Somniphobia | Pressure | Cleithrophobia
Nothing to fear but fear itself.
Sam accepted that he was somewhat of an odd one out in high school. He didn’t do sports; he didn’t join clubs. He had a specialized diet, and he only wore certain cotton fabrics because polyester made him break out. He was set in his ways and he rarely tried new things. He admittedly considered everything that could go wrong before he decided to do something, instead of thinking of all the things that could go right. But his way of living made him feel comfortable, so he accepted that about himself. It was just that others rarely did.
Sam Barker is a very anxious high-schooler with a fear of practically everything. Ever since his father was killed in an accident, he's been trying to overcorrect everything in his life in the hopes that a similar accident won't happen to him. Then, at his friend Raad's birthday at Freddy Fazbear's Mega Pizzaplex, the boys win Moondrop's Dream Sphere, a sphere that's supposed to slip you into a hypnotic state in order to focus better on studying. But after using it, Sam finds the calm hypnosis addicting, and wonders what would happen if he used the sphere a little more than the suggested amount.
The seventh Tales from the Pizzaplex story, and the first of the third book.
Tropes related to “Somniphobia”:
- Adaptational Name Change: Though it may just be the name of the hologram and not the animatronic, Moon is still only referred to as "Moondrop," while his official name in the game series is just Moon.
- Addled Addict: Sam's addiction to the Dream Sphere is pretty clearly a thinly-veiled allegory for drug usage, with his Mom becoming worried about his changing behavior, his conviction that he can stop whenever he wants to, and his eventual coma paralleling an overdose.
- Adorably Precocious Child: Sam, though only his Mom finds it "adorable." The other kids find him annoying and off-putting.
- Ambiguous Ending: It's much more likely that Moondrop simply convinced Sam that he was dead and had to stay in the coma, rather than Brutus actually eating his face unprompted when Sam just-so-happened to be scared of that happening. Still, with the short ending with Sam's departure, it's unclear.
- Big Friendly Dog: Brutus, who's very sociable, but makes Sam uncomfortable.
- Brutal Honesty: Sam likes to list off distressing, gory stories of things he's heard of or read in order to dissuade people from doing something he considers dangerous. It mostly just makes him seem like a party-killer.
- Chick Magnet: Apparently girls tend to "gravitate" towards Raad.
- Cool Bike: Sam's dad had one, and the accident on it is what resulted in his death.
- A Day in the Limelight: Moon, the Daycare Attendant's darker persona from Five Nights at Freddy's: Security Breach. Or, more specifically, a hologram version of him.
- Descent into Addiction: The short focuses on Sam's slow progression into becoming more and more reliant on the sphere, to the point where he entraps himself in it.
- Disappeared Dad: Sam's father died in a motorcycle accident when he was in the third grade.
- Dreaming of Times Gone By: When overusing the sphere, Sam dreams of subconscious memories he has of his father that he can't recall in real life. This escalates his overusage.
- Dying Dream: Sam's last hallucination is one that he ends up, perhaps permanently, stuck in.
- Failed a Spot Check: Sam realizes, far too late into the last illusion, that he had never actually plugged in the Dream Sphere, and it was working all on its own.
- Foreshadowing: The entire opening takes place at the yard sale of a family who's moving out of town to take care of their comatose son. In the sale is a Moondrop Dream Sphere, which one of the buyers finds unnerving.
- The Friend Nobody Likes: The only person who doesn't tease Sam over his anxiety is Raad. In turn, Jules is overly familiar with everyone and makes them a little uncomfortable with his forewardness.
- A Glitch in the Matrix: When Sam tries to force the sphere off after seeing his dad's death, he believes himself to be back in his room, only for his mom to re-enter, just as young as she was in his memory, and repeat the same scene.
- High-School Sweethearts: It's said that Sam's parents were this.
- Iconic Item: Moondrop's Dream Sphere, which is technically Raad's but Sam has for the rest of the week.
- It Won't Turn Off: Sam starts having trouble actually getting the sphere to turn off. This escalates to the final usage, when he realizes he never plugged it in, yet it's somehow still working.
- Jerkass: Jules really does nothing but make fun of other people and build himself up as cool and competent.
- Monster of the Week: Moondrop Hologram.
- Neat Freak: Sam always keeps his room in impeccable shape.
- Nerd Glasses: Sam wears his dad's old pair of glasses, with his prescription placed into the frames.
- Oblivious to Love: Sam has no idea that Lydia is flirting with him at Misty's party until he's told.
- O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Mrs. Barker realizes something's wrong with Sam when he wears wrinkled shirts, messes up his room, and refuses to do the dishes.
- Prefers the Illusion: In the final illusion, Sam finds himself in a world where he can stand up for himself, his father is alive, and he's brave enough to do what he desires. Then, unable to wake up, he wanders off into the illusion with Moondrop, feeling suddenly at peace.
- Red Eyes, Take Warning: Sam thinks he sees Moondrop's eyes flash red at night, but decides he must have been imagining things.
- Safety Freak: Sam's main character trait, as he's developed severe anxiety following his father's death.
- Smart People Wear Glasses: Quiet, glasses-wearing Sam was already getting As in his classes before using the sphere.
- Tears of Blood: When Sam wakes up from a Dream Sphere overusage, he finds that there's blood in his eyes. He thinks that he might have popped a vessel.
- Uncertain Doom: Whether or not Sam dies or is in a coma; and, if the latter, if he can be woken up.
- Unwitting Instigator of Doom: Raad, who just wanted some help for his studying, and accidentally got Sam addicted to the sphere. Then Jules, for insisting they go to the Pizzaplex instead of going straight to the study session with Sam.
