Day 3 Assignments

[Megan Schemenauer]

Megan’s Five Seasons

What I learned doing this assignment is… that a good bit of discovery occurs just in the process of broad strokes outlining of five seasons. Using broad strokes forced me to focus on just my two main characters’ stories rather than getting bogged down in connected characters’ subplots. Really enjoyed the challenge of filling in the holes with this outlining process but thankful my creative subconscious can take a little break!

TITLE: DEAR FUTURE SELF

By: Megan Schemenauer

SEASON 1: WORLDS APART

An uninspired freshman English assignment takes on a surprising twist after Lexie Abbott sends an email to her future self and receives an answer! Alexis, a 33-year-old professional living in Chicago in the year 2040, seems to have life all figured out. Cool, confident, successful, Alexis is everything Lexie someday hopes to be.

With a genius older sister and a social superstar younger brother, Lexie often feels squeezed out of her own family. At school, she is almost nonexistent, a mere spectator in her friends’ high school drama. Alexis agrees to help Lexie become a more confident person, but is she entirely trustworthy? Does Alexis have Lexie’s best interests at heart or her own? She seems to know more than she is telling, including when and how Lexie’s father Dylan dies.

What is she hiding? By the end of the season, Lexie finds out: Alexis is not a retail manager at a Fox department store but actually an undercover operative!

SEASON 2: BEST OF BOTH WORLDS

It’s a discovery beyond Lexie’s wildest dreams: her future self is an undercover agent! And she needs Lexie’s help! Lexie and Alexis work together to uncover evidence in Lexie’s timeline to implicate a crime syndicate in Alexis’s timeline, posing danger for the duo in both worlds.

Lexie finds herself living in two worlds of her own: high school student by day, undercover operative in training by night. Her confidence level soars as a result of finding something she is truly made for. But will Lexie’s inexperience lead her to getting caught? Is Alexis endangering Lexie just to get ahead at work?

The line between Lexie’s worlds continues to blur. Just after Alexis brings the head of the crime syndicate into custody, Lexie learns that her coworker and new boyfriend Tony Moretti is the person who grows up to become the head of the crime syndicate that Alexis has just apprehended.

SEASON 3: A WORLD OF HURT

Can the future be reversed? For the first time, Lexie and Alexis find themselves with opposing agendas: Lexie tries to save her boyfriend Tony from a life of crime while Alexis seeks to recapture adult Tony, the head of the crime syndicate, after his escape from custody.

As a fledgling undercover operative, Lexie is now on her own. Can she keep Tony from turning to crime in the first place? Will Alexis recapture adult Tony Moretti now that she remembers who he is? Will Lexie aid Alexis in capturing their former boyfriend?

To Lexie’s horror, Tony Moretti is killed in Alexis’s timeline. But Alexis also discovers that the crime syndicate she and Lexie have been fighting are actually the good guys, fighting against the corrupt new oligarchy known simply as the Six.

How did this group come to overthrow the United States’ government? How had the Morettis been planning to take them down? Is there anything Alexis and Lexie can do to make up for an epic mistake?

SEASON 4: WORLDS COLLIDE

Lexie receives a crash course in future US History as she learns from Alexis about the major changes that will be taking place in her country in just a few short years. The Moretti syndicate has fallen apart after the death of Tony Moretti. It is up to Alexis and Lexie to continue what they started to displace the Six and restore the former democratic republic.

As they begin to investigate, they learn that the Six have been aware of their communication the entire time. But why is this new government so interested in monitoring conversations with the past? Alexis soon discovers that the experiments go beyond communicating with the past; the new government has also developed the technology for time travel.

Alexis and Lexie meet face-to-face for the first time when Alexis travels to Lexie’s timeline, where she finally drums up the courage to confess to accidentally killing Tony Moretti in her timeline. Enraged, Lexie decides to travel to the future against Alexis’s advice to try to prevent Tony’s death. Alexis remains in the past to stop the upcoming presidential assassination that leads to the uprising of the Six. Once again, Lexie finds herself alone and at odds with her future self.

SEASON 5: IT’S NOT THE END OF THE WORLD

What do you do when you’re so angry you want to kill your future self but can’t . . . because it’s you? While Alexis stays in Lexie’s timeline to prevent the assassination that allows the Six to come to power, a furious Lexie goes forward in time to prevent her future self from killing Tony Moretti. It’s a race against time.

Despite Alexis’s tutorials, the year 2040 is far beyond anything Lexie could have imagined. Here, Lexie finds the answers to many of the questions she had been seeking: Where did Betsy disappear to? What ended her friendship with Cerise? But ultimately, the only question that matters is, can she stop her future self from killing Tony?

Lexie does succeed in saving Tony, but in doing so accidentally kills her future self. As a result, Alexis disappears just as she is about to save the President from assassination back in Lexie’s timeline. The President and future Alexis die at the same moment, Alexis in Lexie’s arms. “I’d rather know the circumstances of my own death than bear the guilt of someone else’s.”

[Tom Minier]

Tom’s Five Seasons

I’m shocked, stunned, in awe and impressed. Come evaluation time of this module, this lesson will get an 11/10 in my book! I barely knew how the first season would unfold, and admittedly when I saw the subject line of this lesson, I was a bit intimidated. How could I possibly even guess where the story would go in five seasons? This lesson instructed me to ask all of the right questions and in conjunction with our past work, I was shocked at how it all came together. Of course it required effort, but not nearly as much as I speculated it would! Hat tip to Hal and Cheryl!!

SEASON 1: WELCOME TO GROUP!

How can an alien intervention alter the course of an event that will either lead to mankind’s extinction or set them free?

We start at the end. A big political protest is on the verge of eruption. It is like a powder keg awaiting a spark. Cultural divide. Whose lives matter? Politics in the name of God. Guns and babies. And then it happens, it goes from two sides standing off to people running for their lives. Active shooter.

Six months earlier. In the wake of the pandemic a group of nine join a support group for those who have experienced loss, led by two post-doc students. The group spans the socio-economic and political spectrum, but one lone wolf, a conspiratorial theorist who goes only by Florida Man becomes the unlikely focal point of the experience, transforming him from paranoid to enlightened as he learns his connection to the group and his higher purpose.

With each passing meeting, Florida man becomes suspicious of Eddie and Tiffany, the group facilitators, and an ominous Janitor who is always hanging around. His suspicious further trigger the re-emergence of erased memories of past alien abductions until realizing that these “church basement meetings” are in fact aboard an alien vessel, and the group are victims of an alien abduction. On the verge of a nervous breakdown, Florida Man discovers the ultimate truth… he is alone. The other members of this group are reflections of himself and people that he must inspire at the political protest in order to stop a deadly act of domestic terrorism from unfolding.

Returning to earth on the day of the event, Florida Man concocts a plan to bring the group together, and avoid unnecessary bloodshed. While the life of Jenny, a member of the group, is saved this time around, the violence erupts in a different way leaving Florida Man and the observing aliens wondering if the fate of humanity is inevitable.

SEASON 2: IT JUST GOT REAL.

Is mankind in control of its fate or is the future already written, and who is written by?

In the aftermath of a deadly shooting at a political protest, Florida Man sets out to find each member of the group and bring them together in the real world, which proves to be far easier for some than others. The experience from season one gives Florida Man an understanding of their personalities and how they will respond to one another, helping them see past their differences.

With the continued help of Eddie, Tiffany and the Janitor, Florida Man is able to inspire a group with seemingly nothing in common to follow him on his mission of uniting the world and saving mankind from extinction. As the group shifts from strangers to allies, however, their past constituents question their motives and they begin to lose the support of the organizations they were formerly a part of. Letting go of their past to join Florida Man’s revolution, the group is contacted by a shadow organization that Florida Man believed was just a myth with a cryptic message threatening their lives if they don’t disband immediately.

SEASON 3: THE REVOLUTION WILL NOT BE TELEVISED.

Will the group and their mission survive in the face of a threat by a force that knows no limits?

Realizing that their own power was an illusion, Trish and Poe, opposing leaders of right and left wing interest groups, relinquish their affiliation, effectively cutting themselves free of the puppet strings that were influencing their motives and actions. While freeing on the surface, this puts the group on the radar of the shadow organization that continues to halt the progress of their revolution.

Pushing forward, the group puts together a plan to trap a member of the shadow organization and turn them into a double agent, gaining insight into their operation. The plan works to a degree in that they gain powerful knowledge regarding the inner workings of the organization, but the shadowy foes have a nearly limitless reach, quickly realizing what happened, and eliminating their exposed vulnerability. Pushing the group into a corner at the brink of termination, the alien cohort decides to break their code of silence and step in, making a conscious choice to choose a side, saving the group.

SEASON 4: WE’VE BEEN WATCHING.

As the aliens reveal themselves, will they unite mankind to see them as an enemy or an ally?

As Eddie and Tiffany’s work with the Janitor foretold, humanity is continuing to spiral out of control. Violence, intolerance, and uprisings are flooding the news—and the media is loving it, further exacerbating the problem. The group begins to question if their fate is already sealed. Additionally, the exposure of the aliens has gone viral and now the world is reacting, further dividing the population. Reactions that the aliens are here to take over begin to dominate the human psyche.

Forced underground, the group struggles to find a new direction before all hope is lost. The Janitor makes a bold move and offers a gift to the human race as a gesture of good faith and promote their mission. This swings momentum temporarily in their direction until the full force of the shadow organization, which controls the world powers flexes it full strength, going against the grain of the wishes of the majority of earth’s population. The bravery of the alien group inspires other alien species also studying earth to emerge and join their cause.

SEASON 5: WE’RE ALL CONNECTED.

Can mankind’s fate be saved?

As additional alien species emerge, the group questions why earth is so important and even worth saving. The Janitor explains that everything is connected, not just on earth, but through the entire universe. What happens here affects the balance of everything, and the extinction of life on a planet has a dramatic impact in ways beyond our current ability to understand. The group becomes consumed by big existential questions. Can humanity really change? Can humanity co-exist with an alien presence? Can mankind undo thousands of years of conditioning?

The shadow organization has now fully emerged and visibly taken control of many world powers. This tyranny and the support of the alien species, allows Florida Man to lead the revolution to topple and take back civilization, ultimately bringing mankind into the next epoch of our existence, an interplanetary union and a new age of awareness.

[Suzanne Frank]

Suzanne’s Five Seasons

What I learned is everything is developing so fast that my homework is behind almost as soon as I type it! I have a NOLA storyline, then all the characters. It goes together but not (yet) succinctly.

NO TITLE YET:

Season 1: Bienville’s Dilemma

A. NOLA must choose how to be physically saved. B. Forces have taken Gulf of Mexico hostage C. Powerful humans (FOA) are fighting for their continued plush existence D. Who or what is in the GOM and how is it that the was FOA prepared? E. (Night of the Cut) NOLA is an island, now what? (Sireni reveal: WHO is in the GOM)

Season 2: Last Call

A. NOLA in shambles, beginning detox from oil and corp. Intro to hostage-takers’ “Aisland” and characters. B. FOA modifying plan/will take over island/martial law C. Mayor murdered (saved). D. What will happen to hostage sympathizers? E. EMF attack by military, now what? (Celestini reveal; WHAT they want)

Season 3: You Should See Me in a Crown

A. Assembling the 12 on the Aisland. B. NOLA moving toward independence C. FBI handler escapes to Aisland. D. Why does FOA want to destroy GOM now? Looking Glass mythtech revealed. E. Volcano in GOM, now what? NOLA free. (Daeveni reveal: HOW they will win)

Season 4: Once Upon a Time

A. FOA believe they are fighting a final battle for supremacy over earth. B. The truth about FOA and Elementals and history. C. FOA foments humans vs. Elementals war. D. What are Elementals? Where did they come from? E. Hundreds of thousands worldwide want to join Aisland (WHY FOA “must destroy” Elementals)

Season 5: Double-Blind

A. NOLA reborn as gateway to Aisland and GOM, where life is flourishing. B. Old world control versus new world cooperation. C. Full-scale war on Elementals (they win). D. The Elementals ultimate plan (flashback to before the start) and evolutionary heritage; Aislanders disperse worldwide to teach new ways to live. E. Next Gulf? (SO WHAT? New world example for all)

[Dave Arena]

Season 1: Can’t Put the Genie Back in the Bottle

An in-the-closet swinger for over 14 years, Liz is forced to out herself in order to save her best friend Michelle’s marriage. With this secret finally off her chest, Liz, with help from Michelle, use their hair salon as a front for sex and relationship advice. Through this, Liz guides people into the swinger world and shows them what works and what blows up in people’s faces. Liz hides this from her husband Eric who has no idea they’ve been exposed let alone that she is teaching the community about the lifestyle. He eventually finds out and is not happy as he wants no part of their sex life public, but Liz feels like for the first time in her life she is living authentically and has found her purpose.

Season 2: Family Matters

Liz attempts to reconcile with Eric but it’s proving more difficult than she thought since this is the only time she’s ever deceived him, which is a trigger that brings him back to trust issues from middle school. When someone who Liz was helping inadvertently tells Liz’s sister Teresa about her being a swinger, she’s delighted to tell her parents so once again she looks like the golden child, which spirals everything out of control. Now, Liz has to deal with all the emotions and wounds that she suppressed from childhood not to mention the catholic guilt from her mother, while Eric is incensed at the family finding out. She finds solace in the relationship with her father, who understands what Liz is going through since he has also struggled with living his truth as a still married and closeted trans, but when he suddenly dies, Liz refuses to live her life as he did.

Season 3: Fuck It!

Liz is still reeling from her father’s death and refuses to live as he did. Eric understands where she is coming from, and although he is still not comfortable with the entire situation, he supports her and they are stronger than ever. Now, that her biggest ally in the family is gone, the rift between Liz, her mother, and her sister is wider than ever. Teresa, doing anything she can to help her husband win the mayoral election, uses her position as a local news anchor to organize and then report on a protest in front of the club Liz and Eric frequent so her husband can make the cleanup of the seedy swinger underworld part of his platform. When Liz gets triggered by someone Teresa is interviewing, she exposes her and Eric as swingers on the local news to the entire community. Now, Liz and Eric have to deal with this really being out there and all the opposing religious and moral BS from the vanilla world, which eventually causes Eric to lose his job and people from the community to stop visiting Liz’s hair salon because there is too much heat on them.

Season 4: The Sexperts

Now that they are fully exposed and in financial trouble, Liz and Eric go all-in on making this a full-time business for both of them. Even though Eric’s worst fear was having his sexual lifestyle public, he has always wanted to start his own business and get out of the corporate rat race so this is oddly a blessing in disguise. Now that they’ve formed a power couple, Liz and Eric navigate the ups and downs of starting a business from scratch. Using social media, they explode in popularity, and just when they’ve built it up to a point where they can embark on a national speaking tour, Liz’s mother gets sick, she moves in with them, and they have to cancel the tour. In her final days, Liz and her mother try to reconcile and find common ground. The season ends with the death of Liz’s mother.

Season 5: The Celebrity Sexperts

After finding peace with her mother’s death, Liz is no longer going to let anyone or anything stop her on the way to the top. Liz and Eric get back into the swing of things and go on the national tour that was postponed. They have now reached celebrity status and are reaping the benefits of that, but, it also comes with a lot more responsibility and also bullshit from opposers now that they are in the national spotlight. Liz’s sister Teresa is infuriated at the picture-perfect life Liz has built and tries to sabotage her at any chance as her own life and marriage come crumbling down. With Teresa at rock bottom and facing her biggest fear of being exposed as a less than perfect fraud, Liz helps her to let all of that go, live authentically, and realize she’s good enough as is.

[Sharilyn Kyle]

Sharilyn’s Five Seasons

What I learned from this assignment is…seasons break down in digestible parts when you have an idea of where the protagonist is going.

Season 1: Snack Attack

Porn can be profitable even when you don’t know you’re making big bucks as the star of the show. Such is the case with Erin whose phone camera has been hacked. Her 600lb. bedridden life as an English tutor to migrant children is safe. But when she discovers that her fat feeds a market of chubby chasers who pay-to-view her eat, sleep and creep she wonders if she can perform for them too? After all, she’s just walking again with the help of her bestys who have been a part of her life since kindergarten.

They’ve been through every diet and encourage her foray into food-fuckdom as it enables them to pursue their own dreams. Erin is not sure about her status as a freaky food queen, but she can’t continue to hole up in her house, dependent on her caretaker, and adopted parents. She’s been around…her bedpost, so she’s not naïve. There’s a life out there to live and she’s ready for it; even if it means exposing all of her struggles with family, friends, food and especially her fat.

Season 2: Munchies

Erin claims her titled as her “freaky fatness.” She’s achieved a certain status among pornists who welcome her brand of food fucking. The only problem is she doesn’t need her bestys like she used to. She’s got a fan club, money in the bank, and even a secret admirer. She’s plagued by her past though, having lost a child due to her weight.

After a wild night she lets loose and seals the deal with somebody who fathers another baby. She didn’t think she could get pregnant? Now she needs her family and friends for moral support. But they are not so willing to re-enter her food fortress. Plus she doesn’t even know who her baby-daddy is! Erin is unrecognizable to them; she’s still the same deep down inside; trying to fill a heart void with food.

Season 3: Acid Reflux

Erin’s a mommy now. She’s more motivated than ever to lose weight but the damn pornist won’t let her go. The money is still good but does she wanna expose her baby to this world? She wants for her kid what she didn’t grow up with: knowing who she is and being confident in that. She has a good idea about who her baby-daddy is; but without his cooperation, she can’t even begin to stabilize her life.

Her adopted parents and caretaker become her rocks as she uses her porn fame to connect with her biological parents. They show up and show out. Yet she can’t trust that they are truly her parents. Everyone around her seems to doubt, but even they have hidden agendas. After all, if Erin settles in the motherhood, they’re cut out of the porn profits. Everyone has a reason to keep her fat.

Season 4: Hangry

That’s it! Erin knows why she’s fat and it’s not food. Her friends, adopted family, even the porn world has found a way to take from her while feeding her. It worked for a while, until it didn’t. The void that she’s been trying to fill with the searching for her biological parents and porn fame are not enough to sustain her kid. She vows to get weightloss surgery.

As a “thin” chick she believes life will be better. She can get a real job. Make honest money. Buy a house of her own. But she’s lonely as a single mom. She misses the porn people. When her hacker proposes a partnership, she considers it. She can be a big, boss bitch. But she’ll need her friends again even though they betrayed her. She’s willing to try

Season 5: Take-Out

Erin is fat again. She ate through the surgery. Her kid is so active she can’t keep up. The pressures of being a businesswoman over whelm her. She misses the neighborhood kids. They would be good playmates for her own child. Surprisingly, Her baby daddy comes back into her life. The two share a kid and cravings. But can they be a family?

The porn partnership was a scam. Erin can’t return to the life since her reputation has been ruined. She must balance her emotions with her eating so that she doesn’t get out of control. Her friends have propose another eating endeavor. But she wants to enjoy food like she did while performing. She loses her house and has to move back in with her folks. What she wants most is to accept herself. She realizes that when she can do this, she can do anything.