My daydream characters have such messed up lives!

[Kay M]

Anyone else have a totally normal life with not much in the way of bad things happening to them, but have characters who have been through the most unbelievably awful things that can happen to a person?

Except for my alter ego, who has the same normal life as I have, the rest of them have had really messed up lives.

So far, my characters are a pair of sociopathic sisters who tried to kill eachother several times as children, one stole the other's husband (and then manipulated him into getting their daughter pregnant so she could steal the baby), they abuse their kids, except for one sister loves her oldest kid in a creepy, unhealthy way, but is absolutely awful to her other two. They both joined a cult, out of trying to one up eachother in being religious to impress a religious boy they both had eyes on (he is now married to one of them, has kids with both and a few other people too, and is deep in the cult. He also abuses his kids when he is angry). One is currently claiming to be pregnant with the second coming of Jesus, has been for nearly 3 years, and is desperately trying to find a way out. My 8 month pregnant character is afraid she is going to steal her baby (especially as she is the same daughter who was tied to a bed and forced to carry her father's children for her parents to steal, but then was rescued a few months before they were born)

Most of their kids are regular characters, and experienced awful things under their parents control. Luckily they are all safe now-Lisa's three kids are adults now, and they all moved far away from her. Sally's oldest was rescued before her babies were due, and was helped to live a normal life with them and adapt to life in the real world by their extended family and someone who used to know her family before things got crazy. The other kids were adopted by relatives, including my alter ego! Other than the baby stealing plot, Lisa pretty much kept her daughters as slaves and never even sent them to school, they didn't know how to read until they were 19, but has an unhealthy relationship with her son because he reminds her of his father. Sally punished her least favourite child by having her uterus removed (and she tried to have it put into herself so she could carry on having more babies, but her plan failed), because she wanted to ruin her chances of marriage and have nobody ever want her, as the cult they were in sees having loads of kids as very important because they want to outbreed regular people and control the world. The others were neglected in a filthy house and hardly fed because their parents were paranoid that the world was going to end today so cleaning wasn't important, all they did was hide upstairs and pray while their kids went feral. When their parents did pay attention to them, it was by hitting them, locking them in a closet for days and yelling at them about how they are all going to die. Jason got it pretty good with Lisa, but he spent weekends with his father and aunt Sally, who hated him because he was evidence of his past sin, Jason was forbidden to even call his father dad, and was abused just as much as their other kids.

I have a pair of abandoned kids, their parents were controlling so they ran away from home, regretted it, but by the time they had come back, their parents had moved on and pretended they didn't exist. Luckily they were taken in by my alter ego, and later adopted by a couple who treat them well.

Then there is Alyssa, who comes from a horribly dysfunctional family-her father is an alcoholic, her mother does drugs, and her siblings all have their own issues. She was molested by her dad's friend, and her parents let it happen as long as he paid them for it so they could feed their addictions. The story really starts for her when her father gets drunk and angry and beats her, then she ends up in a coma and wakes up with psychic powers.

I also have another even worse cult (well, more just one family) who live in a cabin far out in the woods. They have brainwashed their kids from being toddlers into being weird childlike slaves (they are all adults at the time this happens), the father hears voices in his head that he thinks are from God, starts to believe he is some kind of prophet, then the parents kill themselves believing they would resurrect, and the kids are stuck there waiting for it to happen, not knowing what to do as they have never been without their parents telling them what to do before. Eventually they are found by someone walking their dog. The main character from my daydream is a writer (as well as paranormal investigator), and writes for a magazine about weird events and the paranormal, and she comes across this story and goes out to meet these people.

And yet I am perfectly normal and have never experienced any of these things-I think it is influenced by my interest in cults.

[SennaSomniator]

Can't say my life is normal but my characters life is way more messed up. I sometimes stop myself and I'll think, all this can't possibly happen to one person, then I reminds myself it's a daydream and I can think up anything I want.

XOXO Senna

[SennaSomniator]

Also curious if you watch a lot of documentaries around the theme of your daydream? Some parts of your story sound very familiar with actual events and crimes that have happened.

[OhMyMagenta]

While my characters experience significant trauma, it's something they've had to deal with over time and grown as a person because of it. For my DD character who has also experienced profound trauma, it's more about being rescued/comforted by my love interest. Despite what occurred, they still care about & accept me.

[Kay M]

Yes, I do. I am very into cults and stuff-I enjoy reading accounts from people who have escaped cults. I have researched child sociopaths to get an idea what Sally and Lisa were like as children. I researched hoarders to have an idea of what Sally's house would be like.

There is a real fundamentalist Christian cult that my character's experiences are based on. The tons of kids, dress code and a lot of the religious rules they follow come from the Quiverfull movement. I read a lot of blogs by people who have escaped the cult, as well as blogs by people who are still inside it. I read the parenting books that they use for their kids (which are just awful, some people think it is okay to spank tiny babies), as well as news articles when a story similar to this hits the media. The cult leader is like the real one-likes teenage girls, and the character who was a victim of his has a story that fits his normal pattern of behaviour.

There are some parts of the story that are unique, others are based on events I heard of and was inspired by. Like that one of my characters was held hostage by her father (and also her psychopathic mother, because I wanted to make it different) and made to have his kids, that was something I read about. The woman claiming to be 3 years pregnant from a message from God was something I read about on the internet, but the person I got it from let it fizzle out instead of ended up desperate to find a baby and finding someone to keep hostage and then steal the baby from.
 
SennaSomniator said:

Also curious if you watch a lot of documentaries around the theme of your daydream? Some parts of your story sound very familiar with actual events and crimes that have happened.

[Tila]

Um, I am awestruck at your imagination. This would make a great (if very, very abuse triggering) HBO series.

[Kay M]

I wish I could find some way to share it with others. I just cant seem to even write it into words, as its so big I wouldn't know where to start.

The rest of it is kinda dysfunctional and dramatic too. Not all of the family is in a cult, just one branch that joined and then isolated itself, but when the kids escaped they were sent to live with relatives, and as the adult kids of Sally and Lisa left they met the rest of their family and became close again. The family is huge and very close, almost has a culture of its own, and it is totally normal to have a whole bunch of kids. The biggest number of kids for one couple is 17, but most have a more normal amount. Theres about 100 cousins! Their family tree is so complicated, and not just because of the kids James had with his daughter Jane under Sally's instructions. Their family tree didn't branch before then. Someone accidentally brought home their long lost half brother as a date. Theres also a pair of cousins who have kids together, and a whole bunch of other relationships that are really hard to keep track of, like from kids being adopted by other family members, like a baby raised by her much older sister after her mom died, alongside her same aged niece, with her loser dad still somewhat in the picture, and her sister's partner is also her cousin. The whole loser dad thing is also a whole dramatic story of its own. The two families in my story dislike eachother, but there was a whole star crossed lovers thing going on (except for that it became abusive), then she died, and the two families argued over the kids, who ended up being raised by their oldest sister....they stay civil for the kids but the families really hate eachother. Then there are unexpected babies-whether its finding out youre pregnant when you sit on the toilet and deliver a baby instead of a poop, or giving birth in a bathroom at your cousin's wedding. Then there is another cult, the Cult Of The Woods, where the kids (who are now adults and left on their own after their parents killed themselves believing they would resurrect with godlike powers) have been sheltered from everything that is not in their tiny cabin and are now adjusting to the world.

No wonder I cant write anything down, theres just so much going on.