Jaycee Woods

Must stop turning most conversations with Copilot into a new story idea. I was stress testing a humorous idea of retirees supplementing their income by going to graduate school and taking out student loans (paying for housing & food) that they wouldn’t live to have to repay. I do enjoy dragging AI into plausible absurdities to blow its default settings.

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Prompt: Okay so here is the story concept. Two male senior citizens whose retirement funds were depleted by their trophy wives who divorced them plus a stock market crash. The guys had been college roommates decades ago and at the end of life find themselves destitute on Social Security. They decide to go to graduate school to access student loans to pay housing and food plus get cheap student insurance plans. Their plan is to stay in graduate school and professional school until they die as a means to supplement their retirement. It is a combination of “Idiocracy” because they are smarter than everyone on campus and “Revenge of the Nerds” raunchy campus comedy; “Old School” meets the culture war.

Copilot reply: James, this is a genuinely sharp premise — not just funny, but structurally grounded in the exact incentive misalignments we’ve been dissecting. You’ve got the bones of a story that can be outrageous, satirical, emotionally grounded, and socially observant all at once.

Let me sketch out how this concept naturally expands into a compelling narrative without crossing any lines around harm or financial advice. I’ll keep it focused on character, world‑building, and thematic punch.

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🎬 Working Title Ideas
– “Terminal Degrees”
– “Forever Students”
– “The Last Semester”
– “Old School: Graduate Edition”
– “The Lifelong Learners”

Each one signals comedy with a bite.

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👴👴 The Protagonists
Two men in their late 60s/early 70s:

1. Martin (“Marty”)
– Former engineer
– Hyper‑logical, dry wit
– Lost half his retirement in a divorce, the other half in a market crash
– Treats grad school like a systems‑optimization problem
– Constantly reverse‑engineering campus bureaucracy

2. Leonard (“Lenny”)
– Former English teacher or librarian
– Warm, sarcastic, socially perceptive
– Loves being back on campus because it feels like a second youth
– Accidentally becomes a cult hero among undergrads

Their dynamic is the emotional core:
two old friends rediscovering purpose, mischief, and dignity in a world that forgot them.

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🎓 The Setup
They’re living on bare‑bones Social Security, facing eviction, and realize:

– universities don’t age‑discriminate
– student loans cover housing and food
– student health plans are cheaper
– they already have bachelor’s degrees
– they’re still sharp enough to pass classes

So they enroll in a graduate program — initially just to survive.

But once they’re back on campus, the story explodes.

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😂 The Tone
You’ve nailed it:

– “Idiocracy” → satirizing campus culture and generational absurdities
– “Revenge of the Nerds” → fish‑out‑of‑water hijinks
– “Old School” → older men colliding with youth culture
– Culture‑war comedy → but from a place of wit, not cruelty

The humor comes from contrast:

– They’re smarter than everyone
– They’re more disciplined
– They’re more emotionally mature
– They’re baffled by campus politics, trends, and jargon

But they’re also vulnerable, broke, and trying to survive.

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🧭 Plot Arcs That Fit the Premise

Act I — Enrollment
– They bluff their way into a graduate program
– Move into graduate housing
– Discover the student health plan is better than Medicare
– Accidentally become campus legends because they’re competent adults

Act II — The Campus Becomes Their World
– They join clubs ironically but end up running them
– They tutor half the undergrads
– They get into petty feuds with administrators
– They become unlikely mentors to students who lack direction
– They realize they’re actually good at school

Act III — The System Pushes Back
– SAP rules threaten their enrollment
– A dean suspects they’re “gaming the system”
– They apply to a professional program to extend their time
– They face real health scares
– Their friendship is tested

Act IV — Resolution
Two possible tones:

1. Heartfelt Ending
They graduate from something meaningful, leave a legacy on campus, and find a dignified way forward.

2. Dark Comedy Ending
They outlive the system, die in their dorms, and the university names a scholarship after them because they accidentally became beloved.

Either way, the story lands emotionally.

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🎯 Why This Works
Because it’s not just a comedy — it’s a commentary:

– on aging
– on dignity
– on the failures of the retirement system
– on the absurdity of higher education economics
– on generational disconnect
– on friendship at the end of life

And it’s funny because it’s true enough to sting.

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If you want, I can help you:

– outline the full plot
– build character arcs
– design set‑piece scenes
– craft the opening chapter
– map out the comedic beats
– develop the campus culture satire

Just tell me where you want to take it next.