Another area that we touched on...
Chance reads his medical textbook and thinks he has every illness in the book.
Studying medicine is turning him into a hypochondriac.
It's better if we move away from the "Diving Bell" paralysis idea, and have his hypochondria manifest itself in a way that allows him to be more active in the story.
One possible theme: The mind can be our worst enemy.
Blog in good health.
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I see Chance going up to all kinds of people (both familiar and stranger) and pointing out some miniscule spot on his skin. He's lugging along a massive textbook, and shows them some long, complex passage that makes no sense to them. Maybe he starts with friends, who shun him as being paranoid. Then strangers just all out run from him. We don't know if they're running because it might be contagious, or because he's just a freak.
Now, because of his mind, he's losing friends and alienating people. (ie, his own worst enemy)
So what can we do for a fantasy in this one? Does he see himself being wheeled into surgery on a guerney or something? Is it just the manefestation of one of these diseases he fears he has? Obviously, in fantasy, he can take it to the extreme. Hypochondriacs think they have things, in fantasy he'd think the worst.
Should it be some really rare disease? Or perhaps go the other way and do something very common like cancer or heart disease. It feels like it needs more of a trigger than just a reference in a textbook. That can be a launching point, but wouldn't it be more impactful (on him and the audience) if he saw someone with something, and that launched him into the fantasy where he is even worse off than them?
Well, just a few seeds to get us going. Come on bloggers!
Maybe in his fantasy he could be quarantined?
I like the quarantine idea because it's perfect for a hypochondriac, but I feel like it limits the story's possibilities.
And, looking at diseases in the textbook seems like it would be enough. Chance seeing someone with a diseases and going into the fantasy from there might drag the story out too much. I think his hypochondria should come from his own head.
It reminds me of this time a friend of mine was sure she had just contracted AIDS because she was experiencing some random end-stage symptoms, and she had just read some stupid myths on how you contract the disease. People read shit and freak out immediately.
Hey... my mom grew up thinking that if you occupy a seat vacated by a man on the bus, you will get pregnant. Aaah... the wonders of ignorance.
I really like Evan's idea of a spot. Taking that a step future, Chance is telling everyone about his spot, and how it could be a rare disease. People at first gives him suggestions on how to treat it, (probably thinking it is a zit), and there are many homemade remedies and cures for stuff like that. Anyway, the spot doesn't go away, it multiplies (due either to his aggravating it, or that he does have some disease, like measles or chicken pox).
Chance thinks that he is going to die, so he draws up a will as he is crying, and looks for a coffin online.
He goes to the nowhere, ducked out in thick clothing and a scarf over his face, and refusing to enter, asks Jimmy to come out. After saying that he loves Jimmy, and giving Jimmy his 'blessings', Chance turns to leave. Jimmy pulls away the scarf to reveal a couple of spots on Chance's face. He asks Morgan to take Chance to the hospital but Chance is resistant to it.
In the end, I say it should be nothing more than a rash problem, that got worse because of all the remedies he tried on himself.
Some home remedies
Rub Lemon on the spot
Rub Ginger on the rash, or fungal spot
Use steam to open pores, then use a needle to prick out the bacteria
Garlic, minced, mixed into water and rub it down on the affected area to kill the germs.
I like Priscilla's pay-off, but if we decided to go that direction we have to make sure to build his anxiety enough so that it actually pays off.
Maybe we could start the episode in a doctors office. Chance is there for a basic physical, but he starts reading all the posters on the wall "Do you have HIV?" or "What are the symptoms of [insert disease here]?" The symptoms are really general things like headaches, cold-like symptoms, congestion, etc... Chance is now convinced he has one of these things (if not all of them). Then we can see him in the nowhere with his giant medical text book.
I think everyone's been in the doctors office and thought 'I think I have those symptoms!' I feel like this could be a good start to the episode so the hypochondria comes from some place and then spirals out of control from there.
Rather than Chance's hypochondria being triggered by a visit to the doctor's office, let's keep it tied to his studies.
He's thinking about going to medical school. He's taking "Introduction to Diseases". The course's giant textbook is an in-depth, never-ending barrage of diseases and symptoms and side effects from medication.
Chance can't escape all the information. It's consuming him.
He can't turn off his brain at night. All those diseases are fresh in his head. It's haunting him. It's changing him. He's sure he has everything he's read about.
He calls 9-1-1. When they answer, Chance says, "I'm dying!"
An ambulance races through the streets of San Francisco.
Chance goes into a fantasy...
The ghost of Chance is at the Nowhere, seeing how his friends would react if he were gone.
OR:
We see Chance at his own funeral.
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A doctor's office is an hour out of his day. A semester of "Introduction to Diseases" forces him to live with it day and night.
Your x-ray thoughts...
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