Petty Geysers of Grief
Caught in a park where reality is warping due to a cosmic, petty argument between two entities, the protagonist reluctantly steps in to mediate, only to find themselves entangled in a larger, absurd struggle.
# Petty Geysers of Grief
**Format:** Short Film / Anthology Episode | **Est. Length:** 10-12 minutes
## Logline
Trapped in a park where reality is unraveling, a cynical young adult must mediate a destructive, cosmic argument between two powerful entities to stop the world from being torn apart by their ridiculously petty squabble.
## Themes
* **The Banality of Cosmic Conflict:** Universe-altering power is wielded with the same trivial, stubborn pettiness as a human argument over a household chore.
* **The Burden of Competence:** The ability to solve a problem unwillingly thrusts one into a role of responsibility they never wanted.
* **The Fragility of Reality:** The physical world is alarmingly unstable, easily warped by the energy of unresolved emotional conflict.
* **Apathy vs. Action:** A detached and cynical worldview is shattered when personal inconvenience and existential threat force direct, unwilling intervention.
## Stakes
The physical and metaphysical fabric of reality is at risk of being permanently torn apart by an escalating, unresolved cosmic dispute.
## Synopsis
ALEX, a cynical young adult, tries to find a moment of peace in a city park, but the world is subtly glitching. The ground breathes, leaves drift upwards, and the bench Alex was just sitting on liquefies into a viscous puddle. This "new weird" has become a part of life, but this episode feels more aggressive.
Alex’s escape is cut off as the path warps and dissolves. In the center of the park, two ethereal entities materialize: THE GRUDGE, a being of sharp, brittle shadow, and THE MUDDLE, a shifting mass of damp earth and moss. Though silent, their standoff tears at the park’s reality—the ground cracks, trees twist into grotesque shapes, and the sky briefly rips open. Trapped and terrified, Alex realizes the only way out is through.
After failed attempts to get their attention, Alex yells, demanding to know what their problem is. The question triggers a psychic backlash: a dry, scraping feeling of complaint from The Grudge, a defensive rumble from The Muddle, and a shared, vivid mental image of a small, broken, yellow bird feeder. Alex connects the dots with horrified absurdity: this cosmic tantrum is over a garden accessory.
Channeling every terrible school mediation they’ve ever endured, Alex brokers a ridiculous but effective compromise. They propose a new bird feeder, contingent on The Muddle admitting its ambient clumsiness and The Grudge acknowledging its tendency to amplify grievances to a cosmic scale. After a tense silence, the entities grudgingly acquiesce. The reality-warping effects cease, but the park is left scarred and permanently altered. The entities remain, a humming background radiation of resentment. Alex is left with the cold, dawning dread that this isn't over; they have just proven they can fix these problems, unwillingly appointing themself the mediator for a fraying, bickering universe.
## Character Breakdown
* **ALEX (20s):** Cynical, observant, and overwhelmed. Alex is not a hero but a pragmatist just trying to get home to a frozen pizza. They are grounded in a world that is increasingly un-grounded, and their defining trait is a deep-seated exasperation with the universe's absurdities.
* **Psychological Arc:**
* **State at Start:** Detached, apathetic, and seeking only personal escape from the low-grade weirdness that plagues their world. Their primary motivation is self-preservation and comfort.
* **State at End:** Reluctantly competent and burdened by a newfound, unwanted responsibility. Their cynicism remains, but it is now fused with the dreadful awareness that they are uniquely capable of—and therefore stuck with—fixing reality's petty, existential squabbles.
* **THE GRUDGE:** An ethereal entity embodying ancient, silent, brittle resentment. It manifests as a figure of sharp shadows and perpetually falling soot. Its power is destructive and incisive, cracking the earth, draining color, and emitting feelings of dry, scornful complaint.
* **THE MUDDLE:** An ethereal entity embodying stubborn, damp, defensive indignation. It appears as a shifting, squat mass of moss, earth, and faint, cloying sweetness. Its power is warping and passive-aggressive, causing things to change state, decay, or become imbued with a sense of muddled complaint.
## Scene Beats
1. **THE UNRAVELING:** In a quiet park, Alex witnesses reality subtly breaking down. The ground "breathes," leaves float upwards. The bench Alex was on suddenly liquefies.
2. **THE TRAP:** Alex tries to leave, but the path ahead shimmers and dissolves. Their escape route is gone. The normal sounds of the city are absent.
3. **THE ARGUMENT:** Two entities, THE GRUDGE and THE MUDDLE, manifest. Their silent, accusatory standoff physically damages the park in real-time—fissures split the ground, trees twist, the sky tears.
4. **THE INTERVENTION:** Trapped and in danger, Alex reluctantly yells at the beings. "Whatever this is… you need to stop it!"
5. **THE REVELATION:** Demanding to know the problem, Alex is hit with psychic fragments: a dry feeling of complaint, a defensive rumble, and a clear image of a broken yellow bird feeder.
6. **THE ABSURDITY:** Alex realizes the cosmic destruction is over a bird feeder. They deduce the nature of the argument: The Muddle blames The Grudge; The Grudge implies The Muddle is inherently at fault.
7. **THE MEDIATION:** With exasperated pragmatism, Alex proposes a solution: replace the feeder, but only if both sides admit their inherent natures contributed to the problem (clumsiness vs. grievance-amplification) and agree to a "maintenance schedule."
8. **THE TRUCE:** A tense silence. The entities grudgingly acquiesce with minimal, non-verbal sounds of agreement. The reality-warping ceases, but the park remains scarred—a patchwork of normal and weird.
9. **THE BURDEN:** Alex stands in the damaged, humming quiet. The entities remain, dormant but present. The relief of survival is replaced by the cold dread of a new, unwanted responsibility. The simple goal of a frozen pizza now feels like a distant memory.
## Visual Style & Tone
The visual style is grounded realism clashing with surreal, "glitch-in-the-matrix" phenomena. The effects should feel physical and unsettling—liquefying wood, peeling asphalt, desaturating colors—rather than clean CGI. The initial palette is a muted, early-autumn look that becomes warped by the entities: sickly greens and damp browns near The Muddle, and a cold, monochromatic desaturation around The Grudge.
The tone is a unique blend of mundane dark comedy and unsettling cosmic horror. The atmosphere is tense and eerie, driven by the silent, reality-bending conflict, but this is constantly undercut by the absurdly petty nature of the dispute and Alex’s cynical, relatable internal monologue.
**Tonal Comparisons:** Aligns with the surreal, mundane horror of **Black Mirror**, the philosophical absurdity of **Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency**, and the quiet, world-bending weirdness of the video game **Control**.
**Format:** Short Film / Anthology Episode | **Est. Length:** 10-12 minutes
## Logline
Trapped in a park where reality is unraveling, a cynical young adult must mediate a destructive, cosmic argument between two powerful entities to stop the world from being torn apart by their ridiculously petty squabble.
## Themes
* **The Banality of Cosmic Conflict:** Universe-altering power is wielded with the same trivial, stubborn pettiness as a human argument over a household chore.
* **The Burden of Competence:** The ability to solve a problem unwillingly thrusts one into a role of responsibility they never wanted.
* **The Fragility of Reality:** The physical world is alarmingly unstable, easily warped by the energy of unresolved emotional conflict.
* **Apathy vs. Action:** A detached and cynical worldview is shattered when personal inconvenience and existential threat force direct, unwilling intervention.
## Stakes
The physical and metaphysical fabric of reality is at risk of being permanently torn apart by an escalating, unresolved cosmic dispute.
## Synopsis
ALEX, a cynical young adult, tries to find a moment of peace in a city park, but the world is subtly glitching. The ground breathes, leaves drift upwards, and the bench Alex was just sitting on liquefies into a viscous puddle. This "new weird" has become a part of life, but this episode feels more aggressive.
Alex’s escape is cut off as the path warps and dissolves. In the center of the park, two ethereal entities materialize: THE GRUDGE, a being of sharp, brittle shadow, and THE MUDDLE, a shifting mass of damp earth and moss. Though silent, their standoff tears at the park’s reality—the ground cracks, trees twist into grotesque shapes, and the sky briefly rips open. Trapped and terrified, Alex realizes the only way out is through.
After failed attempts to get their attention, Alex yells, demanding to know what their problem is. The question triggers a psychic backlash: a dry, scraping feeling of complaint from The Grudge, a defensive rumble from The Muddle, and a shared, vivid mental image of a small, broken, yellow bird feeder. Alex connects the dots with horrified absurdity: this cosmic tantrum is over a garden accessory.
Channeling every terrible school mediation they’ve ever endured, Alex brokers a ridiculous but effective compromise. They propose a new bird feeder, contingent on The Muddle admitting its ambient clumsiness and The Grudge acknowledging its tendency to amplify grievances to a cosmic scale. After a tense silence, the entities grudgingly acquiesce. The reality-warping effects cease, but the park is left scarred and permanently altered. The entities remain, a humming background radiation of resentment. Alex is left with the cold, dawning dread that this isn't over; they have just proven they can fix these problems, unwillingly appointing themself the mediator for a fraying, bickering universe.
## Character Breakdown
* **ALEX (20s):** Cynical, observant, and overwhelmed. Alex is not a hero but a pragmatist just trying to get home to a frozen pizza. They are grounded in a world that is increasingly un-grounded, and their defining trait is a deep-seated exasperation with the universe's absurdities.
* **Psychological Arc:**
* **State at Start:** Detached, apathetic, and seeking only personal escape from the low-grade weirdness that plagues their world. Their primary motivation is self-preservation and comfort.
* **State at End:** Reluctantly competent and burdened by a newfound, unwanted responsibility. Their cynicism remains, but it is now fused with the dreadful awareness that they are uniquely capable of—and therefore stuck with—fixing reality's petty, existential squabbles.
* **THE GRUDGE:** An ethereal entity embodying ancient, silent, brittle resentment. It manifests as a figure of sharp shadows and perpetually falling soot. Its power is destructive and incisive, cracking the earth, draining color, and emitting feelings of dry, scornful complaint.
* **THE MUDDLE:** An ethereal entity embodying stubborn, damp, defensive indignation. It appears as a shifting, squat mass of moss, earth, and faint, cloying sweetness. Its power is warping and passive-aggressive, causing things to change state, decay, or become imbued with a sense of muddled complaint.
## Scene Beats
1. **THE UNRAVELING:** In a quiet park, Alex witnesses reality subtly breaking down. The ground "breathes," leaves float upwards. The bench Alex was on suddenly liquefies.
2. **THE TRAP:** Alex tries to leave, but the path ahead shimmers and dissolves. Their escape route is gone. The normal sounds of the city are absent.
3. **THE ARGUMENT:** Two entities, THE GRUDGE and THE MUDDLE, manifest. Their silent, accusatory standoff physically damages the park in real-time—fissures split the ground, trees twist, the sky tears.
4. **THE INTERVENTION:** Trapped and in danger, Alex reluctantly yells at the beings. "Whatever this is… you need to stop it!"
5. **THE REVELATION:** Demanding to know the problem, Alex is hit with psychic fragments: a dry feeling of complaint, a defensive rumble, and a clear image of a broken yellow bird feeder.
6. **THE ABSURDITY:** Alex realizes the cosmic destruction is over a bird feeder. They deduce the nature of the argument: The Muddle blames The Grudge; The Grudge implies The Muddle is inherently at fault.
7. **THE MEDIATION:** With exasperated pragmatism, Alex proposes a solution: replace the feeder, but only if both sides admit their inherent natures contributed to the problem (clumsiness vs. grievance-amplification) and agree to a "maintenance schedule."
8. **THE TRUCE:** A tense silence. The entities grudgingly acquiesce with minimal, non-verbal sounds of agreement. The reality-warping ceases, but the park remains scarred—a patchwork of normal and weird.
9. **THE BURDEN:** Alex stands in the damaged, humming quiet. The entities remain, dormant but present. The relief of survival is replaced by the cold dread of a new, unwanted responsibility. The simple goal of a frozen pizza now feels like a distant memory.
## Visual Style & Tone
The visual style is grounded realism clashing with surreal, "glitch-in-the-matrix" phenomena. The effects should feel physical and unsettling—liquefying wood, peeling asphalt, desaturating colors—rather than clean CGI. The initial palette is a muted, early-autumn look that becomes warped by the entities: sickly greens and damp browns near The Muddle, and a cold, monochromatic desaturation around The Grudge.
The tone is a unique blend of mundane dark comedy and unsettling cosmic horror. The atmosphere is tense and eerie, driven by the silent, reality-bending conflict, but this is constantly undercut by the absurdly petty nature of the dispute and Alex’s cynical, relatable internal monologue.
**Tonal Comparisons:** Aligns with the surreal, mundane horror of **Black Mirror**, the philosophical absurdity of **Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency**, and the quiet, world-bending weirdness of the video game **Control**.