Sora and Aziza: Pilot (currently unfinished)

A musical fantasy dramedy, set in a world influenced by various Hispanic cultures and populated by mages, mundanes, chimeras, dragons, and more. A small-town trans woman named Sora is o

SORA AND AZIZA

EXT. A WORLD MAP - DAY

Our first image of the show: the entire world. A beautiful old map of Gaia, the magical world we will explore. Along with many islands and archipelagos, it has 4 continents. DISIA in the west, VORRASIA in the north-middle of the map, NOTOSIA in the south-middle, and ANATOLICA in the east. A dignified VOICE begins to narrate. This is the voice of DARA GARRASTAZU.

DARA (V.O.) In the Middle Ages, our world was at peace.

ZOOM IN on a small island close to a coast, near the middle of the map. Some animated people hold hands as an ancient city rises from the ground on the island.

DARA Communities flourished, grand cities rose, ...

The smiling people raise wands, staffs, and spellswords to the sky. ZOOM OUT. More cities pop up around the world. Airships start to fly from place to place. People pet and ride various breeds of dragons.

DARA ... and mages and chimeras around the globe made all sorts of innovations and discoveries that improved people's lives. In my opinion, Gaia was in its prime. Until 1432.

ZOOM IN on a Northwestern part of Vorrasia. It turns a dark shade of orange.

DARA That's when the white people from the nation of Pielperla decided to take aaaall that wonderful innovation and just F**K EVERYTHING UP!

Orangey-brown airships fly from Pielperla to everywhere else in the world like a swarm of wasps. They kidnap people, burn cities, make babies and adults cry, kill chimeras and people of color, and spread the orange-marked territory of Pielperla across all 4 continents and every island.

The orange-covered land draws imaginary black lines on itself and turns snow white. 4 continents and myriad islands are now only 12 regions, each marked with a zodiac symbol.

DARA Things fell apart. And centuries later...

ZOOM IN ON GEMINI AND...

FADE TO WHITE

EXT. LA GRAN PLAZA, SANTA REBECA, GEMINI - DAY

Though the fade, a man's powerful voice rings out. And not just any man. A CHANCELLOR.

CHANCELLOR (V.O.) All in all, I promise to fortify our people.

FINISH THE FADE INTO...

An immense plaza, surrounded by a white-columned peristyle. Hundreds of thousands of white people standing up in perfect rectangular formations. All looking in the same direction.

CROWD Fortify our people.

DARA (V.O.) Things got a whole lot worse.

CHANCELLOR (O.S.) Fortify our regions.

Their excitement is piqued. Skinheads, techbros, and Spaniard equivalents of rednecks begin to shout.

CROWD Fortify our regions!

SKINHEAD Build the megaprison!

They look up to a high stage. Upon it stands an imposing white man, the source of the V.O., behind a fancy lectern. He is backlit and therefore shrouded in shadow. Behind him are 3 Geminian flags.

CHANCELLOR Fortify Gaia. Trust in me, and Gemini will never be threatened again!

The crowd all raise both of their arms, pointing their palms to the sky.

CROWD All hail Cortéz!!!

DARA (V.O.) To be honest, I've lost all hope for Gaia. But maybe you haven't. Maybe you believe in heroes, perhaps a couple of them who can rub some "Vivaporu" upon this sick, sick world.

TILT TO A WHITE CLOUDY SKY.

TITLE UP: "SORA AND AZIZA"

DARA And hey, if you do, then grab a snack, get comfy, and please, stay off of social media. I know you hate spoilers.

And after that sweeping, epic narration, we

CUT TO...

EXT. PUEBLO ABBURIDO - DAY

An AERIAL SHOT of the crummiest, grayest, most rednecked small town you've ever seen. A single main street, scattered houses and tenement buildings, it's just a mess. And it certainly doesn't help that the sky's also gray. This place is so terrible that we hear NO BACKGROUND O.S.T. whenever we're here. We FLY TO...

EXT. SORA'S TENEMENT - CONTINUOUS

A beige-and-gray square-shaped 3-story building with a gravel parking lot and bars on its dirty windows. It barely even looks habitable. Almost like an abandoned cell block, but without the razor wire.

INT. SORA'S TENEMENT - MORNING

BUZZ BUZZ BUZZ. We hear the sound of an alarm clock as we explore the dorm-room-sized tenement. Meager sunlight shines through the window's bars and dirt. The floors are covered with a puke green carpety substance, and the walls are prison white and decorated with posters. BUZZ BUZZ BUZZ. The content of these posters includes various video games, tabletop RPGS, stage shows, and ballets. The largest poster to the right of the window depicts one specific dancer: A short, buff, transgender, strawberry-shaped, futch HIJABI with dark skin and a loose-fitting red and pink dance outfit.

BUZZ BUZZ. We see the source of the buzzing: a futuristic watch, projecting a small hologram reading, "Despiertate, Sora!"

SORA       (groans) Ok, ok, I'm up.

Sora, a tall, fat 18-year-old Black Latina trans woman, sits up on her twin bed and stretches her arms as the covers fall off of her. She opens the Infinimail app on her watch with a look of anticipation.

Just then, a brisk wind swirls around her and ruffles her posters.

SORA Control yourself, Sora. Control yourself.

But alas, she has received nothing of interest. She takes a deep breath in an attempt to calm the wind, but it only gets stronger.

She lifts her pillow and takes a tiny, tarnished golden TUMI LOCKET on a chain out from under it. She opens the locket, and it projects a black-and-white holographic picture in front of her.

An indigenous Cancerian (Inca) woman stands tall and proud on a black sand beach. Her right arm is cut off, almost like she's holding something or someone off-picture. She is trans, just like her daughter.

And while it displays the pic, it plays some music box music, the melody "SORA'S LULLABY." Sora shuts her eyes, hums along, and rocks side to side; her wind finally calms down.

INT. SORA'S BATHROOM - MORNING

OPEN ON A CLOSEUP of Sora's mirror. She's putting on eyeliner, making it nice and sharp.

CUT TO

A slightly wider shot. As wide as it can get, considering her bathroom's the size of an average walk-in closet. Sora puts an enormous, anime-esque sky blue bow in her bushy brown hair to contrast the gross, poopy orange of her work shirt. And to complement the bow, her locket with her mom inside. Now her uniform still looks tacky, but at least it seems more Sora-y now. She finds the time to roll her hips around, smile at her mirror, poke her own belly, and twerk a little.

EXT. MAIN STREET, PUEBLO ABURRIDO - DAY

Sora trudges up the rocky, dusty street lined by blocks of gray, dilapidated buildings. The gray sky begins to sprinkle, so she pulls out her umbrella. Her stomach growls. A skinny CAT CHIMERA (half-human-half-animal) CHILD meets Sora at a corner of the street. He is selling bags of potato chips. She gives the boy 10 soles, takes 3 bags and gives 2 of them back to him, along with her umbrella. His noodley tail rises, and he smiles meekly, purrs, and walks away in the other direction.

Sora rips the bag open. Those chips are gone in a flash.

The mockingbirds begin to sing. Sora matches their rhythms with her body, dancing a kind of tuntuna-ballet fusion. A white/pale Latino COP on the other side of the street gives Sora a nasty look. She stops dancing and speed walks to her workplace at the end of the street: MARTMART, the best-looking building in town.

INT. MARTMART - DAY

Establishing shots of the interior of this low-price supermarket. Lightbulbs. Toys. Produce. The store has it all, including some snazzy TVs. All of which are playing the same channel. A handsome ANCHORMAN looks into the camera.

ANCHORMAN Buenos Días, Cancer. This is TeleCancer News, and I'm Daniel Ahmed. Our top story this morning: two months into his term as Chancellor of Gemini, Efraín Cortéz is still under fire for stationing PLGM officers all around the world.

The screen cuts to a group of pistol-toting, spellsword-wielding goons marching through an indigenous Taurian (Amazonian) village as the folk -- humans and chimeras alike -- shrivel in fear. Some goons wear bulletproof white jumpsuits and matching mask-helmets and boots, while others are in orange. Think Iron Man if he became a Stormtrooper.

ANCHORMAN (O.S.) What's his response to this myriad of criticisms, ...       (distressed sigh) ... if he even has one? More details at 11.

INT. MARTMART CUSTOMER SERVICE KIOSK - DAY

Sora talks to a sweet old man

SORA So just keep going straight, and baow! You're in the manga section.

SEñOR PEREZ Thanks, Sora. By the way, I just gotta say thanks again for that incredible closing night last night. You were a joy to work with, and a perfect Lysistrata to boot. Have a good day.

SORA You too, Sr. Perez.

Perez goes about his way. Now alone, Sora checks her email again. Sigh, nothing. Some nervous wind begins to pick up around her, but she shakes her head and shuts it down real quick. A boy with a crimson mohawk clomps up to the counter, startling Sora back into work mode.

BOY Yo, what's up, man--lady--whatever?

Sora sighs and rubs her eyes. Misgendered again.

BOY Merced a la Gloria, are you deaf? I said 'what's up,' now gimme some service, Buffalo Bill.

Sora slaps on her brightest service smile.

SORA Ah, ho-hola caballero, welcome to Martmart, home of the world's lowest prices and happiest staff. How may I be of assistance?

BOY       (Brusque) Ya got guns?

Sora's smile disappears. She widens her eyes and stares at the boy for a few seconds, mouth agape.

SORA Guns? Why, of course we have guns. Just go right from here, and you'll be in the toy section, where there are plenty of weapons to choose from. You could get NYARF guns, water guns, even laser tag. We have it all here at...

BOY NO! I don't want any of that crap.

SORA Ok then, do you want an airsoft gun?

BOY       (Sigh) No, moron. Gun.

SORA Paintball gun?

Boy pounds the counter with his fist. What a f*****g brat.

BOY Nooo, pucha. GUN. Like "Bang-bang, you're dead."

SORA Oh my! Uh, ok sir. I'm really sorry, but company policy strictly forbids...

The boy stomps the floor and screams like Veruca Salt before she got her golden ticket.

BOY I wanna gun! I wanna gun! I wanna gun! I wanna...

Except Veruca Salt didn't crackle with electricity when she threw her tantrums. Sora widens her eyes and links her watch to the intercom. She knows too well what this means.

SORA Uh, security, we have have a Code Cyan situation over here.

Wind suddenly swirls around the boy at 100km/h. The electricity is getting stronger and making him glow. No time to evacuate!

BOY I WANNA GUN!!!

SORA Duck and cover!

KABLAMO! A lightning blast destroys 1/3rd of the store and blows away some customers and employees, including Sora. Luckily for her, she has a cushion of protection in the form of her own windstorm.

She flies and back-skids down the lightbulb aisle head-first and then feels the resulting goose egg. She brushes some broken glass away and forces herself up with quivering arms. She sees that her wind is now strong enough to blow small, hard debris around.

SORA       (gasp) Control yourself, control yourself.

Just then, stocky, hairy man in a suit rushes to the scene like a pissed-off bear.

SEñOR ANDROS Ohh, you've done it now, Koyama.

He storms through Sora's storm to grab her by the collar and jerk her to her feet.

SORA Sr. Andros, I can explain. It was actually that kid over there.

She points to the roofless, rainy center of the wreckage. The boy is unscathed, but he is on his knees and about to vom.

Andros narrows his eyes and bares his teeth.

SEñOR ANDROS       (point to BOY) Then explain that, genius.

SORA I-I know he looks sickly, but that's j-j-just a symptom of...

SEñOR ANDROS Blah, blah, blah. I'm the one who's sick around here. Sick of your BS. You're fired.

SORA Fired?! But there are like literally no other jobs left for me in this town.

SEñOR ANDROS Tough t***y. Now take your damn work shirt off and get out.

EXT. MAIN STREET, PUEBLO ABURRIDO - DAY

Sora sprints out the store's sliding doors in her white undershirt. The pouring rain and humid air freezes around her as she shivers and trudges the length of the street. The small wind storm surrounding her just sweeps the ice up along with the tears she can't hold back.

INT. SORA'S TENEMENT - DAY

Sora shakes icicles out of her hair and throws herself face-first into her bed.

SORA       (bawling) What am I gonna do? I have no way to leave this janky town, I've exhausted every single horrid job here, and I still have so many bills. Where am I going to get money? How am I even going to survive?

We HOLD ON HER crying for a few more seconds. Then we FOCUS ON HER LEFT WRIST. BZZT. She has a notification. From Infinimail! She lifts her soaked, puffy face out of her arms and sees the notification.

SORA       (gasps) Name of Medeis, finally...       (brings herself        down) Probably just spam.

But she checks it anyway.

She's on Infinimail. We have a CLOSE-UP on the hologram. An email from "[email protected]." A.k.a. DARA GARRASTAZU. Sora covers her mouth with her hands. This is it! Exactly what she's been waiting for. Yet opening the message is like Indiana Jones taking a treasure off a pedestal. It could end in utter despair, or victory and riches galore.

Click.

More tears trickle down Sora's face. "Wtf does the message say?" we wonder. It reads: Dear Señorita Koyama, I hope this email finds you in good health. Please forgive me for taking so long to get back to you. I've been going through some severely troubling personal experiences, but the fact is, the show must go on. Thus, I am pleased to inform you that I adored your audition tape, and that you're a spell of a dancer! Thus, you have been called back to do a second audition to be a dancer on Doña Tormenta's cheerleading squad. If you accept this callback, please fire me an email or call [phone] ASAP. And I do mean ASAP, because I wish to hold these auditions the day after tomorrow. No need to prepare any pre-rehearsed choreography; I'll do that for you, or not. Best, Dara Rue Garrastazu Mabillard (please, just call me "Dara.") P.S. I'll cover your lodging and AroTren ticket. No need to worry about breaking the bank. I also sent you 200 soles for a taxi, since you're a tad far from your designated station. P.P.S Your hotel reservation and train ticket will be in separate emails.

SORA Get outta town. Like, I gotta be hallucinating.

The weather in Sora's room calms down. She refreshes the page. The only thing that changes is that Dara has now sent the aforementioned ticket and reservation.

FWIP. Something slips through Sora's mail slot. She rushes to the letter and opens it like a birthday present. Two 100-sol bills, as Dara promised.

SORA Medeis' beard, it's real. I have a chance to be a professional dancer. In Sumaq. On Distrito Peridoto. Where AZIZA BINT OBI lives!

Camera PANS TO HER LARGEST POSTER. We finally have a name for the smol futch hijabi. Sora, really smiling for the first time that day, celebrates with a butt-wiggle-twirl dance around her room. It may ruffle some posters with a gentle indoor breeze, but she didn't care in the slightest.

She throws herself back-first onto the bed with a smile, opens her locket, and looks at her mother again.

SORA       (crying more tears        of joy) I did it, Mami. Your baby really did it.

She dials the phone number, the very code to her future.

DARA (O.S. on the phone) Garrastazu residence. What do you need?

SORA Dara, this is Sora Koyama. I wholeheartedly accept your callback!

EXT. SORA'S TENEMENT - MORNING

To be more specific, so early that the sun has not yet risen. Sora exits her building with a light breeze around her. In her most stylish outfit so far (her signature bow, a matching halter neck leotard, and a short pink skirt with white polka dots), she prances over to the first car we see in this world: a yellow taxi cab with no wheels. Indeed, this is a magitechnical HOVERCAR. It hovers a good 3-4 decimeters over the gravel parking lot. Sora takes a deep breath, calms most of the wind around her, and climbs into the cab. It bounces a bit, spits out a cloud of white exhaust, then floats...

EXT. OUTSIDE PUEBLO ABURRIDO - CONTINUOUS

Yes, outside those town limits and onto an up-to-standard highway. Good riddance, Pueblo Aburrido! Suddenly, we hear some whimsical, happy O.S.T! Yay, this show has one!

INT. THE CAB - MORNING

From the inside, we see rolling hills and lush green jungle whoosh by.

Sora reclines and relaxes with a smile on her face. It's like she's sitting in a hot tub after a long day of work.

EXT. OUTSIDE CAYO SUR - MORNING

At last the sun has risen. The sky is covered in puffy clouds, but the sunrise is visible enough to gild them. The cab is crossing a long bridge. In the middle of this bridge, for some reason, is a line of tall white poles with giant rings on top. Like glorified Quidditch goals.

A sleek white tube-shaped train floats through these hoops, letting us know that they're actually tracks.

The cab passes a kitschy road sign, reading "CAYO SUR: 'la Sumaquita,'" and decorated with palm trees and surfboards.

INT. THE CAB - MOMENTS LATER

En route to the AroTren station, Sora and her driver pass through a cute middle-class neighborhood of houses on stilts, like you'd see in Key West.

Children march to the bus stop with their backpacks and pencil cases, parents wave goodbye, and an old couple jogs by with their pet house dragons.

Sora presses her face against the window and sighs. A forlorn, nostalgic look paints her eyes.

And it gets even stronger when they pass a charred skeleton of a house, plastered with "CONDENADO" signs. With that image, we

FADE TO A

FLASHBACK

EXT. SORA'S CHILDHOOD HOME - DAY

A one-story stilted yellow house stands amongst some fruitful coconut palm trees and blooming hibiscus bushes. A standard red sedan hovers out front, and seagulls crow in the distance.

INT. SORA'S CHILDHOOD HOME - DAY

An assortment of fluorescent cleaning solutions perfumes the combined dining room/kitchen. A handsome long-haired Ainu man in his early 30's scrubs the grout as his adopted Afro-Latina child twirls and jetés in the living room, breaking in her new powder blue leotard. This is HABIKI KOYAMA and YOUNG SORA, respectively.

A soft breeze swirls around her. But unlike present Sora, she lets it happen.

HABIKI Va, now that we've overhauled your wardrobe and found you gymnastics and ballet teachers who aren't cabrónes transfobicos, got any ideas for a new name?

YOUNG SORA       (pliés) Yeah, but I have so many. Kinda leaning towards "Qayara" though, since it means agave, and agave's sweet like me.

She lifts her right leg higher than her head and spins like a top.

Habiki pushes himself up to the counter and takes a white piece of paper off of it.

HABIKI Heh, if you're gonna be named after your personality, then how about "Sora?"

He flourishes the piece of paper in Sora's direction and points to to the four big, glaring red F's on it. He gives her a stern look.

HABIKI Because according to Sr. Cortéz, your head's always in the clouds. Yeah, don't think I forgot about your report card.

Sora groans and falls on her butt.

YOUNG SORA I can't help it. He's always picking on me and punishing me for no reason. Like one time, I was on my watch learning some Pielperlan Sign Language, when all of a sudden, he just caned my hands with his staff and assigned me a 1000-word paper on the negative effects of the Trans Rights Movement.

HABIKI That's not the story I heard. He told me you were making naughty gestures at Miqui.

YOUNG SORA       (glares) I know. And you believed him.

Habiki kneels to Sora's level.

HABIKI Sora, er, mija, I apologize for doing so. But in his defense, you did throw Miqui's pencil box in the trash the day before.

YOUNG SORA       (snaps) Because I can't exactly do that to Cortéz himself, ok? Please believe me, this is not his first offense. I just want to show him up for once.

HABIKI Cariña, when you're faced with a mean teacher like that, the way to show her up is to exceed her low expectations of you, and I mean big time. He wants you quiet? Be silent. He makes you write 1000 words? Write 3000. He wants you to pay attention in class? Hyperfocus. If there's anything that makes white people mad, it's people of color who do stuff better than them. But if that doesn't work and you have to take your anger out on someone, don't do it to those with less power than you. Less drop-kicking, more uppercutting.

YOUNG SORA Habiki, you're right. I admit: my head is always in the clouds, because whenever Cortéz is being mean or boring, I have a daydream about going to the Football Bowl, or maybe a show before a Fizzlestick game, and I'm dancing like a goddess in front of the whole world. And not just that: I'm also dancing with Aziza. Then I see Cortéz's face in the crowd, and I dance even better just to show him that he and his tattletale, teacher's-pet son will never kill my spirit!

Habiki whisks Sora up into a hug.

HABIKI There you go.

SORA Sora's an awesome name, by the way. But there's one problem: it's a Virgoan name, so I might look like a bit of an Orientalist if I take it, no offense.

HABIKI       (Strokes chin) Yeah, that could pose some problems when applying for a name change. How about Soraya?

SORA Soraya… Qayara Koyama. I love that! Soraya Qayara Koyama, but if you want, you can always call me 'Sora' for short.

And from that point we

FLASH FORWARD TO PRESENT

INT. THE CAB - MORNING

We stop in front of COLEGIO INTERREGIONAL DE CANCER: CAYO SUR. A plain-looking private school that we see through the gate's bars.

Sora's nostalgia face melts into one of pure regret.

CUT BACK TO the school. We have a SLOW ZOOM IN followed by

SPLIT SECOND FLASHBACK

To an image of young Sora striking a blonde-haired boy with lightning.

Back to Sora's face. She hyperventilates as wind picks up inside the car.

CAB DRIVER (O.S.)       (Echoey effect) Chica? Chica? Chica.

Sora snaps her face away from the window.

CAB DRIVER We're here.

EXT. AROTREN STATION, CAYO SUR - MORNING

A broad, modern white and blue building stands across from the school. It towers over the rest of the buildings here, but that's not saying much

Sora opens the cab door while handing the driver her fare.

SORA Keep the change. And sorry about all the wind. Won't happen again.

She shuts the door and touches her locket. She faces the station, the portal to a better life. Deep breath.

SORA Control yourself, Sora. Control yourself.

INT. AROTREN STATION PLATFORM, CAYO SUR - MORNING

Sora traipses up the escalator onto the semi-busy platform. At this point, she's given up trying to entirely stop the wind.

ANNOUNCER Atención: eso es la última llamada para subir al tren. Va a salir en cinco minutos. Gracias.

She makes it to coach 8's door. She brings up her e-ticket on her watch, and the steward scans it with a beep.

STEWARD Enjoy your trip.

SORA You too.       (realizes what she        said) I-I mean, thank you and have a good day.

EXT. THE TRAIN - MOMENTS LATER

A RISING AERIAL SHOT as the long tube-shaped train floats out of the station, back where Sora came from. At least, for now.

EXT. FARMLAND - MORNING

The train whooshes over bright green fields of coffee and corn, with a small village in the background.

EXT. IZMA, CANCER - DAY

The sky is brighter now as the train speeds through a range of rocky rainbow-striped mountains and toward a pyramid-shaped city built upon one of them.

INT. THE TRAIN - DAY

Sora sips a cup of coffee as she stares in awe at the scenery around her. A flock of giant tunki birds fly by.

She turns to the glowing touch screen in front of her. Time for an on-board show. She touches an icon with Aziza's face on it. The screen shows a still shot of a stage where the ballet "Bahía de los Flamingos" (basically Swan Lake) plays.

Aziza plays the white flamingo, among the pink ones.

Sora admires her idol while sipping more coffee. Pretty soon, she'll be in the same city as Aziza, and she knows that 500%

EXT. SNOWY MOUNTAINS - DAY

A short shot of the train exiting a tunnel, zooming through a mountain blizzard, and entering another one.

EXT. SUMAQ SEA - CONTINUOUS

With a bit of movie magic, the train flies from the mountains to over an expansive, shining body of water. A sea serpent Free-Willy-jumps over the tracks.

FADE OUT.