I haven’t tried to tie everything together until now, here’s a synopsis of what’s going on as it relates to the upcoming show.
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The story starts with Erica Sort, the only child of Mr. & Mrs. Sort, owners of the Tryst Hotel in Paradise, Nevada. Erica grew up shy and for the most part, highly self conscious.
Come college, she blossomed into a beautiful woman and attracted the attention of a self proclaimed hedonist. When he left, he caused an awkward growth in mental maturity for Erica. Mostly, her awkwardness in growth stemmed from her inability to reconcile her dirty acts with her morals, and from that point she questioned societal constructs that mandated she act “innocent” and “virginal.”
She obsessed over the answer to love and happiness. And prayed the answer didn’t lie in hedonism. But as she began to learn, her Heart Breaker lived and thrived from it.
Her loneliness in his absence drove her crazy. She began living in her head and from there the Ephemerals come in. Ephemerals are beings that exist in a different un-reality. They are women that have made bad decisions and sit in “un-reality” to contemplate them until they come to terms with their past. It’s a lot like living in your head, and it’s generally a lonely state.
When Erica Sort was heartbroken in a situation involving hedonism, she established a mental connection with the Ephemerals, and developed the medical condition “sleep hypnogogia” as a result. In her sleep hypnogogia, she hallucinates and hears the Ephemerals talking to her.
Over time, the voices become clearer and eventually they’re able to manifest in reality as tangible (but very distorted figures). Generally, they keep to themselves in un-reality, but among them, Ana is the social femme fatale that loves talking to Erica, and learning more about her sadness.
These Ephemerals become the feeding fuel for Erica’s Diary, where she documents her thoughts on everything that happened to her, hedonism and the Four Digit Number that represents it. In some cases (such as Ana), the women serve as a catalyst for a more assertive but ambiguously mature Erica.
Much later, we learn that every one of the Ephemerals was broken hearted by the same person at a different point in time. The story of “Pleasures” is to connect all of these women in a way that documents the psychological tug and pull between sexuality, assertiveness, femininity, and acceptance.
