mellosunshine

[mellosunshine]

MONONOKE STORY IDEA | PT.1 (Might write a fic for it haha)

OKAY, SO.

The plot mainly centers around a daimyo (大名) family— or family of a feudal lord. It goes into lots of family dynamics and unresolved conflict. I’ll be splitting up sections (Mononoke, characters, etc) with bolded text. Pay in mind that this will be a long post!!

If you have any advice PLEASE comment!

(Also so sorry if there’s any grammatical errors or just bad sentence structure— I’m just rambling.)

1) PLOT

The plot is mainly following the two siblings of the feudal lord’s family.

The eldest sibling (will refer as ES) has a bad illness that has him stuck at home and bedridden half the time. ES is mature and smart, and is basically the prime example of a good heir. However, the youngest sibling (will refer as YS) is the next in line to take their father’s role as a feudal lord. This is mainly because the family believes that ES won’t be physically capable of handling the role. YS is childish, doesn’t study, and isn’t really capable of seeing the larger picture. This ‘incompetence’ leads to a lot of tension between the two siblings. ES feels frustrated since he believes that YS isn’t worthy of being the heir, and YS just wants to get along with his sibling. This, alongside with more family tensions relating to the situation, create a mononoke.

The actual plot would probably start with Kusuriuri visiting the estate after noticing activity of mononoke. He most likely meets YS first, who offers to give him a place to stay after seeing him lurk around their residence. YS introduces the medicine seller to ES, which prompts a scolding about bringing in strangers. It takes a while, but eventually he’s convinced and offers up a room.

Kusuriuri acts as… a family counselor of sorts. He tries to defuse situations while trying to find the form (形), truth (真), and reason (理). He learns of their scandals and exposes them to try and defeat the mononoke.

(Coughhh,,, thinking about maybe making some sort of illegitimate child situation but I’m not too sure.)

2) THE MONONOKE

And with that, we’re now on the topic of the mononoke.

It took a while, but I finally landed on the akaname. They’re small, goblin-like creatures that feed off of grime and filth. Presumably, they eat the filth in bathrooms— but it’s also been speculated that it’s actually less of physical dirtiness and more of a reference to impurities in the soul but I’m not too sure,,, (this is because of the kanji aka (垢) in the name)

This could reference more to ES’ illness and how a lot of families back then viewed sickness as a ‘curse’ or filthy. Especially for higher ranking families since it could impact their reputation. There is also a lot of resentment each family member holds against each other (hate, disgust, etc) which the akaname could feed off of.

The form is this— the akaname. The truth would be the true source of all these feelings, and the reason could be linked to the family turmoil/secret?? Still working this out.

3) CHARACTERS

Like we have established before, there is Kusuriuri, the eldest, and the youngest sibling. I’ll go more in depth with them and other characters.

Also for clan names, I was thinking maybe Suiren (睡蓮)?

ES:

As mentioned, very studious and a proper candidate for their father’s role. However, he is struck with a mysterious ailment that the family keeps under wraps (I’m thinking of maybe hemophilia?). He’s often at home and looks over the estate.

YS:

Young boy who is next in line for their father’s position as a feudal lord. He’s considered childish, and isn’t quite in touch with reality. But he’s still a sweet and outgoing person.

Their father (idk how else to word this..):

A stubborn and distant man. He doesn’t speak often to his family, but shows more of a liking towards his youngest son (much to the distain of his wife). Often praised for his strategic skill.

Their mother (again, don’t know how to word this):

A quiet yet caring woman. She often looks over her sons and isn’t one to judge. However, one can notice the distant look she carries when looking at her youngest.

The housemaids (maybe 2-3 main ones):

Don’t really have much of a thing for them yet. However, I do know that one happened to engage in an affair with the father and birth YS. She was taken in soon after they found out. Also, YS happens to look more like their father— so it can be assumed that ES looks more like the illegitimate child (again, also bc of illness (people back then were really judgy)).

4) RELATIONS:

This section isn’t exactly relations, but it’s meant to show the disgust/hate (doesn’t matter how small) each person holds and where it’s directed.

YS: Slight hate towards his mother

ES: Himself, YS, his father

Mother: Father, YS

Father: ES, maybe mother?? (They were in an arranged relationship. He only really loved that housemaid.)

Housemaids: Mainly directed to ES, some at YS

This is what the mononoke feeds off of.

END

ANYWAY. That’s all I have so far. I’ll be making a hashtag that I add stuff to so if you’re interested check it out :-))

Thank you for reading till the end!

[mellosunshine]

I LOVE MONONOKE SM AHHHH

[mellosunshine]

Heh… Boothill…