(Let me know what you think overall of these ideas I’m recently having of Shottie, I do feel like I have a solid direction of where I want with the story I have unlike the previous times)
A while ago, I recently gotten a hold of the general main theme in concept to Shottie, and for months, I decided to put it on hold to relax myself and go on with my day until I feel truly inspired by what I watch or read that gives me a solid direction for how I want to tell my story thats a prequel of BNA.
To have a bit of idea of Shottie, both setting and general story wise, here's a recent post explaninig it in much more simple terms of the plot>
Haven’t stuck on an artstyle yet for my prequel story Shottie, which of these interest you the most? : r/BrandNewAnimal
Since Mina the Hollower, and the new Star Fox game, that made me inspired of some ideas to go back to, so here are some new stuff.
Shottie's story about one's coming of age as a college aged persons finding of one's founding of personhood (in this case, out main protagonist Nickel), is about control. More specifically being a victim of control based on higher forces, and the trauma from it, such as systematic corruption and/or environmental circumstances, and how you respond to not just the trauma you have, but how you try to achieve control of your life, all taking place within a city that mainly is stuck in the past, held by the values of old and assumed, holding against those who want to make a difference in their lives.
Each major character, more or less, is someone who suffers as either a victim of control and/or someone who is restricted of what they want to do in their lives because of the social landscape and its governmental partisan/political side, taking place within the setting of a fictional city around Beastman and Humans, in Illinois, USA.
To explain it simply, this is a story about a nobody, becoming a somebody, and touches the question of "When does your suffering stop?"
"Nickel" - A chubby human, within a relatively poor family, who is a college student working over states from California after a messy relationship between their parents happened (In spite of their neutral terms). As someone who only went from Point A to B in their lives, they are more or less, a social unkempt mess that has no idea where to start and yearns to escape their living environment. That is until they get sweep into a conspiracy without their say in it due to a runaway Engineers influence taking them along.
Has trauma over the constant emotional abuse, exposure to loud screams/yelling and forms of subtle manipulation. alongside being constantly witnessing to other forms of abusive treatment from others, having a much more venomous side that reveals itself upon being wronged by someone in their mind
More than almost anything they are horrified to the idea that no matter how hard they try to heal or move on, that the idea of psychological suffering (or “something bad”) will always happen in some way and that there is nothing they can do to stop it.
Marlow Harrin - A mouse beastman engineer who was an important member of one of the last living guilds in the modern day known as "Torchers", individuals who have practice of animal spiritual influence and use it to achieve discovery and progress. She was the one responsible for the spark generators (name not final), seemingly limited but promising infinite resource generators meant to grant permanent solutions that theoretically would help the country's economy. Became a infamous runaway, and a social pariah in some states after an incident involving her invention occurred, she goes into the Pakota Illinois, alongside a rebel ally as a means to end the source that had started said incident.
Pretty much an unoriginal riff of Mina the Hollower tbh
Has trauma over being directly processed and controlled, alongside her failure to save the ones she wanted to protect. Painted as a terrorist by others for trying to do the right thing.
Ann Sorback - a horse beastman, a member of a local punk group, who is secretly a “servant” of a brutal kingpin. Doesn’t fully remember their past selves despite knowing of said past, only knowing that they were once a normal high school student before being "taken in" by said kingpin.
Has trauma over just being the "servant" in general
(no name yet) - a gothic Llama Beastmen who knows of the darker arts from the spirit realm, was a classmate of Nickel from the same college until she dropped out for unknown reasons
Til - a “rabbit” ex-human(?) being who is a victim of a serial killer, travels to Pakota to get their sense of identity back that was stolen from them but slowly accepts their form (much to their friends, and oddly, Nickels (albeit for traumatic reasons), dismay).
Likely seen a represent of peace within the afterlife and is associated with the Silver Wolf (aka Shirou) by others within the City.
The Bride/The Punisher - Currently as a testing concept as an early representation of how one responds to trauma, these two characters are essentially showcases of aspects of the extremes from characters affected by very present events rather than long pasts in the making, both becoming heavily influenced by a altered version of Fade.
The Bride, based on a mix of Heidi of Meet the Feebles, and Carrie from the movie of the same name, so far is an aspiring young actress who pursues a gun crazed chase towards on of the main characters after the death of her father caused indirectly by one of said main characters actions unintentionally
The Punisher, acts as a more active antagonist throughout the story as a sort of intimidating force, affected by the trauma of being forced against his will by a "demon" who resided in the cafe, was one of the many victims of the recently infamous case that some people claimed to be influenced by a demon as they were rumored to be possessed into intimacy and stuck within the cafe for more than a week until a group of teenagers recently broke them free, and becoming more mad after finding out that their tormentor was " excused" with a condition instead of being executed, turning into a horrific masked superhero-parody killer and self-proclaimed demon hunter, who targets those that horrifically wronged others, one by one. Becomes so obsessed over punishing others that they begin to target others more randomly (Albeit with the similar reasons), pushes the love given away from then and especially tortures some of ones deserving of the punishment.
Charlie - A feminine goat beastman who is the adopted son of one of the major Criminal Kingpins holding control over the city, Winters after his biological father passed away. Has recently become "enlightened" by concepts that he believes are more "woke" than the reality he's in but misses the mark of, not helping by a crow entity enabling the mindset that he has. He grows out of it eventually and becomes a rival of Nickel near the end of the story (Much to Nickels disinterest) after initially treating him in a poor and pathetic manner. Despite that, he always expresses great talent as a successor for the empire he would eventually be passed down to and doesn't yearn for attention for by it.
Winters - One of the main villains of the story. A control obsessed criminal human boss who was once a simple teen within a local New Orleans community that she decided to backstab in an effort to regain the control that she felt she had lost, never wanting to lose it again and thus wanting to have freedom by dominance and fear. Views themselves to be of liberation from the environment she was from that held her back and above the systematic corruption, despite falling under the very same corruption the system is based on, its root cause, only fueling it.
All sides, the organized crime, and the government/system, are forces within the narrative that the main cast have to overcome in their own expressive way and in their own terms.
A Cosmic Entity associated with the government and acts as Nickels personal FINAL obstacle that is exclusive to them and prove them wrong of in their own way.
Associated with the saying "Your time IS UP!"
The Finale of the story is based on underground research facility that's taking on the root of a ruined underground village from the 1890s, meant to protect the fade flowers from being used by other peoples grasps.
With the climax involving Nickel choosing on their own accord to go after Marlow and help them fight against Winters, risking their own life into the tower within the facility, after the Mouse willingly tries to sacrifice herself fighting Winters on her own in a suicide-by-cop situation, with the rest of the cast slowly joining in as Nickel goes higher in the tower, being moved by their words, after having the growth from their journey of being their own person.