Storyline stuff

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.