What if you were able to “clock out” of your own body when working, effectively making your lived experience completely work free?
What if someone were to wake up one day with the ability to influence other peoples’ thoughts, desires, and mood?
What if someone met another person in their dreams and later found out that person was real, and also remembered their shared dreams?
I chose scenario #3: The world is bland and mundane, stressful in a way that builds with no release. There is human connection out there, but it’s inaccessible to the main character, who is fairly lonely and closed off. Her world is characterized by an alienating, cold tone. As boring as it is, it’s also very demanding and never stops for even a moment to allow the main character a moment of rest. Until the resolution, the world is seen through a distorted and distant lens.
The character is a single parent, stressed all the time, unhappy with how her life turned out and ashamed of how she feels unable to provide a happy home for her daughter. She remembers connections and misses having fun, often daydreams of the past or future in a very idealized way but can’t find the will to form positive relationships. She works all the time and is distant from her daughter.
The characters dreams function within the story as something of an “alter” world. It’s characterized by a hazy, confusing tone in the ways most dreams are. It’s heavily populated, with a fun and friendly tone that is missing from the main character’s real life. In this world, connection with other people comes naturally, and people are not occupied with the stress of real life.
