developing story/outline

I was watching a video essay on Pinocchio and God (idk) and I was struck with the idea of a Jiminy Cricket type character guiding the protagonist to the story's message. That, somehow, led me to conceptualizing an organization called the Life & Go Department Clinic (working name) that steals the hearts of people who do nothing but rot in their rooms and replaces it with a ticking timebomb that explodes unless they kickstart their life and do a list of things. Idk. BUT ITS WEIRD AND KINDA COOL MAYBE AND THATS WHAT I WAS GOING FOR!! I do think it's a cool idea, it will probably serve as the basis for my plot. The department will consist of two people named Cricket and Jim, a very obvious nod to Jiminy Cricket hehehahah. ha. Jim is gonna call the protagonist old sport, cuz they do that in the Great Gatsby and I think its cute bite me maybe he's a book guy bite me. He talks like he came straight out of the roaring 20's too. Also had the random idea of the protagonist wearing an eyepatch cuz his eye rolled out of his head out of boredom. Idk it's weird and cool maybe. Thinking of not giving the protagonist a name because I want him to be a character you really see yourself in, almost imprint onto. Still not sure if I will but hey something to mention. Also maybe going to have a narration throughout for the protagonist's thoughts. It's important to really get into the character's mind and mental processes, although I'm not necessarily the biggest fan of the idea, it might be necessary. It is done in the productions I am inspired by, The Tatami Galaxy, Mind Game, I'm Thinking of Ending Things, etc.

(Here's some crappy little doodles of the characters)

Ok "basic" outline is this: 

ACT I: Protag. spends everyday rotting in his room: eating junk food, playing games, mindless scrolling on his phone, etc. etc. Throughout this act I want to establish his desire to do something with his life. It's not like he wants to live life rotting in his room, he feels he is incapable of doing anything else. To him, living life is something that hibernates in the forefront of his mind forever. I'm still unsure on what his wants are, frankly, they don't even have to be wants, they could be simple things to do. In life we have goals, but we also have little things to do, like calling your grandma. Protagonist goes to bed like normally. MAYBE cut to Cricket and Jim breaking into the protagonist's house, carving into his chest and ripping his heart out. Protagonist wakes up with a sharp pain in his chest, his heartbeat replaced by a ticking, and two people in suits looming over him in his bed. The protagonist is startled, thinks about attacking, but doesn't. Cricket and Jim introduce themselves and explain the situation, the protagonist has until midnight to accomplish a list of tasks (still don't know what those tasks are yet) or else he dies. They exchange more dialogue, banter, whatever. Cricket and Jim leave the protagonist to do everything he needs to; instead, the protagonist overthinks and goes through every scenario in his head, maybe he plans the perfect way to do it, etc. Eventually, he ends up laying up in his bed, he has given up. Probably convinced himself of some false truth to assure that what he's doing is okay. He dies.

ACT II: Protag comes to in the afterlife. Afterlife might be a void or it could be a diner or bar of sorts, still figuring it out. Jim and Cricket sit across from him. Jim explains how the protagonist has fails, which under the threat of death, doesn't happen often. What basically happens in this scene is Jim monologues and gives a speech which is the message of the film. Jim recounts an encounter with a weird orange mass that looked like a wolf that put the fear of death into him, and since then he has been trying to live his life as much as he can, with its imperfectness and all. Eventually, the monologue ends, the protagonist understands where he went wrong and pleads to get another chance. Hesitant, Jim and Cricket agree because they like him. The protagonist comes to in the real world.

ACT III: (Still iffy on how I'm doing act 3, or if there even will be one) He looks around his excruciatingly too familiar room, no more ticking where his heart is supposed to be but no heartbeat either. He looks out his doorway to see his still beating heart lying on the floor. Uh oh. UH OH. In a final crawl to live. The final crawl to finally have the life he dreamt of with the drive to live that once seemed a brief fantasy, the protagonist uses all of the strength left in him to pull himself towards the opportunity for a life that he had ripped out of himself years before any suited men appeared in his room (I feel like I'm writing a book or something). During the crawl I really want the protagonist to do all the things that he couldn't before, again, still not 100 on what those are. But for instance, during the crawl he calls his grandma, uses a fishing rod to fish the heart (he always wanted to try fishing), finally talks to a girl he likes (she would later reject him), signs up for a gym membership, gets a driver's license, etc. etc. I know this may seem insane and a lot.. but it would all be done in quick succession in a montage and it'd be cool I promise. Finally he reaches his heart and sits up, a smile on his face, declaring victory. Again, it's fairly underdeveloped still but this is the general idea for act 3. Cut to black then credits.

Gonna write the script tomorrow, it'll be developed better in there I promise.