Ive been thinking a lot about my story. It's such a brutally heavy subject I cannot imagine it being squashed into a short film.
This is why I plan to structure it as a series just because it is not something that can be easily resolved.
I plan on storyboarding a scene from season 1 and then animating a short section of that.
Here I have written some background and pretty much everything that happens in the first season.
This alone is waaaaay over the word count so don't feel obliged to read this mel, it's merely for my own reference so that I have it down somewhere and so that it is evidence that I have thought my story through.
Alien race name: Scarryon (Scar- rye-on)
Character names: Tcosta and Nim
Planet name: Cascorth
The planet’s dominant species is the Scarryon. They are a
reptilian like alien. In this world there is a huge divide between certain
groups of the Scarryon. Some feel superior than others which leads to
discrimination and hate.
The black scaled ones are the ones who dominate politics,
economy and society. They feel that they are the wisest and greatest of all of
the species. This allows them to take land from others, receive the best
education and prosper in the job world.
The Scarryon have an interesting breeding trait which is
unique in to any species in its galaxy. The race only has one egg in their
lifetime and both partners will lay one egg each (so two per couple). This
leads to many feeling that they cannot ‘waste’ their egg with anyone they deem
as ‘inferior’.
Tcosta is a back scaled Scarryon, he spent his life growing
up in privilege and learning to hate the other.
Nim is a grey scaled patch, she has endured her parents fall
into bankruptcy and her brother being stolen away for the war. Despite this,
she does not hate the black scales, she understands that they are merely
blinded by hate and ignorance just as she was with another. Her aim is to try
and educate and change the minds of any black scales that she comes across.
Many tell her not to bother, although they realise that it causes no harm, for
all she is really doing is being ‘nice’.
Tcosta and Nim meet when Tcosta is volunteering in his
community to build a fence/wall around the school grounds (in order to
segregate the younglings). Nim’s community watches as they do this, Tcosta
begins to question as he sees two younglings of different colours playing in
the corner, one of the parents pulls them away. The child is sad and does not
understand.
Tcosta keeps building this fence but in the back of his head
the event is nagging him. Memories of when he was a child and a similar event
occurred come back to him. Tcosta’s friend was just like him, he was no less
and no different but he was told otherwise.
That night, Tcosta goes to the fence, to destroy it. As he
is about to he hears someone, thinking he is caught he stops. It is nim, from
the other side, the darkness and the fence conceal her colours. She knows what
he is about to do but tells him he shouldn’t as they would blame Nim’s
community for it.
He understands and his heart sinks. The next week or so he
becomes grossly aware of the awful events which are occurring around him.
Things that are simply not fair.
One day, Tcosta walks into a shop for a beverage, as he
walks in, he witnesses a costumer angry at the cashier as his drink was made by
a ‘disgusting grey’ and that he willnot drink it and will not pay for it and
that the barrister should not be working on this side of town.
Tcosta watches passively, too cowardly to intervene. He
leaves without ordering and walks past the fence and towards the grey scaled
community.
“You gonna steal this land too, scum!” an elder spits from
the door way of her shack.
Tcosta instantly regrets this decision and freezes as the
elder walks down her path and towards him.
NIm suddenly appears, this is an opportunity to change the
situation into a positive one, the grey patched scales are good and helpful and
this one will go back and tell everyone he knows just that (she is aware that
this is not going to be the case but she doesn’t want to believe the
alternative).
Nim asks if he is lost, Tcosta recognises her voice but
before he is able to answer she whisks him away and out of the situation.
As they get to the fence, Nim falls behind. Tcosta thanks
her and offers to shake her hand, Nim is shocked and hesitates. She askes
Tcosta if he is sure, the other black scales can see what he is doing from
here. He is and they shake hands and part Nim says maybe they’ll see eachother
again sometime, Tcosta is not as certain but nods.
Weeks past and Tcosta begins to stop himself from noticing
all the hate that is going on around him. He begins to focus again on his
studies until one day another comes up to him and hands him a photo. It is of
him shaking hands with Nim. The blackmailer says that if Tcosta doesn’t
participate in something, this photo will get posted. This would endanger
Tcosta to a whole load of hate crime as the implications of someone his age
meddling with someone so ‘inferior’ is not approved of.
Tcosta agrees only to find out that the plan is to set fire
to the community’s home’s and land. The idea makes his blood run cold as he
thinks of Nim, the one who was so kind to him. She didn’t deserve that in
return.
Hours before the plan unfolds, Tcosta runs into Nim’s area.
He frantically looks around for her, when he finds her, he warns her about what
is going to happen. She panics and tells him that she must warn the others. He
tells her not to as they would know it was him. Nim is mad and accuses Tcosta
of being cowardly because he is willing to let people die to save his own black
scaled skin.
Nim runs away from him and warns them all. They believe her,
this is not the first time something like this has happened and it won’t be the
last. Many grab what they can and run to a nearby settlement which is further
away from any black scaled communities. Others decide that they are going to
stay and fight, Nim angrily tells them that it is no use. They ignore her.
Tcosta watches from a distance as they evacuate. He sees the
burning start, what he doesn’t see is the fight going on under the smoke. The
blackmailer finds him and asks why he is not down there with the others. Tcosta
tells him to shove it. He says that the photo can be published or whatever, it
will no longer matter to him.
He runs west. He knows that there is another grey patched
scaled community there, far away. He doesn’t want to be part of a society that
thinks it is okay to do something like this.
Maybe he could teach to the younglings as he knows they
haven’t the best education in the galaxy. That way he’d be somewhat accepted.
He gets there and understandably the residents don’t take
kindly to his arrival. They are angry with the black scales, they burned they
homes and destroyed their livelihood.
Tcosta sits outside of the residency. Part of him wishes
that he could just go back and continue living life blind to all of this. He
knows that it has gone too far for him now. There is no going back, they’ll be
waiting for him, to hurt him, maybe even kill him.
Nim notices that it is him. She is emotionally hurt from the
whole ordeal. She knows that many who remained to fight back will never return.
However, feeling sorry for him she goes over with some food and tells him that
he should go. Tcosta says that he can’t he is not welcome there anymore.
Worried, Nim warns him that she doesn’t exactly feel as though he’d be very
safe and welcome here either.
She walks away and shrugs off everyone elses disapproving
glares and whispers. However, Tcosta is still there by nightfall and the night
is cold and chilly. Tcosta curls up on the ground but knows he will get sick.
The next day Nim sees Tcosta still there. She is angry that
he has not left and marches over to tell him to go. He doesn’t respond and
carries on lying on the ground. Noticing that something is wrong she bends down
and assesses him. He is terribly cold and dehydrated. Nim calls for help.
However, they do not want to help. They point at him and say
that he is the reason that this has happened to them. Nim argues and tells them
that he was the reason they were all still alive. He was the one who warned
them.
Most still turn a blind eye but there is a few who slowly
walk to Tcosta’s aid. Together they carry him to one of the makeshift houses,
all the while others glare, hiss and curse at them.
Tcosta slowly makes a recovery. They have limited food and
even more scarce medicine supplies. Yet he pulls through. In return he becomes
the Doctor’s assistant, he never trained in medicine but his advanced schooling
has meant that he knows far more than the rest of them.
Tensions are still high and every now and again Nim leaves
Tcosta’s side and he receives hate.
As time goes on, Tcosta proves his worth to them. He excels
as an assistant and becomes a recognisable face to many who received his help.
They are thankful and stick up for him whenever they can. Soon, the angry
people are the minority.
Nim starts to see Tcosta in a new light. Her family realises
and warns her, she cannot risk ‘wasting her egg’. Nim is saddened she doesn’t
see it as a waste. Tcosta has been seeing Nim in that way for far longer, he
doesn’t want to put her in such an awful position, he knows it is not fair on
her. He begins to create distance.
Nim knows something’s up and confronts him. They argue and
all is let out. Tcosta reveals his true feelings but Nim remains silent. Tcosta
quickly covers it up by saying how it would never work. Nim is hurt but knows
that the world is far too cruel to allow such a thing. Tcosta takes her silence
as a sign that she does not feel the same. Heartbroken he plans to leave.
Tcosta packs up the very few things that he now owns. He
walks out of the walks as the sun rises. As he walks out he stops to remember
the sight of his once home. That’s when he sees something weird, its smoke,
smoke from the war machines. They are coming to collect the healthy for the war
effort.
Tcosta is fearful, once again, thinking of Nim. He wakes her
up, she is confused and he tells her that they must warn the others. They
hastily rush out only to find that it is too late. The Black scaled collectors
are there, rounding them up selecting the ones that they want.
The main leader spots Tcosta and is confused, he sees the
two holding hands, putting two and two together he begins to look repulsed, and
then angry.
“We’ll be taking you for sure grey lover,”
And that’s the end of season one, fuck me.
