Jayne Roberts
Acolyte
I'm assuming you clicked on this thread because of my ridiculous title. A couple of years ago, I realized that a heavy dose of alcohol and sugar just before I went to sleep would result in some of the most terrifying, realistic, and fantastical nightmares I've ever had. When I'm running low on story ideas, a bottle of Soju and plate of brownies fixes it pretty quickly. For example, last week I woke up in a cold sweat from the following nightmare:
...
I'm floating through space, as I have been for hundreds, possibly thousands of years, ever since the day my planet was destroyed and a powerful, yet mercurial being decided to save me on a whim. At first I was grateful, clinging to life with the same energy I used to forget my family and friends who died on Earth. Soon, I feel nothing. Space is cold and endless and beautiful and I lose count of the stars more times than I can remember.
Then, someone finds me. Who they are doesn't matter, because what they are is a Monster who destroys planets as easily as a child smashing a once-favored toy. They fall deeply in love, not with me, but with the uniqueness of my position. They use me to play a game with the citizens of different planets. They say, "I will send you down first. If you say nothing about my plans, I will take you back peacefully and destroy the planets in a single blow. If you warn them, I will give each person an abundance of pain before destroying anything anyway and you will suffer too."
Aft first, I think myself brave. I tell the people of the first planet, "Fight. He is coming to kill you." The Monster sets the entire planet on fire and makes me watch them burn.
On the second planet, I say, "Run. He will destroy everything you love." They are a planet of warriors who don't know the meaning of escape. They die choking on their own organs as the Monster punches through their stomachs one by one.
On the third planet, I have resolved to die. I say, " Save who you can. Fight if you must." The Monster ties me to the front of his ship, and looks me in the eye as he slices a single limb off every resident of that doomed land. He leaves me there, surrounded by the rotting corpses of his victims. I don't know how long, only that I am elated at his return. When his shadow covers me, I turn cold and my breathing get short, and then I awaken.
...
I'm floating through space, as I have been for hundreds, possibly thousands of years, ever since the day my planet was destroyed and a powerful, yet mercurial being decided to save me on a whim. At first I was grateful, clinging to life with the same energy I used to forget my family and friends who died on Earth. Soon, I feel nothing. Space is cold and endless and beautiful and I lose count of the stars more times than I can remember.
Then, someone finds me. Who they are doesn't matter, because what they are is a Monster who destroys planets as easily as a child smashing a once-favored toy. They fall deeply in love, not with me, but with the uniqueness of my position. They use me to play a game with the citizens of different planets. They say, "I will send you down first. If you say nothing about my plans, I will take you back peacefully and destroy the planets in a single blow. If you warn them, I will give each person an abundance of pain before destroying anything anyway and you will suffer too."
Aft first, I think myself brave. I tell the people of the first planet, "Fight. He is coming to kill you." The Monster sets the entire planet on fire and makes me watch them burn.
On the second planet, I say, "Run. He will destroy everything you love." They are a planet of warriors who don't know the meaning of escape. They die choking on their own organs as the Monster punches through their stomachs one by one.
On the third planet, I have resolved to die. I say, " Save who you can. Fight if you must." The Monster ties me to the front of his ship, and looks me in the eye as he slices a single limb off every resident of that doomed land. He leaves me there, surrounded by the rotting corpses of his victims. I don't know how long, only that I am elated at his return. When his shadow covers me, I turn cold and my breathing get short, and then I awaken.
Auror
) When I am looking for ideas I like to go into a trance state and let the characters move around in my head with different dialogues and scenes. Soaking in the bath is a great place for this.
