About me:
Oh boy, an almost two-year old idea, what a feeling it gives me.
If you want to know who I am, just look at my name. That's it, a guy with ideas. Ideas that have been sitting inside the guy's head for quite some time, without him doing much about them, until now. Needless to say, ideas are only ideas, but with a little help from God, Satan, Vishnu, or whatever controls the universe (If there's someone controlling it in the first place.) perhaps those ideas can some day become realities.
At the moment, rather than needing the help of an omnipotent, immaterial deity, I need the assistance of regular day-to-day people, who happen to be somewhat learned in a particular skill. That is to say, if regular day-to-day people even care to read this, but who knows, there might be something interesting here.
The Idea:
We are now properly within the realm of the delinquent genre, which I am enthusiastically fond of. Not everything would be the same as in a typical delinquent scenario, however. The usual delinquent hero is a nonconformist, a rebel of the establishment, but the subject of his rebellion lies in opposing what he finds to be an opressive system. An archetypical example would be Maeda Taison from Rokudenashi Blues (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rokudenashi_Blues#Story) who despite being lacking in the intelligence department, makes up for it with his immense compassion. Many problems arise before him, and oftentimes, he can only afford to solve then with a pair of fists because he does not know of any other alternatives, but when he takes action, it'll be for what he considers to be right; honor, friendship, protecting the weak, etc. In essence, what elevates a delinquent to a hero, is the ability to stand up for others.
But a hero our protagonist is not.
If I had to compare him with someone, it would be Mitsuhashi from Kyo Kara Ore Wa (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ky%C5%8D_Kara_Ore_Wa!!). Both are schemy, both egoistic to a degree, both have relinquished their previous "boring" lifestyles to become juvenile delinquents out of self interest. But there are two main things which sets them apart. One is physical strenght, which Mitsuhashi has and uses to his heart's content against whoever he pleases, and the being that, even Mitsuhashi manages to risk himself for others from time to time.
This character, whom I called Silvio, would become interested in the delinquent lifestyle from an early age (perhaps directly from delinquent comics themselves). Later , on his second year of highschool, Silvio would then join an actual delinquent gang, hoping to become respected some day.
Needless to say, Silvio's expectations collide with the harshness of reality. In a world where strenght is absolutely needed to become someone, our protagonist faces difficult harships, and fails repeteadly.
But in this climate of failures, there is still some element of salvation: Love.
In the gang's climate, there is a girl who doesn't seem to fit, and yet, mingles around the delinquents like its nothing. She seems fair and understanding, and Silvio becomes infatuated with her. At first, things go well between them, but as with everything else, it all goes awry.
After failing to become someone, and failing to get the girl, Silvio, under the influence of Vitri the gang leader, will try one last time to leave off a mark in the world, with a horrible act.
Triple R is a story of gradual decay, predominately Silvio's personal corruption in a world of illicit violence. But not only Silvio's decay, the same entropy that inhibits him stalks those around him. Like Ricky, with whom Silvio shares his failures when trying to begin their own gang together. It all reaches its peak at the end, when there is no turning back, in one final act of violence.
The Setting: An imaginary country. Purposely undefined. It is an underdeveloped immigrant nation, akin to a south american country. The history of this hypothetical nation is never made fully clear, as it is not the focus. For all intents and purposes, it serves as a backstage for the events to unfold. As a result of the underdeveloped conditions, it became a popular trend for young people, particularly highschool students, to form delinquent gangs.
The Characters:
Silvio Astier
The protagonist of the story. Smart but nonconformist student. Sees excitement in the delinquent life. Enrolls in a juvenile delinquent gang, believing his intelligence would allow him to get to the top, but does not go further than being a lackey. Doesn't show much affection for others, not even for his "friends", Lucio and Ricky, he rather sees them as associates or helpers. Used to be friendlier as a kid, became jaded as he grew older, though still holds on to some "childish" dreams. The first part of the story catalogues Silvio's difficulties with living in an uncaring reality which seemingly ignores him. His relationship with Alma, the girl from the gang, poses a chance for him to develop the ability to care for others. But through his own inadequacies with people, his relation with her grows erratic, and there seems to be something she's hiding from him...
After much humiliation, and suffering the bitterness of rejection, Silvio goes through an existential crisis which ends in him taking "the next step". To go over simple hooliganisms, to commit a self-defining act, a horrible act.
After the crime is done, Silvio outright confesses it to Vitri the gang leader; rather than Vitri being shocked or appalled, as Silvio had expected, he regards him calmly and asks if he could have a "little chat" with him.
In their "little chat", Vitri persuades Silvio to his "ideas", to favor the callings of his own ego over "inplanted ideas" (Moral duty, societal duty, etc).
"Enlightened" by these new ideas, Silvio ditches his old dreams in favor of living for the moment, unconcerned of acting "right" or "wrong". Even then, despite everything, our protagonists begins to feel empty on the inside, eventually becoming unable to feel satisfaction. Then, someone unexpected comes into Silvio's life, a strange girl, someone fascinating to him. In able to comprehend her, Silvio begins his "experiment".
I shan't say what these "experiments" amount to, only that
it resembles the original plot.
A "friend" of Silvio. Together, with another friend, they attempt at starting their own gang, which they hope to make it big with. Contrary to their expectations, their exploits never go beyond petty thieving. Like Silvio, his goal is to become respected. Wants to ascend in rank, leave his low status behind. Though, his real reason for becoming a delinquent is due to security issues. Ricky wants to be someone else because he hates himself. Used to have a girlfriend, but got dumped shortly afterwards; being rejected becomes a major source of resentment for him.
Lucio Bauer
(Forgive the low quality of the sketch. The previous two drawings were done by a different person, whom I thought would become a team member, but unexpectedly left me.)Not even in Vitri’s gang or associated with any real gangs. Not even the same age as Silvio and Ricky, he’s one year younger. Helps in their delinquent exploits despite being incompetent at it. Acts dumber than what he really is, generally resulting in others calling him an idiot. Oddly “innocent” compared to Silvio and Ricky.
Stanislaw Vitri
Seek enjoyment above everything. Dislikes boredom. Rarely seen angry or affected by any negative emotions, always appears calm and relaxed. Does not hesitate to hurt someone during a fight, but he won’t bother if it’s boring for him. Extorts “protection fees” out of other students and shows no remorse about it. Punishes those who don’t pay him, and members of his gang who he sees as “messing up”(like Silvio and Ricky when they run away) but does so with no rancor, merely to amuse himself. As with everything else, pleasure and self-satisfaction is Vitri’s main objective behind every action. Often seen as a “shrewd bastard”, he places his self-interest above that of everyone else, and acts with no constraint to achieve it. Refuses morality and imposed duties, sees them as “fixed ideas”. Believes one can get away with everything so long as he has the cunning to do so. Ultimately thinks there is no real point to life, and feels nothing for others. Becomes the ideological proponent to Silvio’s change in character, rather than calling the cops on Silvio when he confesses
to murdering Alma
, he asks to have a “Man to man” talk with him, in which he influences him with his life views, although it is never made clear whether he did it because he cared for Silvio or if he wanted to see him further deranged, for his own amusement. Gets together with Ricky, Silvio, and Lucio in their gang attempt after his own gang disbands. They engage in robbery, vandalism, and ultimately in the realization of Silvio’s “Triple R plan”.Alma Baskova (Sadly, I don't count with decent sketches for the female characters.)
The girl with whom Silvio becomes infatuated with. Seems oddly "harmless looking" in comparison to the rest of the gang, and not to mention, exceptionally pretty to Silvio. Looks to be the same age as him, but is in fact, three years older(She's 18 while Silvio's 15). Gradually, she becomes Silvio's inspiration to stay in the gang, despite the abuse he faces as a "new guy". It seems, for a while, that she might just be the first person with whom Silvio goes out of his way to become attached, causing him to force himself out of his antisocialness. They share tender moments together, but something isn't quite right.
She's only playing with him, and never meant anything serious. Though somewhat fond of Silvio, she regards him as "a kid". The biggest insult to Silvio being that she already had a boyfriend all this time, even implying the possibility of sexual relations with him and perhaps other men. This deeply changes Silvio's conception of her.
His resentment with her goes to such a point that he selects her to be the target of his "horrible act"
a murder.
Sophie CastelThis girl becomes a source of great fascination for Silvio. An ordinary girl by all means. Characterized by her compassion for others and willingness to trust people.
Becomes the main subject behind Silvio's "experiment", the TripleR Plan, which is in reality a subtle invitation to unspeakeable things.
(Note: There will definitely be a couple more characters, but these are the principal ones. Maybe more girls? Extra routes?
)Gameread:
The story would be told through different episodes, or chapters, which would be narrated by Silvio himself. As the protagonist, he is included into the action as any other character. He would even posses his own sprite. He would essentially be the principal narrator of events, but an omniscient voice would also be employed in certain occassions where Silvio isn't the main focus, or to give a cleaner perspective on the plot's progression. Sometimes, there wouldn't even be any narration, rather, scenes would flow with the unfolding dialogues between characters. The point of all these nuances is to give an alternative style of narrations to conventional visual novels.
The novel's lenght would be an estimate of six hours, short and to the point.
Well, that about wraps it all up. To close it off, I'll say that I'm going to certainly feel very stupid if this whole wall of text goes unread. Whether this idea will become reality or not, only time can tell.
Feel free to send me a private message if you feel interested in helping.
