Lucky. a visual novel-in-progress by shannon gill (Please view in “Present” mode for full impact!) table of contents introduction, aka, “what is this?” year 9 prologue year 10 year 1 year 11 year 2 year 12 year 3 year 13 year 4 year 14 year 5 year 15 year 6 year 16 year 7 year 17 year 8 epilogue introduction Lucky. is a visual novel about the life of a young family through the eyes of their cat from kittenhood to death. Lucky. explores themes of love, loss, childhood, adulthood, and family in the typical “mundane” American household. This story is for anyone who has ever been blessed to know the kind of unconditional, unwavering, and magical love only an animal can provide. > You lost me at “visual novel”. what is a visual novel? Visual novels (VN) are a video game genre that emerged in Japan in the 1980s. They allow you to experience a story’s words with accompanying visuals. They may also include music, voice acting, and film. Gameplay is generally limited to point-and-click progression. Some have fully linear storylines, others allow you to make choices in the “choose your own adventure” style that result in different storylines and endings. Lucky. is an example of the former. Hideo Kojima’s Snatcher (1988). An early example of a visual novel with adventure gameplay elements. what is a visual novel? Though they were once an obscure genre within the niche hobby of video gaming, VNs now enjoy heightened popularity in the West with widespread interest in Japanese gaming and animation. With the availability of freeware like Ren’py, it’s easier than ever for anyone to write and program their own visual novel in any language. Though the Pokémon series (1996-present) has a system of gameplay too complicated to qualify it as a true VN, each game has VN elements. TYPE-MOON’s Fate/stay night (2004) is one of the world’s most popular visual novels, having spawned multiple manga, anime series, video games, and other spin-offs. (Google this one at your own risk.) Date Nighto’s We Know The Devil (2015) is a critically acclaimed original English language work. so what’s in the deck? Lucky. is currently a work-in-progress. What you will find here is a rough draft of the script, along with (very) rough sketches. My plan through the end of the school year is to partner with an illustrator for the visuals, add music and sound effects, and program it into Ren’py so it can become a game you can actually download and play. I’m also considering getting it fully voiced. For my book, there will be a short trailer for the game, and a full playthrough available on YouTube for those who do not want to download it. > Cool, what can I do? how can i help? I know this as long as heck (though is much less of a task than the number of slides here would imply), so if you decide to tackle any of it, let alone all of it, it’s highly appreciated. Any and all criticism of the writing is welcome. You won’t hurt my feelings. (I know the drawings are ugly though so plz be nice about that.) Does the story interest you? Does it move you? Make you laugh? Do the characters feel relatable? Do I lose you anywhere? Are voices consistent? Thank you for your feedback. > Let’s get started. Lucky. prologue FAMILIAR VOICE: He’s been here awhile. Not sure why. Kittens usually get snapped up within a couple of days. prologue OTHER VOICE: How long is “awhile”? prologue My ears twitch at the sounds of voices on the other side of the glass. I’ve yet to finish my afternoon nap but that’s never stopped anyone. Not the kennel moms tossing me a new toy, and definitely not the loud, small humans tapping on my window calling “kitty kitty, pretty kitty!” I can feel their gazes on me, but I refuse to open my eyes. It’s too easy to get your hopes up for every stranger who stops by your cage and fawns. Too easy and too painful when you wait and wait and wait and wait only to realize you’re spending yet another night in the kennel sleeping next to a grumpy old queen who won’t share her scratcher. prologue FAMILIAR VOICE: A few weeks. It’s a shame, ‘cos he’s so sweet! Aren’t you, Lucky? prologue OTHER VOICE: Did you name him ‘Lucky’, or…? I cover my eyes with one of my paws. I hate this story. prologue FAMILIAR VOICE: Me? No, no. Angie came up with that. Our manager over at the big shelter downtown. She found him half-drowned in a storm drain over in the Weston Hills neighborhood. We think he probably got away from his mama in that big rain we had a few weeks ago. There’s a colony of strays nearby we’ve been trying to get under control with our TNR program. What’s luck got to do with any of that? prologue OTHER VOICE: And that’s lucky? Thank you, stranger! Someone finally said it. prologue FAMILIAR VOICE: He’s lucky someone found him and took him in, ain’t he? prologue OTHER VOICE: But not lucky enough yet to find a home. prologue FAMILIAR VOICE: Well, maybe you could make today his luckyyyyyy day, eh? We reduced his adoption fee to only fifty dollars. That includes his vaccines: rabies, feline distemper, feline herpes, aaaand… calcivirus, I think, is the last one. Calcuvirus? Calicivirus. I can get you the full list if you want it, but it’s all the standard stuff your vet’d do in his first year. prologue OTHER VOICE: Oh, I don’t know, I— prologue FAMILIAR VOICE: Hey Lucky boy, you wanna wake up and say hi to the nice lady? prologue I do and I don’t. At this point, my nap has been ruined - at least until I’m sleepy again in 20 minutes, as is the feline’s wont. I dare to crack open my eyes. prologue prologue The fluorescent lights of the store are always way too bright, but the new face looming in front of the glass of my enclosure casts a shadow over my bed, sparing me the post-sleep blinding. I stretch my spindly arms out in front of me and yawn, filling my enclosure with the delightful scents of salmon breath. The person watching me smiles gently as I lazily rise into a sitting position. I don’t make eye contact with her; that would be desperate. But I do watch her out of the corners of my eyes as I bring my mouth to my paw, tongue flickering across my soft pink toes. prologue FAMILIAR VOICE: Awww, he woke up for you! Good boy! The familiar voice belongs to one of the kennel moms who comes by the store to feed me and clean my bathroom. She’s one of a few. One of the noisiest. But she has some of the best scritches, so I can’t complain about the interrupted sleep. prologue STRANGER: Hey, Lucky. You’re such a cutie. I can’t believe no one’s taken you home yet. prologue As far as I’m concerned, this is home. It’s a bit cramped, but it’s better than the storm drain. I blink at her, in the barest acknowledgment of her presence, before looking around my enclosure to see if anything’s changed since my last snooze. Nope. Nothing. Same old bleak walls, worn bedding, and almost-stale kibble. prologue KENNEL MOM: Want to hold him? prologue STRANGER: If I hold him, I won’t be able to go home without him. prologue KENNEL MOM: Dang, you figured me out! Seriously, though, no pressure. Even if you don’t adopt today, it’ll help socialize him. The more humans he meets, the better. Gets him ready for his future family. prologue The kennel mom gestures and leads the stranger away. Their voices fade as they round the corner of the kennels. As I expected, Kennel Mom is going to let her into the shelter space. They close the door behind them and I slowly turn to face the ice-cold metal bars on the other side of my enclosure. prologue prologue I never wanted to see the world through a cage. prologue KENNEL MOM: Hey Lucky boy. It’s cuddle time. I squirm as Kennel Mom reaches in and cups my body in her hands, passing me off to the stranger. prologue prologue The stranger’s hands are small and soft. They smell strongly of something grassy, like a lawn after the rain. Unlike the hands of the kennel moms, they’re free of the brutal claw-scars left by shelter residents, past and present. My wet nostrils flare as I assess the notes of her natural musk beneath the grassy aroma. Like most humans, it’s odd - but the kind of odd you could get used to, the kind you might someday crave. prologue STRANGER: Oof! He’s a slippery one! prologue KENNEL MOM: Luckyyyyyy. Quit wiggling, ya goofball. I would quit wiggling if she’d hold me right. She brings me to her chest and I throw my paws at her neck, clinging to her shoulders for dear life. My nose is pressed to her throat and I can feel her pulse. Her heart beats faster as I make myself comfortable against her warm body.