remember his dreams as he rouses into consciousness therefore..he doesn’t experience dreams. If you fall asleep and wake up the next morning, mind empty, no recollection of what happened while you were asleep and someone asks you, did you dream? You’d answer, no.

This is what Chuuya experiences. Could he have a million dreams at night and just not remember? Of course, but if he states himself he doesn’t dream it’s probably because he doesn’t experience dreaming, the interaction with dreams, the recognition of something happening while asleep, the faint recollection of a story or memory as he wakes. He might recall figments of emotion after waking up but he doesn’t actually engage in the process of dreaming. Sidenote: im currently rereading SB right now and if there’s more evidence that comes up later i’ll update this post but i just had to write this bc it was going to drive me crazy if i didn’t. What is dreaming? A series of thoughts, images, and sensations occurring in a person’s mind during sleep. Anyways, a few people brought up a point that Chuuya’s identity of "not being able to dream" is linked with his humanity and that he woke up from a nightmare at the beginning of Stormbringer, which yes, that's right, it’s literally there in the text.

Chuuya Nakahara didn’t dream. For him, waking up was like a bubble emerging from within mud. [...] Chuuya sat up, his chest coated in a faint sheen of sweat. Swirling within his chest were the remnants of some intense emotion, although he couldn’t remember what emotion, exactly. He’d been like this every day as of late. Chuuya gave up trying to remember and left his bedroom to take a shower. - pg. 5; Stormbringer

Albatross talking with Chuuya:

“Did something happen? A bad dream, maybe?” A bad dream. The instant he heard those words, Chuuya turned around furious. “Nothing happened!” - pg. 13;

Pianoman talking with Chuuya:

“Arahabaki. Prototype A2-5-8, an artificial skill created by the military. That’s you. You’re not even sure you’re human. You’re worried you might be nothing more than an artificial personality–and that’s because you don’t dream.” Chuuya let out a voiceless growl. - pg. 21

Chuuya does wake up with emotions he can’t decipher and he gives up trying to remember what happened while he was asleep, which some folks are considering to be dreaming and that's valid. But the text also shows that he does not remember any visions, images, scenes, etc, anything that might follow what the conventional definition of what dreaming is.

My og post stated, I’m glad he doesn’t dream because he doesn't have to deal with waking up from nightmares and the text proves that while yes he might wake up and have lingering emotions, he doesn't remember the imagery or thoughts while he was asleep. Maybe i am being pedantic in saying this isn’t dreaming, maybe my definition of dreaming is different than others. Chuuya is getting his full REM cycle and doesn’t recall anything happening during that time, and honestly? Good for him.

I’m so glad Chuuya doesn’t dream; people treat it as such a sad thing with angst but like ?? Hello ?? His life has been pretty riddled with trauma and loss, like let the boy get his 8 hours of sleep without waking up from nightmares