I'm going to be, essentially, GMing a short-story style roleplaying game for another person, one which pits the nihilism of their character's past against the character's newfound hope.

His career as an artist never advanced, true to the warnings of his family. Feeling a failure, he tried to jump off a bridge. But just as he jumped he was grabbed by a woman. She thereafter used her status as his rescuer to assert control over all aspects of his life. He became fatalistic in his self-loathing.

But then one day he breaks free, and something happens that feels like he's been given a second chance to prove the worth of his own autonomy.

This story is going to focus on whether that seed blossoms or whether the continued attacks of nihilistic training will kill it before it gets the opportunity. The strength of the character's emotional grip on that seed will be tested.

I want it to be a cathartic story, so not so sentimental as It's a Wonderful Life, but nor as grossly horrific as Saw. If you've ever played My Life With Master, you might recognize something in it close to what I'm going for.

Right now, I'm just trying to curate a collection of sources to be used for inspiration. If you know a story specifically attuned to this, please let me know. But if you just have a good notion of what would make a good story for this, I'd love to hear that too.