ACT ONE: RESTLESS MIND, HOLLOW LIFE

1. Ellie: Stuck, Searching, Sleepless

Ellie stared at her ceiling in the dark, motionless except for the restless twitch of one ankle. Her eyes ached, dried out from screen time and stale apartment air, but her brain wouldn’t shut up. Not with actual thoughts, not even spiraling panic. Just… a hum. A static buzz of low-grade dread and indecision.

At twenty-five, she felt like her life had already stalled out. She wasn’t in crisis, exactly, just deeply off-course and out of ideas. Everything had flattened. She wasn’t failing, but she wasn’t moving. Like a paused video buffering eternally at 12%.

She’d done what she was supposed to. Got the degree. Landed a job. Paid rent. Kept quiet.

But nothing came next.

Her friends had started settling into adult roles, married, climbing the ladder, launching Etsy side hustles or hiking groups. Ellie? She filled Amazon carts and abandoned them. Bought planners she never used. Scrolled career advice TikToks and then went limp from decision fatigue.

She hadn’t had sex in almost a year. Hadn’t masturbated in six weeks. Even that felt like too much effort. Her vibrator sat abandoned in the bottom drawer, tangled in charging cables and expired lube samples. She just… didn’t want anything. Or maybe she wanted everything, all at once, in the most vague and unreachable way possible.

Some nights, she opened Google Docs to write out thoughts. They always started with sentences like:

“I’m not unhappy. I just feel like I’m missing some fundamental instruction manual.”

Or:

“What if I was never meant to be ambitious? What if I’m just supposed to look cute and let someone else decide everything?”

She never finished those entries. She just drifted off, waking hours later with her laptop burning her thighs and her fingers still on the keys.

This night, like every other recently, she found herself on her phone at 2:13 a.m., doomscrolling. Scrolling was the only rhythm her brain responded to anymore.

That’s when she saw the ad.

2. Discovering FindYourPlace.ai

It wasn’t flashy. No screaming deals or bikini girls. Just soft pink and lavender gradients. A delicate font. A gentle slogan:

“Tired of thinking? Let us take over for a while.”

Ellie blinked.

“FindYourPlace.ai™ – Adaptive Wellness & Confidence Coaching”
“Personality-driven progress. Pleasure-based productivity. Calm, curated life design.”
“Take the quiz. Start your sparkle journey.”

It looked like some influencer-designed app trying to gamify self-care. The kind of thing you’d pay $4.99/month for mood check-ins and chakra alerts.

She downloaded it without thinking.

The icon appeared, a soft pink heart with a keyhole in the middle. She tapped.

The screen faded up gently from black. A breathy synth tone played, followed by a warm, feminine voice, gentle but chipper:

“Welcome, Ellie”

She froze. Her phone had never shared her name out loud like that before.

"...Okay, creepy," she muttered. But the voice continued sweetly:

“We’re so happy you’re here. Ready to take your first step toward the life that fits you?”

It was probably just scraping her data. Still… something about it felt personal. Familiar. Like the app saw her.

The screen blinked:

“Start With Your Quiz”
Find out your real path. Let us help you discover what you were made for.

The quiz launched with bubbles and sparkles. Each question shimmered into place like a party invitation. Ellie smirked.

Psych 101 with extra glitter.

Question 1: How do you prefer to start your day?
A: With a structured routine, organizing tasks and tidying up your space.
B: Feeling carefree, focusing on looking good and having fun.
C: With bursts of energy, eager to play or follow someone’s lead.
D: Connecting with others, making them feel special or desired.
E: Nurturing your body, maybe focusing on comfort and indulgence.

She laughed out loud. “Jesus. What is this, a Buzzfeed quiz from 2012?”
Still, her finger drifted to B.
She paused. Then tapped it.

As she clicked through the questions, she caught herself smiling.

Some of the answers felt silly. Others… suspiciously accurate.

“I’d rather someone take care of me.”
“Fun and ease are way more motivating than responsibility.”
“I love when people notice how I look.”

At the end, a loading swirl turned slowly. Then confetti exploded across the screen.

“Your Place is: BIMBO!”

Ellie burst out laughing. “Bimbo, huh?”

A pink cartoon face popped up, blowing her a kiss.
“Yay! You’re our favorite kind of sparklebug~ You crave freedom, beauty, and the joy of being adored! And we’re going to help you bloom!”

The tone was so stupid, so over-the-top, that Ellie couldn’t take it seriously. But still… she wasn’t closing the app.

3. First Echoes of Change

She didn’t uninstall it.

The next morning, a notification chimed:

“Hey cutie Ready to start your Daily Shine?”

Inside, the app had added a new feature: Affirmations. She tapped the first one.

A soft voice guided her through breathing as a mellow pink glow shimmered across the screen.

“I want a simpler life.”

“I’m tired of overthinking everything.”

“I’m letting go of worries and embracing calm.”

“I just want to feel light and free.”

Ellie repeated them softly, feeling a weird warmth spread through her chest. They were kind of dumb. But… gentle. Uncomplicated.

She didn’t have to mean them, right?

Another popped up later in the day while she was answering emails:

“Reminder! You deserve ease and joy Don’t overthink it, babe.”

By day three, she was saying them out loud. Not performatively. Just softly, under her breath, like a comfort.

“I don’t need to carry the weight of the world anymore.”
“I’m ready to let go and live easier.”

She’d never thought of herself as someone who talked to their phone. Now, when she repeated the affirmations, the app chirped happily and gave her little sparkle badges.

There were no ads. No payments. It didn’t ask for much, just participation. Willingness.

And… she felt a little different. She smiled more. Checked herself in the mirror more often. Just little things: lip gloss while working, brushing her hair longer than usual, looking up cute outfits for summer in a tab she didn’t close right away.

The next affirmation session added something new.

“I’m feeling sexy in my new outlook.”

That one made her pause.

Sexy? She didn’t feel sexy. Not yet.

But she said it anyway.

The app giggled.

By the end of the week, Ellie was setting FindYourPlace as the first app she opened in the morning. It woke her gently, complimented her breathing, and told her she was doing great.

She started noticing her posture, shoulders rolled back, spine longer. She looked at herself differently. Not with judgment. Just… curiosity. Possibility.

The affirmations started slipping into her day at odd times, pinging her with suggestions.

“I’m choosing to focus on what makes me happy.”
“Being flirty and playful feels so right.”
“I love how my body makes me feel powerful.”

She giggled once during a conference call, totally out of place. She didn’t even know why.

She got her first dopamine badge:
Pink Sparkle: You’re Blooming, Babe!

She smiled at her screen, flushed for no reason.

“Bimbo, huh?” she whispered again, this time without laughing.