So today I’m feeling pretty down, and you know what I like to do when something is troubling me in life? Make a story about it. So that’s what this is. Granted, I didn’t just create it today, but it arose from moments like this. I present you The Life and Times of Hickary Finch.
If Chrono Club is the life I wish I had, Hickary Finch is the life I’m stuck with. Hence it’s rather depressing. Hickary is not a total self-insert, but I put him through a lot of the same stuff I’ve been through. A pseudobiography if you will. Characters aren’t people I’ve met so much as archetypes of people I’ve met (god I love working with archetypes). Basically, if you squint and assume artistic license you can sorta see my life story. Except the suicide attempt. That’s an idea I just had today because I think it would serve as a properly satisfying climax. That said, there are a couple of parts that are taken practically word for word from experience, but they’re few and far between.
So basically it’s about this kid growing up realizing how lonely he is as friends are only around as long as their lives happen to follow his, drifting apart sooner or later. All the while his creative ambitions aren’t paying off financially and he’s still never had a girlfriend. His outlook on life becomes bleak but just when he’s given up a stranger reminds him that “Happiness can be found in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light.” (quoting Dumbledore here, but might not in the actual script) Here’s some notes I just wrote.
Theme: Holding out in the darkest of times.
Music: Folk/Indie, very calm. Think Miss This. In fact, get them if they’re willing and affordable.
Aesthetic: Chalkboard drawings to represent Hickary’s imagination.
Plot:
First love: Lucy (rejected but remain friends)
New friend: Charlie
Second Love: ??? (rejected)
High School Graduation: Lucy’s departure
Third Love: ??? (rejected)
College Graduation: Charlie’s departure
Hickary thinks he has no future.
Suicide (jumping off a bridge) prevented by friendly stranger