The cutesy cast of Dreaming Mary.
Due to the nature of the game, all spoilers will remain unmarked. You Have Been Warned.
open/close all folders
Main Character
Mary/Mari
"...But that's impossible. I could only dream about getting it."
Click here to see Mari (SPOILERS)
The protagonist of the game, a young girl who explores her dream world.
- Abusive Parents: Her father keeps her locked up in her room all the time, and it's heavily implied that he sexually abuses her as well. She dreams of herself as Mary to escape his abuse.
- Color Motifs: Pink. It's her favorite color, and her dream world is primarily pink.
- Curtains Match the Window: In both the dream and real worlds, her eyes and hair are both pink and brown respectively.
- Dream Sue: Downplayed. Her design in the dream world is an idealization of her real appearance, and said world revolves around her.
- Dream Weaver: Seems to have the power to morph her dream world into whatever she wants.
- Dull Eyes of Unhappiness: In the real world, she looks sad, depressed, and sleep-deprived.
- Fairytale Motifs: Sleeping Beauty. The game takes place in her dreams, and she can read an excerpt of the version in which the princess is raped by the king, which serves as foreshadowing to her relationship with her father. Additionally, a spinning wheel can be found in the nightmare version of her room.
- Fantasy Keepsake: The Gold Leaf Key. Possibly.
- Flower Motifs: Her white lily, which symbolizes her innocence. When you first obtain it, it's already lost two of its petals, implying that she's already lost some of her innocence due to her father's abuse.
- Gilded Cage: In the real world, she lives in a huge mansion, but she's often confined to her room and the garden.
- Heroic Mime: Doesn't speak in the dream world. She's shown speaking in the real world, however.
- Iconic Item: The aforementioned white lily.
- Inconsistent Spelling: Her name is spelled "Mary" in the dream world, and "Mari" in the real one.
- Lonely Rich Kid: She and her father live in a mansion, and she only has the occasional company of her maid, uncle, and tutor.
- Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane: It's unclear as to whether her dream powers, specifically her ability to bring things from the dream world into the real one, are real or just an extension of her wild dreams. The Good Ending is the best example of this, as it openly questions whether Mari's apparent escape thanks to the Gold Leaf Key was real or not.
- Parental Incest: Heavily implied to be on the receiving end of this from her father.
- Real Is Brown: Mari is a brunette-haired girl who dresses in brown clothes, and fittingly, she looks sadder and more depressed than her dream self, Mary, as she dreams to escape the trauma of her sexual abuse in the real world.
- Superpowerful Genetics: While she's not a superhero, she did get her dream-altering powers from her late mother.
- Tragic Dream: Her mother is dead, and she only really has her abusive father as consistent company. She's shown using her powers to create an idealized world as an escape from her painful life. She's only able to avert this in the Good Ending, and even that may simply be an extension of her dreams.
- Your Mind Makes It Real: She can apparently bring objects from the dream world into the real one, as demonstrated with the Gold Leaf Key.
Mary's Animal Friends
General
- Affably Evil: While they all try their hardest to keep Mary locked in the dream world, they're all relatively polite to her. Even if she fails the first three's tasks, they still give her their seeds regardless.
- Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: With the exception of Penn Guindel, they use their friendliness to keep Mary trapped in the dream world, and reveal their true colors when she tries to leave them.
- But You Were There, and You, and You: They're all based off people Mary knows in the real world.
- Color Motifs: White for Bunnilda, periwinkle for Penn Guindel, orange for Foxanne, and reddish-brown for Boaris.
- Dream People: They're all inhabitants of Mary's dream world.
- False Friend: With the exception of Penn Guindel, as symbolized by how Mari only owns a penguin plush. When Mary tries to escape, the others try to trick her into staying and give her Nightmare Faces when she doesn't do what they want.
- Funny Animal: They're all cutesy, bipedal animals.
- Nightmare Face: If Mary fails to do what they want, they all give her one of these. The only exception is Penn Guindel (again).
- Ominous Visual Glitch: When they disappear after giving Mary their seeds, they are replaced with ominous black-and-white figures that will glitch in and out.
- Punny Name: Their names are all plays on real names and the animals they're based off of.
- Rainbow Speak: Their names are introduced in their respective colors when they're first introduced. Individual words that are red are indicative that they're trying to deceive you, while all of their text turns red when they're enraged.
- Ridiculously Cute Critter: They're all very cute, which serves to mask their true intentions.
- Well-Intentioned Extremist: Bunnilda and Foxanne can be interpreted this way, as their reluctance to give Mary their seeds may come from a desire to protect her from the predatory Boaris.
Bunnilda
"I'm the maid of your dreams! Teehee!"
A sweet bunny maid who radiates motherly aura. Represents Mary's maid in the real world.
- Bunnies for Cuteness: An adorable little bunny maid.
- Death by Falling Over: The Ominous Visual Glitch that follows her disappearance shows a maid-like woman falling from a great height, implying that she died this way.
- Inverted Portrait: After she disappears, her Ominous Visual Glitch features a maid-like figure in this position.
- Meido: Fittingly for someone who represents Mary's real life maid.
- Mythical Motifs: Her questline is centered around the myth of Adonis. Adonis was the son of Myrrha, who was cursed to have an incestuous relationship with her father Cinyras. He met his end after he was gored by a wild boar.
- Team Mom: Her reminiscence of her time taking care of Mary and treatment to the girl gives off a very strong motherly vibe.
- White Bunny: She's a cute bunny with pure-white fur.
Penn Guindel
"Mary...no matter how frightening things may be, I know that you can pull through. I believe in you. Don't forget that."
A gentleman penguin with a love for books. He is representative of Mary's Uncle Gwendel.
- Blue Is Heroic: Downplayed in that he's more of a bluish-purple, but he's still the most heroic of the dream characters.
- Cool Uncle: Is representative of one, and just like his real life counterpart, he is 100% supportive of Mary.
- Cute Bookworm: An adorable penguin who loves books.
- High-Class Glass: Wears a monocle, which is a nod to his gentleman image.
- Nice Guy: He is nothing but kind to Mary, and supports her when she tries to leave the dream world. Even when she gets his question wrong, he doesn't give her a Nightmare Face, instead merely being saddened.
- Off with His Head!: The figure seen in the Ominous Visual Glitch that follows his disappearance is shown to be beheaded.
- Quintessential British Gentleman: He dresses formally with the suit and a top hat, and has the politeness to match.
- Token Good Teammate: Of those encountered in Mary's dream, he's the only one who comes off as genuinely caring of Mary. He even gives her hints for escaping her dream, whereas the others try to force her to stay.
Foxanne
"You're not leaving again anytime soon kiddo. Not if I can help it!"
A beautiful, playful fox lady who treats Mary like a little sister. She represents Mary's tutor.
- Aloof Big Sister: Plays with this trope as at times she gives Mary a stern glare and stern line, like she is trying to make Mary able to stand up for herself.
- Cool Big Sis: Acts like one to Mary, and seems to want to prevent her from leaving the dream world out of concern for her well-being.
- Cunning Like a Fox: Gives off this aura, and her game is centered around finding her in hide-and-seek. During the final round, she chooses to hide in plain sight in an attempt to trick you.
- Eye Scream: Once she disappears, a figure with her eyes gouged out can be seen glitching in and our where she was sitting.
- The Flapper: Is designed after this trope, with the usual loose and low-waisted evening gowns with headband.
- Foxy Vixen: A feminine, beautiful fox.
- Slasher Smile: If Mary loses the last round of Hide and Seek, Foxanne will grin mockingly while revealing a mouth full of sharp teeth.
- Wine Is Classy: Always seen holding a cockltail glass in her hand to invoke a classy look.
Boaris
"You're such a good girl, Mary. I'll be waiting..."
An affectionate boar who represents Mary's father.
- Abhorrent Admirer: To Mary. His dialogue is eerily reminiscent of that of a child groomer's, and is littered with sexual innuendos.
- Abusive Parents: Given who he represents, this was an inevitability. While he acts fatherly to Mary, his dialogue has sexual undertones, and he gets incredibly angry with her if she refuses to give him a petal.
- Beauty Equals Goodness: He's the ugliest of the animals in the dream world, and by far the most blatantly evil.
- Big Bad Duumvirate: With The Chaser, as they're both representations of Mary's father who are trying to keep her in the dream world.
- Dark Is Evil: Has the darkest color scheme of the animals, and is heavily implied to be a sexual abuser.
- Does This Remind You of Anything?: His dialogue is ridden with sexual innuendos, such as how he invites Mary to do "pleasurable things" with him. This is especially apparent when he offers his seed to you in exchange for a lily petal, which symbolizes innocence. He even says "I know you deserve my seed."
- Eyes Always Shut: His eyes remain shut unless you agitate him by rejecting his seed.
- Parental Incest: In addition to being the representation of Mary's father, his dialogue and behavior is eerily sexual, implying that her father has been sexually abusing her.
- Perverted Pig: A representation of Mary's incestuous father in the form of a boar whose dialogue is littered with Double Entendres.
- Pig Man: He resembles a boar, which fits his personality.
- Red Eyes, Take Warning: Rejecting his seed causes him to open his eyes, which are revealed to be red. He's also implied to be a representation of Mary's abusive father.
- Token Evil Teammate: While Bunnilda and Foxanne's evilness is somewhat debatable, Boaris is the most blatantly evil of the animals, which is somewhat justified given that he represents Mary's abusive father.
Others
Mary's Mother
"Just remember that you can do anything in your dreams if you try."
Mary's mom, who passed away after falling into a coma.
- All There in the Script: She doesn't physically appear in-game, but her appearance was revealed in a post to the developers' Tumblr.
- Curtains Match the Window: Just like her daughter, she has matching brown hair and eyes.
- Deceased Parents Are the Best: The way she is described on the radio is nothing but positive, in contrast to Mary’s abusive father.
- Dream Weaver: Mary got her powers from her mother.
- Good Parents: She is described as being a good mother to Mary, even trying to teach her how to use her powers before she passed.
- No Name Given: Her name is never revealed.
- Passed in Their Sleep: It's implied that she died after falling too deep into her dreams.
- Posthumous Character: Is already dead by the start of the game.
- The Quiet One: The radio describes her as a "silent woman".
- The Voice: She is heard talking to Mari in the beginning of the game, as well as in the Good Ending.
The Chaser/Bad Dad/Yeti
"Good girl, sweet girl... sweet girl, you are mine..."
Click here to see him up close
A shadowy figure in the nightmare realm who chases Mary once she's gotten three seeds.
- Abusive Parents: He's implied to be another representation of Mary's father, which is further reinforced by the title of the song that plays when he chases you, "BADDAD".
- All There in the Script: His actual name is only revealed in the title of his song. Meanwhile, his nickname "Yeti" is only revealed in the game's joke ending.
- Big Bad Duumvirate: With Boaris, as they're both representations of Mary's father who are trying to keep her in the dream world.
- Dark Is Evil: A black, scribbly figure who chases Mary relentlessly.
- Eldritch Abomination: He's a shadowy mass found in the nightmare realm who is hell-bent on capturing Mary, and sports a Nightmare Face to boot.
- Nightmare Face: As pictured above, he will give you this when he catches you. God bless you if you are scrolling through this article at night...
- Walking Spoiler: He's impossible to talk about without spoiling the true nature of the game.
